Page 86 of A Highland Bride Disciplined
Nieve O’Brien”
The last syllable broke. Scarlett’s voice cracked and fell to silence. Her eyes clung to the signature, as though reading it again might change the shape of the letters, might prove it wasn’t her hand.
Nieve?
“The frightened maid from that roadside months ago?” she guessed aloud.
Nieve was the young woman that Scarlett had thrown herself from the carriage to shield. She remembered the bruises on her wrist, the terror in her eyes, the way she vanished into the dark.
And now —this.
Scarlett’s throat closed, a sob lodging like a stone. “It washer,” she whispered, disbelief drenching her. “The lass we tried to save. All this time, it washer.”
Kian didn’t move at first. His face was drawn tight, unreadable as granite. Then, slowly, he nodded. “Aye. That’s what it seems.”
Scarlett pressed a hand to her mouth, the parchment trembling in her other hand. Her chest heaved with ragged breaths she couldn’t tame. “We should’ve done more. We should’ve followed her. We could’ve —”
“Scarlett.”
His voice cut across her spiraling thoughts, firm, unyielding. She looked up, startled by the edge in his tone. His eyes were fixed on her, sharp and steady, holding her in place like a tether.
“We couldnae have kent,” he said, voice low. “She made her choices. Ye did what ye could then. Ye saved her from those men,and ye gave her a chance to breathe free for a time. That’s more than most would’ve done.”
“But it wasnae enough,” Scarlett choked, the words raw. “If we’d only —”
“She left Elise here for us,” Kian pressed, stepping closer. “Nae at random. She left her with purpose. Because she trusted ye. Trusted us. She wrote it plain.Thiswas her wish.”
Scarlett’s knees weakened, and she sank onto the nearest chair, the letter limp in her hand. She traced the ink with soft fingers.
“She loved her,” Scarlett murmured, broken. “And yet she had to give her away. What would cause such a thing?”
Kian’s jaw tightened. “Lovin’ and keepin’ are nae always the same. She kent her limits. Hard as it was, she may have thought this was the only way to save the bairn from the grips of death.”
Scarlett blinked back tears, though they spilled hot regardless. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I cannae imagine ever lettin’ Elise go. Nae now. Nae after…”
Her shoulders curled, chest heaving. The image of Nieve’s frightened eyes haunted her, overlaying Elise’s innocent face. The two tangled until Scarlett couldn’t separate them.
Kian reached out then, laying his hand over the parchment. Not prying it from her, only grounding her fingers under his. His touch was warm, steady, a weight against the storm.
“Scarlett,” he said quietly. “Look at me.”
She did, reluctantly, her eyes glassy.
“She’s gone,” Kian said, gentler now. “And nothin’ will change that. But Elise remains. She’s here. Breathin’. Smilin’. All because of ye. Because ye’ve done what that lass begged of us. Ye’ve given her a home.”
Scarlett’s tears blurred her vision until all she saw was the outline of him, broad and unshaken, a pillar while she cracked apart. She hated how much she needed that steadiness. Hated that it helped.
Her voice fought a tremor. “What if she grows to hate me for keepin’ her? For lettin’ her ma?—”
“Ye dinnae let her ma do anythin’. Ye had no idea. And I’m sure that she willnae,” Kian said, quick and sure. His tone left no room for doubt. “Elise will ken she was loved twice over. Once by the woman who bore her, and again by the ones who raised her. That is nae a curse, Scarlett. That’s a blessing.”
“Why have ye changed yer mind about all of this? Why are ye bein’ so kind?”
Kian blanched. “I’ve nae changed me mind. I told ye that I’d find out about Elise’s maither. I’ve done just that, and this is the result.”
