More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
“You can only dispose of so many pawns before you open yourself up to checkmate, you know.
I dinna care ta spend any more time on a man so undeservin’ of it.”
Elizabeth knew it, and she tried to dismiss the niggling doubt she felt inside at what she had done.
And with that, she gave Caesar a kick, eager to put distance between herself and a situation she had no power to change.
She simply did not harbor the same confidence Christina and Lachlan exhibited that Angus would leave them be if left alone.
Cant say I disagree with her.
Proving his loyalty to the MacKinnons was an elusive goal that Malcolm had long since begun to doubt would ever be achieved.
his impatience growing at the laird’s slowness to offer enlightenment. The man enjoyed making his power known in subtle ways.
It seemed proper, though, that he be the one to find the materials for and repair the damage he had caused.
A boorish, heavy-handed foe disgusted her; one who could meet her and equal her in a battle of wits commanded respect and admiration, reluctant as she might be to give it.
She always managed to give utterance to the very things he despised most about himself.
After all, ‘tis easier ta pass judgment on the work of others than ta do it yerself.”
“Ye’ll no’ see it from there,” Malcolm said. “He’s made his way ta the verra top—ta keep the spoils for himself, I reckon, for there’s another one yellin’ at him from below.”
😆
“Ye’ve already decided what ye think of me, and persuadin’ a person of somethin’ they’re set against believin’ is a battle lost before it ever begins.”
How did she smell of violets after a day at the inn?
🙄
inventory. She spent today in the constant company of the MacKinnon women and Glenna, and her surprise at how pleasant it was to do so was only equaled by the guilt she felt at feeling any surprise at all.
It was very much like the universe to make her eat her unapologetic and outspoken words about the MacKinnons.
Elizabeth had forgotten her words that night until now.
Small inconsistency I think, she had just recalled those words.
“Nay,” Malcolm said, his heart heavy and his stomach sick.
I wish he had told the truth, the whole truth.
“Weak men cannot stand to see weakness in others, for it reminds them of what they most hate about themselves.”
Tell me, is it your boredom or your cruelty that inspires you to put someone in the pillory for the crime of being young and in love?”
🤦🏻♀️ Malcom JUST told her it was to prevent worse from happening to his siblings. Her lack of self control is dangerous.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the tartan. “Not even knowing I have this?”
🤦🏻♀️ ugh. Girrrrl. Why are you showing your cards?! Where is your intelligence?
A floorboard creaked, and their heads both snapped up. Miss Innes quickly pulled her hands away. Angus was in the doorway, looking at them with a strange glint in his eyes.
Oh no. 🫣
He set his jaw and looked at the laird. “Nay, Angus.”
Would have been better to be more calculated I think. - tell Elizabeth the truth, the whole truth, give her the key and documents, get her to provide for his family and go on the run.
“Trust is when ye ken a person willna betray ye even if they can, no’ simply because they canna.”
able, what guarantee did he have that Angus would surrender the copy of the document to him?
I mean, does it even exist?
Your Majesty tonight. Prisoner again in the morning.
Whyyyyy would she do this??? He’s not supposed to be up and about anyway. And in the middle of the night, he’d be unsupervised. If I were her, I’d suspect angus wanted him to harm Christina and the baby. And I wouldn’t be making it easy!
“The only difference between the person willing to do something and the person who actually does it is circumstance, is it not?”
This is absolutely true. God says as much and more when he says that looking at a person lustfully is a sin of adultery, that harboring hate in your heart, a sin of murder. (Matthew 5:21-28)
“Ye dinna ken what ye’re sayin’.” His heart writhed inside him, begging him on the one hand to tell her everything—to confess—and on the other hand forbidding him to do so, afraid to see her precious love and regard for him crumble before his eyes.
Me too. Tell her everything! It will come out eventually. Angus would make certain of that. So you’re not preserving anything. And better that it comes from you.
To step fully into the light required that he first claim and acknowledge his own darkness.
His mother’s words rang in his ears. I would rather live as poor outcasts than see the darkness consume ye.
Lachlan had been right to lock him in that room, and what had Elizabeth done? She had set him free—and at night, when Dunverlockie’s defenses were at their weakest.
💯
It was too much for her to puzzle through on her own, too much responsibility and power to take on for a mind and heart as confused as hers.
Whatever she did, Elizabeth couldn’t feel confident in a course of action without Christina’s knowledge and approval. Elizabeth’s judgment, after all, had proven to be wrong.
👏
She took in a deep breath. It had not been an easy decision to come to, for it meant that Angus would likely have more victims in the future. And if he did, she would be waiting.
True
“A man like Angus cannot stop himself from contravening the law. In time, justice will be served.” She had to believe that.
Faith.
She didn’t know if what she was doing was right. But she believed there was less regret in erring on the side of mercy.
🙏🏻💕
It was the truth. Too much had happened since learning about the tartan for her to understand what she wanted or what she felt. At times, she wanted nothing more than to march down to Malcolm’s room and rail at him for using her so ill. At other times, she saw the shaky signature of the young boy who had killed his father in an attempt to protect his mother, and she wanted only to wrap him in her arms for all he had gone through.
😭
Only with time would it become clear which sentiment would win out.
💯
We hope, though, that this is instead the beginning of a long and peaceful period between Benleith and Dunverlockie and all their tenants.”
💕
So, he did what Elizabeth had told him to do. He sucked in a deep breath, feeling it expand his lungs with fresh air, full of the scent of damp earth and green trees, and then he let it out in a long, slow exhale, eyes closed as he savored the feeling. He was free.
😭💕
“If this is how ye treat yer enemies, I forbid ye from ever havin’ another.”
🤭
Fergus rearranged himself so that his body lay across their feet, and they shared an amused glance. “He doesna intend ta be left again,” Malcolm said. “Nor do I.”
😭 ahhhh so cute
He treated Sorcha—named after his mother—as if she was his own, and Malcolm liked him the better for
I like the name. I’m surprised that Malcolm knows the baby isn’t his. She -could- have been. And if I were her parents, I’d want her raised as mine, believed to be mine, and therefore wouldn’t tell anyone she wasn’t. But I guess Elizabeth already knew and it would be unreasonable to expect her to not share that with her husband. Hoping it’s not an open secret however.
