Page 32 of The Laird’s Lost Wife

Willow beamed up at her, hopeful. “Can I go, Mama?”

“I can give her a quick tour of the keep while ye see to the bags and boxes,” Helena offered. “I’ll find out where yer rooms are. Nae far from Edith’s, I expect.”

Daphne nodded tightly. “All right. Willow, be on yer best behavior, ye hear?”

Willow nodded obediently. “Aye. We’re guests.”

She trotted away after the two older women and Rhiannon.

Daphne watched her go, her heart thumping.

Will there ever be a time when I daenae feel me heart sink as me daughter walks away from me?

Nay, probably nae.

A shadow fell over her. She knew without looking that it was Hunter standing behind her.

“Come with me,” he said shortly. “We’ll talk in me study.”

Daphne cleared her throat, straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders. Only then did she turn to face him.

“I have work to do,” she declared. “I have to oversee these bags being taken to our rooms. After that, I’d better find Lady Pilbury and make sure she’s comfortable. And the baby fox, of course.”

Hunter blinked slowly at her, like a cat.

Abruptly, Daphne was reminded of Willow’s fox. She glanced around for the little creature, but there was no sign of it. Only a wadded-up nest of blankets showed that it had been in the carriage at all. She assumed it had run off with Willow. But then, who knew?

“Lady Pilbury will be comfortable,” Hunter assured her. “Me mother will make sure of it. Those two have been friends for longer than either of us have been alive. I ken me mother, and I ken that she’ll take care of her. Ye have nothing to worry about, nothing at all.”

“Perhaps it’s me job I’m worried about.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Oh, is that so?”

Daphne bit her lip, reddening. “Nay, nae exactly. I daenae ken why I said that. But I do want to join Lady Pilbury soon.”

“And so ye shall. After we’ve talked. Why, lass, daenae ye think we have a good deal to talk about?”

She eyed him, feeling that familiar bubbling in her gut, the wanting that had haunted her dreams since she’d first parted with him.

“I suppose we might nae have time for a proper conversation before I leave.” She swallowed hard and lifted her chin. “We might as well talk now.”

His face split into a wild smile, making her insides shiver once more.

“Leave?” he echoed.

“Of course. When Lady Pilbury leaves, or… or passes, I will have to find a new place to live. A new employer.”

He took a step toward her. “Get this into yer head, lass. Ye. Are. Nae. Leaving. Nae now, nae ever.”

CHAPTER 7

Is that a threat?

Daphne barked out the words in her head, but didn’t say them aloud. She just glowered up at Hunter.

He gave a small, tight smile and turned on his heel, walking across the courtyard. He didn’t head toward the main entrance, which Rhiannon was guiding Helena and Lady Pilbury toward. No, he seemed to be rounding the side of the castle, where the courtyard narrowed a little more.

It occurred to her that if she stood staring for much longer, she’d lose sight of him. And once he’d disappeared in that castle, which was probably as complex as a maze inside, she might not catch up with him.