Page 12 of Trapped with the Vicious Highlander (Falling for Highland Villains #5)

CHAPTER 12

Brodrick took one last look at the papers on his desk. He had spent the whole night looking through everything, since he could not sleep. Not after the kiss, and not after Ava had mysteriously run out on him.

Several questions plagued his mind, and every single time he lay down to rest, sleep just wouldn’t come. Thus he decided to put himself to good use and study the plans his men had reported to him over the last few days. It did not occur to him that the sun had risen until Flora stepped into the room.

“Please, dinnae tell me this was where ye were all night?” she asked, shaking her head.

“I wasnae here all night.”

“Christ in heaven, Brodrick. I came to tell ye that breakfast is ready. Why did ye nae sleep?”

Brodrick heaved a sigh. He didn’t know where to start. So, for now, he only informed his sister that he couldn’t sleep.

“Ye could tell me, ye ken? Maybe I might have an advice or two to give.”

“Tis fine, Fiona. I will get over it.”

“I dinnae like seeing ye like this, Brodrick. Ye ken that.”

“I do.”

“So ye willnae tell me.”

“There's nothing to tell.”

Flora’s shoulders slumped in resignation. “I shall give ye ten minutes to get yerself in order. Then, come down for breakfast.”

“What about Ava?” he asked. “Is she there?”

“Nae yet. But she will be.”

Brodrick nodded as Flora closed the door behind her.

He crossed over to his bath, changed his clothes, and headed downstairs to the dining hall. Faces from all sides of the table turned to look at him as he walked to the empty chair at the head. Murmurs of “M’Laird” rippled across the table as he sank into his chair.

His eyes scanned the table. He could see Margaret sitting close to Flora, a lost expression on her face. She was looking down at her lap, but he couldn’t see exactly what she was looking at.

He could see almost everyone required to attend breakfast, and yet Ava was nowhere to be seen.

His eyes flicked to Flora, who merely shrugged. She didn’t know either.

“Let us eat,” he finally said, after making one of the men at the table say grace.

The meal consisted of roast beef, some fruits, and ale.

They all dug into the food immediately, the clinking of cutlery against fine china filling the air.

“I must say, Flora,” one of the men muttered, looking up at the young woman. “This is some of yer best work.”

“Every work is me best work, lad,” Flora declared around a mouthful of bread.

Brodrick looked up and was about to make a rude comment when he saw her . His hand paused midair as he stared at her, for some reason unable to take his eyes off her.

Ava had appeared in the doorway like an angel. Her hands were intertwined as they rested gently against her stomach, just below her breasts. She was wearing an exquisite green gown, and the red in her hair glowed in the morning light.

Her hair had been well brushed and flowed gently down her back as she walked. It was as if time stopped and everything around him moved incredibly slowly. Including her.

Brodrick watched her eyes scan the table till they landed on Margaret. Then, he watched her exhale ever so slowly.

Time resumed as his people turned one by one to look at her. She remained by the door, the look in her eyes betraying her nervousness.

Brodrick tore his eyes off her and returned to chewing his food, to the very fact that he was back amongst his people. He could feel everything just as fast as he did before she appeared. Yet, his curiosity did not let him focus on his food for long.

He grabbed his jug of ale and drained it in his cup. Anything to keep his mind from the fact that she was standing there, looking just as stunning as ever, and he was unable to look at her. At least not for long.

* * *

Ava stood motionless in the doorway, watching everyone look up at her. If she hadn’t felt terrified of this earlier, now she could feel the panic rise within her. Perhaps the dress was a bad idea? Should she have chosen a more neutral color? Did green make her look too?—

“What are ye waitin’ for, lass?” Irene’s voice rang out.

Ava’s eyes flicked to the older woman, who had an empty chair beside her.

“Come sit. This chicken isnae the kind ye want to miss.”

A wave of gratitude washed over Ava as she headed straight to the empty chair. She stole multiple glances at Brodrick as she walked, watching him eat his food with as much interest as that of a lion eating corn. The last glance she stole, he looked right back at her. Their eyes met, an unreadable look passing between them. Immediately, she looked away and pulled out her chair.

“Apologies for my tardiness. I had quite a few things to attend to,” she whispered, grabbing her napkin. The food sat before her, as alluring as anything.

“I brought some wild berries for the bairn,” Irene murmured. “I am certain she will like it. Perhaps it might even help relieve her stomach from any pain she might get from eating bannocks all the time.”

Ava laughed as she grabbed her fork. She was not certain Margaret was going to eat the berries, but the last thing she wanted was to stop anyone from giving gifts to the Laird’s daughter. Also, Irene was a healer—Ava was fairly certain she knew what she was doing.

“Do ye think she’ll eat them?” Irene asked.

Ava laughed again. “You may give them to her and see.”

Irene nodded and turned to Margaret, who was sitting two chairs away from them. “Lassie. Some wild berries for ye,” she announced.

Margaret looked up at Irene and then at Ava as if seeking permission.

Ava nodded gently, and Margaret reached for the wild berries in Irene’s hand.

Ava’s eyes flicked to Brodrick, who was watching his daughter with rather keen interest. A brief smile crossed her lips. The sight of him paying attention to his daughter would never not intrigue her.

“I have some scones for the wee lass as well,” another voice called, this time belonging to a man Ava didn’t recognize.

