Page 11 of Married to the Icy Highlander
That was the only part of the letter that she was willing to share with her friend. The letter said that Blaine had still saved them both, in a way.
Her mind drifted back to the Laird because that was the only thing that made sense. But how was it possible?
If Blaine truly wasn’t coming back, then where had he gone? She hoped that he was all right.
All she could do was hope that it would all work out.
Peter’s happy giggles drifted through the closed door and down the stairs, so her mother must have told him the good news. It would be good because there was no price that Ceana wouldn’t pay to keep those two just as happy as they were at that moment.
“Are ye sure that ye ken what ye’re doin’, Ceana?” Ersie asked, looking up at her with a neutral expression.
Ceana knew, on some level, that she could back out of the deal whenever she wanted and ask for Ersie’s help. She also knew that she could sit back and look for another way out. But this was the fastest solution, and it would be the most effective one. There truly wasn’t a better future that she could have asked for than having the Laird himself ensure that her family and their distillery were properly looked after.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Ceana pushed her now empty teacup away from her. “I just dinnae like the idea of leavin’ them all alone, ye ken?”
Ersie nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can to help ease that burden, lass. Ye ken that I will. We’ve become friends, have we nae?”
Ceana reached over and grabbed Ersie’s hand. “I ken it. I just fear that they will be taken advantage of while Peter’s still so young…”
“I’ll handle Ferguson, dinnae worry about that. I give ye me word,” Ersie promised.
The look on her face made Ceana wonder if perhaps Ersie knew a bit more about their situation than she let on.
“I thank ye. Now, I’m goin’ to retire to bed…” Ceana squeezed Ersie’s hand and then headed upstairs, all the while smiling at the sounds of laughter coming from Peter’s room.
Yet, the moment she closed her door and collapsed onto her bed without bothering to undress, she couldn’t stop picturing the Laird’s face.
5
“Faither, where are ye goin’?”
It was the third time that Jeanie had asked that question in the last hour alone. Neil was trying to spend more time with her, but it was still proving difficult to find enough common ground between the two of them.
Without an activity as a buffer between them, things tended to get awkward fast. Her nurse was due to return at any moment to take her to her lessons as he was getting ready to leave.
“Do ye remember the lass from yesterday?” Neil asked, glancing over his shoulder at his daughter, who was sitting on his dresser, very careful not to touch anything around her as she swung her feet back and forth.
“Aye, she was verra beautiful,” Jeanie answered with a smile.
For a moment, both of them were quiet as they recalled Ceana’s face. His daughter was right. Ceanawasvery beautiful.
“Well, she’s goin’ to be me wife.” Neil paused, turning to Jeanie as he finished tucking his shirt beneath his kilt. “Unless ye think she shouldnae be?”
He hadn’t even thought to ask her. He felt foolish standing there, having not considered it.
“Does that mean that I will have a new maither?” Jeanie asked softly, her bright eyes wary.
“Nay!” Neil responded quickly as he walked over to her.
He started to hug her, but then he stopped himself because it didn’t feel like the right thing to do at a time like this. So instead, his hands hovered over her awkwardly and then dropped to his sides.
Jeanie’s eyes widened, and she stopped kicking her feet. In the end, he patted her head. “She’ll be… yer friend, I suppose.”
That seemed to be the right thing to say.
Jeanie perked up, kicking her feet again as she squirmed in excitement. “I need a lady friend!”
Neil nodded and went back to his shirt. “Aye, we both do,” he muttered under his breath.
