Page 65 of The Laird’s Sinful Claim

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Where are we going?"

"Ye'll see."

The ride took them north, away from the castle and into the wild heart of the Highlands.

David kept the pace easy, letting the grey stallion find its own rhythm as they climbed the gentle slope. Behind him—or rather, in front of him, tucked securely in his arms—Elinor sat rigid at first, her spine straight as a sword.

But gradually, as the castle fell away behind them and the landscape opened up before them, he felt her begin to relax.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer ye're gettin'." He urged the horse up a steeper section of the path, his arms tightening around her to keep her secure. "Patience, lass."

"I'm not known for my patience."

"I've noticed."

The path wound through a stretch of forest where autumn had painted the leaves in shades of amber and rust. Then the trees thinned, and they emerged onto open moorland, the ground carpeted in purple heather that stretched as far as the eye could see.

David felt Elinor's breath catch.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

"Aye. Just wait."

They climbed higher, the heather giving way to rougher ground dotted with grey stone and hardy shrubs. The wind picked up, carrying the scent of wildflowers and pine and something indefinably Highland, clean and wild and ancient.

Elinor's hair had come loose from its pins, strands whipping around her face. She reached up to tuck them back, but David caught her hand.

"Leave it," he said quietly. "It looks bonnie like that."

She didn't argue, just let her hand fall back to her lap, and David tried very hard not to think about how natural this felt—the two of them on horseback, her body fitting perfectly against his, the Highland wind in their faces.

That was dangerous territory. The kind that led to wanting things he had no right to want.

But he couldn't seem to make himself care.

Finally, they crested the ridge, and David drew the horse to a stop.

Below them, the valley spread out in a patchwork of greens and golds, bisected by a silver ribbon of river that caught the afternoon sun.

He could see Keppoch, its grey stone walls and proud towers standing sentinel over the surrounding lands. And beyond that, more valleys, more mountains, stretching toward the horizon in endless waves.

His lands. His responsibility. His home.

And now, hers too.

"Oh," Elinor breathed. "Oh, David."

He said nothing, just let her look. Let her see what he saw, the beauty and the wildness and the fierce pride that came with being part of that place.

"I used tae come here as a lad," he said finally. "When things got... difficult. When the weight of learnin' tae be laird felt like too much." He pointed to a flat rock jutting out from the ridge. "That was me favorite spot. I'd sit there fer hours, just watchin' the valley. Thinkin'."

"What did you think about?"

"Everythin'. Naethin'. Mostly I just tried tae remember that the world was bigger than whatever problem was clawin' at me that day." He dismounted, then reached up to lift her down. "Come on. Ye should see it properly."