He handed out the scones already slathered with butter and honey to Margaret, and she took them.

One by one, the people started handing her some food or dessert they had prepared before breakfast. Ava could see, even for the briefest of moments, the pure contentment on Margaret’s face.

She smiled. If this was all she was able to achieve for the day, it was enough. Seeing the girl get involved with the culture of her people was a joy, and if she kept going, she would be well and truly be able to speak in no time.

Soon, Margaret’s corner of the table was filled with several kinds of sweets, oatcakes, cheeses, and scones. She exchanged a brief look of confusion with Ava as if asking if she was expected to finish all of it in one sitting.

Ava gave her a warm smile as if to tell her she was with her, whatever she did with the food.

Margaret took a few bites of the berries, the scones, and the oatcakes. Ava watched her carefully, ready to jump in almost at the first sign of danger. She could feel Brodrick’s gaze on her now. She couldn’t even see him out of the corner of her eye, and yet she knew from the rising heat on her neck that he was now staring at her.

“Did ye only teach the girl to eat bannocks? Why is she touchin’ the oatcakes like a monster will jump out and bite her?” Irene whispered to Ava, who stifled a laugh in response.

She continued to watch Margaret pick at the food before her, a look of mild curiosity on her face.

“Do you need help?” she asked, not because she thought Margaret needed help, but because she wanted to do something. Anything that could keep her mind away from the fact that Brodrick was still staring at her.

The last thing she wanted was to face him. She couldn’t bear looking into those hazel eyes for any longer than absolutely necessary.

Margaret shook her head as she continued to pick at the fruits and sweets before her. Her eyes landed on a tablet, a confection made with sugar, cream, and butter. She stared hard at it for a second and looked back at Ava.

Ava knew what Margaret was thinking.

Tablets were Ava’s favorite sweets. She always kept a stash of them in her room back at the orphanage and handed them out whenever she needed to. Margaret had always seen her with at least one or two tablets whenever she was around. One of the first things Ava had given Margaret when she’d found her was a tablet, and to say that Margaret hated it would be an understatement. She had spat it out almost immediately and had started to cry.

Now, Margaret stared at the tablet for a few more seconds before reaching for it. She held it tight in her hand before reaching over to Ava’s spot. Eyes turned to the little girl as she dropped the tablet beside Ava’s plate.

Murmurs swept across the table almost immediately. Ava could hear their questions, no matter how quietly they had tried to speak.

“Why would she take the sweet from the child?”

“Does the wee girl nae ken how to eat tablets?”

“Has the governess bewitched the child as well?”

Feeling a wave of heat crawl up her cheeks, Ava grabbed the tablet and placed it back on Margaret’s plate.

“You don’t have to share these with me, child,” she whispered.

Brodrick’s voice cut through the simmering tension. “Why did she give it to ye in the first place?”

All eyes turned to Ava, and she realized at that moment that she needed to clarify.

“Margaret knows tablets are my favorite. She, on the other hand, doesn’t like them as much,” she replied, her voice calm and her words as light and apologetic as they could possibly be.

“So why did ye nae eat it? Why return it to her plate?” Brodrick asked.

The flush on Ava’s cheek deepened. “It does not matter.”

“It is evidently a matter if ye are refusin’ to take it,” Brodrick pressed.

Every part of her was screaming at her to counter his words with one of her snarky remarks, but she couldn’t. Not here, not now, and most certainly not in front of his people.

“I… do not feel like eating them,” she finally said. “They are sweets, and… I fear if I eat any more of them, I might just break this chair.”

The table erupted in mild laughter. The kind she was used to.

“No man wants to marry a lady on the heavier side, My Laird. The last man I was supposed to wed most certainly did not,” she joked.

Another wave of laughter swept across the table. Brodrick, on the other hand, refused to even smile. There was an unreadable expression on his face. It wasn’t pity or even any form of sympathy. It wasn’t the one she always noticed on the faces of people who intended to mock her either.

He looked away from her, and she watched as he beckoned to one of the maids passing around a jug of water. “Ye. Come.”

Ava furrowed her brow as the maid made her way towards him.

“Get all the tablets ye can find in the castle and bring them here.”

The maid frowned. “M’Laird?—”

“I didnae stutter, did I?”

The maid swallowed audibly and nodded. Soon, she disappeared from the dining hall.

Ava raised a questioning eyebrow at Brodrick, as if to ask what he was up to. But all he did was give her a curt nod.

Almost as soon as she had left, the maid returned with a giant tray in her hands, filled to the brim with tablets. Brodrick ordered her to place it in front of Ava.

“There,” he said. “All the tablets ye can eat.”

“My Laird…” Ava trailed off, a bewildered look on her face as she stared at the tray before her.

“Dinnae castigate yerself ever again, do ye hear me?”

Silence.

But Brodrick continued, undeterred. “It isnae yer fault if nay Englishman could handle ye.”

Even harder silence.

Ava could see it, the mild regret on the faces of those who had chuckled at her self-deprecating joke earlier.

“Eat,” Brodrick said again, his voice firm and clear.

Ava nodded, feeling the heat spreading down her neck. She resisted the urge to fan herself as she reached for one of the tablets on the tray and bit into it.

For the briefest of moments, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had misjudged Brodrick too fast too soon.