Page 86 of Her Reluctant Highlander Husband

He hadn’t seen Walter since he’d been here after Maggie’s death to tell the man his daughter and granddaughter had died. Bryce barely remembered the trip. Cam had come with him. Had guided him when he was so drunk he nearly fell off his horse. At the time, it was the only way he’d been able to function—by numbing the pain with drink.

Eventually Cam and Lach had forced him to deal with it another way. They’d allowed him to rage at them, even fighting with swords, until he was so exhausted he could no longer get up. When he’d awoken, he’d felt a change. The pain had lessened enough that he could breathe. But a dull anger had taken its place. The sun hadn’t shone as bright, the sky had no longer been as blue.

Or at least it hadn’t been until Dorie came into his life.

But now she was gone, too.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It was raining again, which did nothing to bolster Dorie’s mood. Her younger siblings had entertained her after the family’s return to Durham, but now they’d been called away for lessons, leaving Dorie to sit and think.

Thinking led to wishing, which led to hoping and dreaming. All things she’d spent too much time doing in her past. After her mother’s death she’d sat in her prison and wished for someone to come for her. Hoped for someone to care and dreamed of having a husband and family.

Her time with Bryce had been a mockery of those dreams. She’d thought he might at least miss her enough to send a note. Perhaps see how she fared in her new life. But nothing.

When someone knocked on her door, she nearly didn’t answer. She wanted to be left alone in her misery. Which was a testament to how much she’d changed. Months ago she would have wanted a visitor more than anything and wouldn’t have wanted to spend another minute alone in her room.

“Yes,” she answered.

Her father opened the door and entered. “Are you well?”

“Yes. I’m fine. I’m just…” She looked out the window as if the end of the sentence lived out there on the lane she’d been watching for days.

“He’s not coming,” her father said, his voice low and flat.

“I know,” she agreed. “I thought mayhap he would send a letter, at least. Simply scratch a few words and send them off. Would that be so difficult?”

He swallowed and took her hand. “I’m waiting for a letter from Scotland as well.”

“You are?” She turned to face her father.

“I hate to see you so unhappy. I thought it best to carry out our plan so perhaps you could find someone else. Someone who can give you his heart.”

“Bryce hasn’t signed the annulment?” she said, hating the way the words squeaked when she spoke. She tried not to hope. Was there a reason for the delay? Had he changed his mind?

“I expect it any day,” her father said assuredly.

“Unless he changed his mind.” She mentally calculated the time she’d been in England at the estate and then in town and now back in Durham. Surely it should have arrived by now.

“It may have been delayed when we left London.”

She nodded and felt her shoulders slump as the hope left her once again.

He let out a breath and pulled her to him. “I’m sorry you’re hurting. I tell you, if he were here right now I’d run him through for breaking your heart. You deserve happiness, and I’ll spend the rest of my days seeing that you find someone who’s good enough for you.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Papa.”

While she loved her father and knew he wanted the best for her, the thought of him hurting Bryce caused a flare of mutiny. She didn’t blame Bryce for her pain. He’d been honest from the beginning about not wanting their marriage. She’d seen the struggle in his eyes between duty and emotion. And later, between longing and loyalty.

She thought he’d wanted to love her in the end, but neither of them were in charge of their hearts. No one could help loving someone, and no one could force another to love them when there wasn’t anything to give.

“I know it may not seem like it at the moment, but you will feel better, in time,” her father said. “Hearts do have a way of healing so we’re able to go on living.”

She knew it was possible. She’d seen the way Bryce managed to go on living with half a heart. Even her father had a sadness in his eyes she knew was from missing her mother.

She had no doubt her heart would continue to beat. That she would go on living, just as her father said. But finding happiness was another matter.

And at the moment that felt impossible.