Her throat tightened. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.
Alasdair looked at her like she was the only person he saw. “Ye might believe that a proposal from me means ruin, but I offer her respect, Lady Grisham,” he said, though his words were meant for her. “She can choose how she lives with me. That’s more than ye’re willin’ to give, pushin’ her toward men who care only for heirs and appearances.”
“You are the insolent brute they all say,” her stepmother hissed. “You’ll make her the scorn of all London.”
Elizabeth flinched.
“Enough!” Alasdair’s voice thundered. Heads turned. A few ladies gasped.
“You may not have birthed her,” he growled, “but ye are responsible for her by marriage to her faither. Stop treatin’ her like her only worth is to be sold off to the highest bidder.”
The words hit something deep inside her. Something buried, something raw.
“You have no right to speak to me like that, you Highland savage.”
“Then ye daenae have to hear the rest of this,” he snapped. “Elizabeth gets to choose now. No pressure. If ye daenae want to marry me, I’ll leave.”
Elizabeth stared at him. His face was resolute, honest. This wasn’t a performance.
“What would it mean?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
“It means ye choose yer own path,” he said gently. “Ye daenae belong to her. She doesnae treat ye like kin. Come with me. I won’t make decisions for ye, but I won’t make them without ye either.”
It was then Lady Grisham delivered her last blade. “Think of your late mother before making such a foolish choice.”
Elizabeth turned to her stepmother, a new steadiness in her spine. “My mother didn’t manage to teach me many things,” she said softly. “She died when I was young, but she showed me art. Music. And most of all, she showed me kindness.” Her eyes narrowed. “She would never speak to me as you do.”
Lady Grisham’s face contorted in fury. But Elizabeth no longer cared.
Alasdair extended his hand.
And she took it.
Her fingers curled around his without hesitation.
“You still need my permission to marry, Elizabeth,” Lady Grisham said, but her voice had lost its edge.
“You will give the permission,” Alasdair said calmly, “or I’ll go to the scandal sheets and say I’ve ruined Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth gasped, stunned.
“You’d never do that,” Lady Grisham whispered, faltering.
“Oh, is that so?” His smile turned cold. “What did ye say I was? A savage brute?”
Lady Grisham froze. She believed him now. She truly did.
“All right,” she muttered at last. “You have my consent.”
Elizabeth felt something twist inside her. Something like relief, something like triumph.
Alasdair turned to her, his voice low. “I’ll acquire a special license,” he said. “And we’ll marry as soon as possible, lass.”
This time, Elizabeth didn’t tremble.
This time, she nodded.
Alasdair could scarcely believe what had come out of his mouth.