Page 106 of A Highland Bride Disciplined
Scarlett’s breath stuttered. Her chest ached. Her own voice whispered in her head.I’ll nae raise her alone, Kian. I’ll nae let her go.
But what if I was wrong? What if the right place for Elise was with her faither, her blood?
Roderick turned his smile on her, softening his edges as if he could read her doubt. “Lady Scarlett —” he started, but Kian cut him a look that could kill if it were steel.
“Lady Crawford… ye’ve done a noble thing, keeping the bairn safe this long. I’ll nae forget it. But surely ye understand me rights as a faither. A daughter or a son — it matters little. But what does matter is that I have come to claim what’s mine. And ye have nay standing right.”
Scarlett’s nails bit into her palms. Her heart twisted as though someone had reached inside her chest and squeezed. Elise’s small hand clutching her gown, her sleepy eyes seeking Scarlett’s face — it all blurred.
What right did we truly have?
Kian’s voice cut through her storm like steel. “Ye’ll claim nothin’.”
Scarlett’s head snapped toward him. His stance was rigid, his body a barrier between her and Roderick.
“Kian —” she whispered.
But he went on, voice low, steady, unyielding. “The lass chose. She left the babe with us. Her last words named me wife and me as the ones who would keep the child. She trustedus, notye. I’ll nae break her trust, nor hand over an innocent to a man who cannae even keep his boots clean of scandal.”
Roderick’s expression tightened, though the smile remained like paint on cracked plaster. “Kian, see sense, man. Ye risk makin’ an enemy where ye could have an ally. Me faither?—”
“Yer faither can shove his alliance,” Kian growled. “I’ll nae hand over the child to ye. Even if it means war.”
Scarlett’s heart pounded. She couldn’t breathe. She looked at Roderick. His open hands, the tilt of the head, the hurt in his eyes. And then at Kian. Eyes blazing and immovable.
The guilt swallowed her whole. She’d almost failed Nieve once. She refused to fail Elise now by keeping her from her father.
“Stop!” Her voice rose sharp, cutting through their standoff. Both men turned to her. Her hands shook as she lifted them. “Enough. If he’s truly the faither —”
Kian’s gaze burned into her. “Scarlett.”
She pressed on, throat raw. “If he’s truly the faither, then what right have we, truly? He speaks true. Look at him. We’ve done what we were asked. And now that he is here, the bairn belongs with blood.”
Roderick’s smile softened, gratitude painted over his features like balm. “Ye see reason, m’lady. I kent ye would.”
Kian’s body went rigid.
His voice dropped to a growl. “Ye will get nothin’ and nay one from us this night, Roderick Hendry. Ye’ll leave Crawford Keep with yer life and yer pride immediately, if ye’re wise.”
Scarlett flinched. The force of his words, the finality, cracked the tension around them.
Roderick’s eyes flickered, menacingly almost. “Careful, laird. Ye daenae ken the storm ye’re callin’ down.”
Kian stepped forward, looming, his hand on the hilt of his dagger. “I ken what yer faither is capable of, but ye? Ye arenae capabale of even bringing a gale to me gates. Leave,boy.”
For the first time, the smile slipped from Roderick’s lips. He inclined his head, a bow too shallow to be respectful, and backed toward the door. “This isnae finished. Ye’ll regret refusin’ me what’s mine.”
The door slammed behind him, leaving silence thick as smoke.
Scarlett’s chest heaved. She wanted to scream, to sob, to collapse. Instead she stood, trembling, her gaze locked on her husband.
Kian’s jaw was set, and his eyes were ablaze. The decision had been made without her.
Scarlett swallowed hard, her guilt and fear tangling like barbs inside her.
“Ye shouldnae have done that,” was all she managed to say. Her voice cracked, more with fear than fury, though she hated that he could hear it.
Kian stood where Roderick had left them, still braced like a wall of stone, his hand hovering near his dagger as though the man might come slinking back. “I had every right,” he said evenly. “This is me keep. Me wife. Me —” He stopped himself, the word catching.
