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A flicker of pain crossed Forbes’s face before he released his grip, flexing his fingers subtly as he tucked his hands behind his back. “Well met,” he said, his grin still fixed in place.

Broderick grinned slyly. If Forbes was looking for a power struggle, he was more than welcome to try.

But the silence of the man’s mind lingered, gnawing at Broderick. Forbes’s mental walls were thicker than Davina’s—a fortress he couldn’t penetrate. This didn’t bode well.

Footsteps on the stairs caught Broderick’s attention. He glanced over, his breath hitching as Davina came down with her mother.

She was even more stunning in the brighter light of the foyer than her chamber. Her burgundy gown clung to her figure, the color deepening the warmth of her skin and the dark waves of her hair cascading over her shoulders. She moved with a grace that seemed effortless, her chin lifted as though she weren’t about to sit across from a man she despised.

Broderick forced his gaze away, focusing instead on Forbes, whose grin had shifted into something far too charming.

The laird greeted Lilias first, bowing low and brushing a kiss across her knuckles. The gesture was practiced, smooth, and Broderick saw the faint flicker of approval in Lilias’s eyes. Then Forbes turned to Davina, repeating the gesture with the same ease, but Broderick’s keen eyes caught the way his fingers tightened around hers.

Forbes didn’t let go. Instead, he placed Davina’s hand in the crook of his elbow, holding her close as he straightened.

Tammus swept his arm toward the Great Hall. “Shall we sup?”

With that same pleasant grin, Forbes led Davina after her uncle, his grip firm enough that Davina couldn’t easily pull away. And she tried.

“Damn brute!”she thought. “Are you seeing this, Broderick?”

“Aye, lass,” he replied, trying to send her soothing currents with his thoughts. “I’m right here.”

Broderick’s jaw tightened, a low growl vibrating in his chest. He stepped forward, offering his arm to Lilias. “Madame?” he said, his voice calm despite the heat simmering in his veins.

Lilias smiled faintly, resting her fingers lightly on his forearm. Together, they followed Tammus and the others into the Great Hall. Broderick’s gaze burned into the back of Forbes’s head the entire way.

Tammus took the head seat at the table, with Forbes to his right and Davina beside him. Broderick escorted Lilias to the chair on Tammus’s left but chose a bench against the wall behind Davina instead. From here, he had a clear view of the table—and of Forbes.

The laird glanced over his shoulder, his brows furrowing. “Not joining us, lad?”

Broderick leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. “I’m here for Lady Davina.”

Forbes’s grin widened, but there was no humor in it. “And why would that be necessary? Surely, with her uncle here—and guards on the walls—you’ve no need to hover.”

“I’ll stay all the same,” Broderick said evenly. “Pay me no mind. Ye won’t even notice I’m here.”

Forbes’s gaze flicked to Tammus, his brows raised. “Just one of the villagers, isn’t he? Perhaps he should respect his superiors.”

Broderick caught Davina’s silent thought like a whisper in his mind. “Please don’t go.”

He straightened and swaggered toward Tammus. Laying a hand on the man’s shoulder, he pushed his compulsion through the cracks in Tammus’s mental defenses. “Honestly, Lord Tammus,” Broderick said smoothly, “I’ll be no trouble a’tall.”

Tammus blinked, his shoulders relaxing. “Davina’s had a…recent incident with a guest in our home. Having Broderick here eases her mind. Please, Arthur, indulge her.”

Forbes hesitated, then turned to Davina with a placating smile. “If it makes her more comfortable, then of course.” He looked back at Broderick, his grin hardening. “But once we’re wed, she won’t be needing such company.”

Broderick held his gaze, his expression unreadable. He didn’t miss the smugness in Forbes’s tone, nor the way the man dismissed him entirely as he turned back to the table.

The conversation over supper was stilted, Forbes steering it toward safe, shallow topics for several droll minutes. Broderick would have nodded off if he weren’t staying alert to Davina’s uneasiness.

“Life’s simple if you keep it that way,” Forbes droned on. “There’s no need to complicate things with all this talk of philosophy or stars.”

“Aye.” Tammus held up his goblet in agreement. “And as Socrates said, ‘The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.’ Simplicity often leads to honor, don’t you think?”

“Uh, quite right,” Forbes fumbled and hid behind the rim of his cup.

“I think gazing at the stars compliments a simple life,” Davina smoothly interjected, her voice soft and husky. “Do you not enjoy stargazing, Laird Forbes?”