Page 84 of Forbidden Kilted Highlander

Agnes looked down at her hands. “But I dinnae ken if I can give that.”

“Because ye dinnae love him?”

Agnes nodded slowly. “Because when I came here it was a simple duty, and kenning how he’s treating me, I feel like I dinnae deserve it. Like I’m nae what he deserves because I’m the one who sees him as an alliance..."

Paisley’s gaze didn’t waver. “Ye’re nae the only one torn between heart and duty, me lady. But sometimes, the hardest part is seein’ which path leads tae peace and which one ye’ll regret. Sometimes the thing that burns brightest is the thing that leaves the deepest scar.”

Agnes blinked fast. The ache behind her eyes was back. “I wish someone could just tell me what the right thing is. Just once. Take it out of me hands.”

Paisley reached out and touched her hand, briefly. “Only ye can ken that. But whatever ye choose, ye must live with it. So choose something ye can live with and forgive yerself fer what ye cannae.”

Agnes squeezed her eyes shut. Her throat tightened. For a moment, neither of them said anything.

“Thank ye,” Agnes nodded, unable to say more. Her hand stayed resting on the table long after Paisley had gone. The fire had burned low, shadows growing long on the floorboards, crawling up the walls like dark fingers stretching toward her. She stared at the shifting shadows, her gaze unfocused, letting her thoughts churn in silence. She drifted toward the window and rested her palms on the cool stone sill. The glass was fogged slightly from the warmth of the room meeting the night outside. She leaned in.

The world outside continued, untouched by the storm inside her. Her hands tightened slightly on the stone, as if the chill might ground her. As if stillness might become a kind of strength.

She pressed her fingers to the sill, cold stone meeting warmer skin. She finally knew what she had to do. Tav had kissed her like she was the only thing in the world he wanted. And that was exactly the problem.

Because he would never be hers to keep in a way that was acceptable. And if she let herself believe otherwise, she would unravel every thread of what her father had fought for, of what the Kerr name still stood for. She had to protect that. Even if it hurt. Even if it meant giving herself away. Agnes turned from the window. Her eyes stung, but she did not cry. There would be time for tears later. She had to go find Tav and tell him the truth.