Page 31

As the guard opened the front door for Broderick, the aromas of the coming feast and spiced wine drifted through the air.

Broderick inhaled deeply, savoring the scents.

He removed and hung his cloak by the door, then paused, his keen hearing catching the low murmur of voices coming from the study.

Tammus’s familiar baritone carried easily, followed by another voice—smoother, more measured, with an edge of rehearsed charm.

The voices grew louder as the study door swung open.

Tammus stepped out, greeting Broderick with a cordial smile. “Broderick. I’d like you to meet Laird Arthur Forbes, an old friend of mine and business associate. He’s come up from Aberdeen.”

Forbes’s assessing gaze dragged over Broderick, his posture straightening with forced confidence—chest puffed, shoulders squared.

Broderick met his stare without blinking and noted the faint twitch in the man’s jaw.

Forbes stood just an inch shorter than Broderick, but his clenched fists revealed he already felt overshadowed.

And interestingly, Broderick heard nothing—no stray thought, no whispered intentions.

Curious.

Broderick’s lips curved in a knowing smile. He’d encountered men like Forbes before—those who mistook dominance for strength and arrogance for command. They were always the same: posturing roosters with no true claws.

Forbes flashed a grin, all teeth and show, but his eyes remained cold. A glint of challenge shone as he extended his hand. “Broderick,” he said smoothly, but the undertone in his voice carried a distinct edge.

Broderick glanced at the proffered hand, then accepted it.

The moment their palms met, Forbes gave a tug—testing, gauging.

It was subtle, meant to appear casual, but Broderick didn’t yield.

He resisted the gesture, watching the man’s grin stretch wider, the challenge deepen.

Forbes tugged harder. Still, Broderick remained rooted, his grip steady, his arm unshaken.

The tension between them intensified, unseen yet undeniable. They were like two predators on the prowl, neither willing to be the first to back down.

“Pleasure tae meet ye, Laird Forbes,” Broderick said, cocking an eyebrow.

Forbes chuckled, though the sound was strained, and squeezed Broderick’s hand in a clear contest of strength. Broderick didn’t flinch. He could have crushed the man’s fingers with ease, but he held back, letting Forbes strain against him. What a child , Broderick thought, and gave a brief squeeze.

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 ea ses 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?”

Forbes scoffed but unleashed his charming grin. “I don’t waste my time gawking at the sky, lass. There are more important things to do.”

Davina pressed on, her tone sweet but firm. “I must protest, sir. The constellations are fascinating—and the myths behind them even more so.”

Broderick narrowed his eyes. “ Dinnae push him, lass. I dinnae want— ”

“One of my favorite tales is that of Orion,” Davina continued, ignoring Broderick’s warning. “He—”

“See, Tammus?” Forbes snorted. “This is why women shouldn’t read. You’ve better things to do, lass, than fill your head with nonsense.”

“Like what, milord?” Davina asked sweetly, a razor tucked beneath her smile.

Broderick’s hands fisted beneath his crossed arms. “ Blossom. Stand down.”

Forbes scowled, his gaze darting uneasily between Davina and Tammus.

“’Tis a fair question, milord,” she went on, feigning innocence. “What could be more important than reading, writing, and learning the lessons history has to offer?”

“Your duties to your household,” Forbes snapped, menace coiling in his voice. “A woman’s place is tending to her husband’s needs, not stuffing her pretty head with useless tales.”

“History has much to teach us, sir,” Davina replied, the fire behind her eyes flaring to life. “Perhaps the true discomfort for you is the thought of a woman being more learned than yourself. Likely not something you’re accustomed to, is it?”

Forbes surged to his feet. His chair clattered to the stone behind him.

Broderick straightened, still seated, ready to intervene. “ Blossom, what th’ bloody hell are ye doin’?”

“Proving Forbes is a brute,” she thought back, her fury scalding through their link.

“Tammus,” Forbes sneered, “I see now why yer so desperate to marry her off—”

“Don’t change the subject, Arthur.” Davina rose, chin lifted, voice like iron. “Answer the question.”

Forbes’s eyes flared wide. His hand flew back.

Broderick moved in a blur, intercepting the blow before it landed. His fingers clamped around Forbes’s wrist like a vice, stopping the strike a mere inch from Davina’s face.

A hush dropped over the hall like a guillotine. Every servant, frozen. Tammus, eyes wide in shock. Every breath held.

Forbes blinked, rattled. His arm trembled in Broderick’s grasp.

Broderick’s voice came low and lethal, every word sharpened to a point. “Lay a hand on her, and I’ll make sure it’s th’ last hand ye lift in anger.”

He released Forbes slowly and the man recoiled a step, rubbing at his wrist, unsure whether to speak or run.

Tammus rose, face florid with fury. “Davina! What in God’s name were ye thinkin’, provoking him like that?”