Page 75 of Duke of Storme
Outside, the Highland storm raged with unrelenting fury, but inside Storme Castle, something far more transformative was brewing. Something that threatened every wall he’d ever built, every defense he’d ever relied upon.
Something that felt remarkably like hope.
When the castle clock chimed two in the morning, Finn finally climbed the stairs toward his chambers. But as he passed Diana’s door, he caught sight of lamplight flickering beneath the gap.
She was still awake.
And suddenly, with a clarity that cut through him like Highland steel, Finn realized that tomorrow, he would have to decide what he was willing to risk to keep her.
Tonight, he stood outside her door like a man at a crossroads, knowing that the only way forward was to choose a path he’d never dared walk before.
CHAPTER 23
“Your Grace, ye cannot mean to go out in this weather again!”
Mrs. Glenwright’s voice carried a note of desperation as Diana wrapped her heavy woolen cloak around her shoulders, securing the ties with deliberate efficiency.
“Mrs. Cameron’s roof is leaking directly over her children’s beds,” Diana replied, checking the canvas sack at her feet. “The supplies she needs are in the storage shed. It’s a twenty-minute walk.”
“It’s been rainin’ for two days straight! The ground is treacherous, and the wind–”
“Mrs. Cameron has four children under the age of eight,” Diana interrupted firmly. “They cannot sleep in wet beds while we debate the wisdom of helping them.”
Mrs. Glenwright wrung her hands. “But His Grace specifically said ye’re not to leave the castle grounds without–”
“I refuse to let children suffer because of a little rain.” Diana said, pulling her hood up.
“Alittlerain?” Mrs. Glenwright’s voice rose. “Your Grace, this is a Highland storm!”
But Diana was already pushing through the door into the tempest.
The wind struck her like a living thing, driving rain against her face with needle-sharp intensity. Diana bent her head and pressed forward, her boots sliding through mud that tried to claim them with every step.
The path to the tenant cottages had become a treacherous course of puddles and slick stones. But Diana pressed on, her determination outweighing her discomfort. When she finally reached Mrs. Cameron’s cottage, she was soaked to the bone.
“Your Grace! Ye shouldn’t have come!”
“Nonsense,” Diana said, pushing the supply sack into the grateful woman’s arms. “You have everything you need there – oiled cloth, extra blankets, and shortbread for the children.”
Mrs. Cameron’s eyes filled with tears. “Your Grace, I don’t know how to thank ye.”
“Take care of your little ones,” Diana said simply. “That’s thanks enough.”
The return journey was even more brutal, the wind howling with renewed fury. But when Diana finally reached the castle grounds, triumph coursed through her veins. She had seen a problem and solved it, without asking permission or waiting for approval.
She was making her way through the garden when a voice cut through the storm like a blade.
“Have ye lost your bloody mind?”
Diana spun to find Finn striding toward her, his dark hair plastered to his skull, his gray-blue eyes blazing with fury and something that looked remarkably like panic.
“Good afternoon, Finn,” she said with deliberate politeness. “I trust your meetings went well?”
“Don’t.” Finn’s voice carried naval authority. “Don’t pretend this is normal. What the hell were ye thinkin’, Diana?”
She turned to face him fully, rain streaming down her face but her chin lifted defiantly. “I was thinking that Mrs. Cameron’s children shouldn’t sleep in wet beds because their Duchess was too for the Highland weather.”
“Too delicate?” Finn’s accent thickened with emotion. “Or too sensible to risk yer neck for something that could have waited?”
