Page 17 of Trapped with the Vicious Highlander
Brodrick scoffed. “If ye think I am spendin’ another moment away from me daughter, ye are sorely mistaken.”
He leaned back in his seat, and soon the carriage began to move. Ava turned around and waved to Sarah and Elizabeth, who both remained standing as she drew farther and farther from them.
This was real. She really was leaving her cottage with a Highlander.
* * *
The farther from the cottage she got, the more Ava realized she had no choice but to face the reality she had been tossed into.
The carriage was silent, and the only thing that could be heard were the hooves of galloping horses. Ava wondered if complete and utter silence would’ve been better than whatever this was. Her eyes landed on Brodrick, who was sitting right beside her, staring straight at Margaret, whose eyes remained fixed on the dirt road and the trees they passed by.
“We shall reach a small market soon, should ye want anythin’,” Brodrick said, his voice soft.
Ava knew he was talking to Margaret, but Margaret was either ignoring him on purpose or was completely oblivious to the fact.
Ava felt her heart clench. She couldn’t bear this.
“Margie, do you want anything from the market? Berries or some bread and honey?” she asked.
Margaret twisted around, gave her a weak smile, and shook her head gently.
“Will she nae get hungry?” Brodrick asked, a worried look on his face as the carriage trundled along the road, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
“If it’s any consolation, I made sure she ate before we left the cottage. I am certain she will let us know when she is hungry.”
Brodrick nodded as if that made all the sense in the world. He turned his eyes back to the road, but Ava could sense the question lingering in his mind. Before he could lose his courage, he turned to her again.
“And what about ye? Are ye hungry? Is there anything ye want to get at the market? Fish? Bread?”
Ava felt a flush crawl up her face. She was rarely asked that question, especially by men. One look at her and they always assumed she had eaten something. Or that with her size, she could go for days without eating and she wouldn’t even know it.
Something about the way Brodrick asked that question sent chills down her spine. The good kind. He looked earnest and sincere. It was blatantly obvious from the curious arch of his eyebrows and the intense look in his hazel eyes that he was being genuine.
“I am certain when the time comes, I shall decide,” she responded, resisting the urge to smile.
Brodrick turned and fixed his eyes back on the road. Silence fell over them again, and as they rode, Ava couldn’t help but wonder how many days they were going to spend in the carriage before they arrived at his castle.
She had heard of Laird MacDunn through whispers and rumors. She knew what he was capable of. It was just incredibly hard for her to believe that the same man who had been categorically described as a nightmare to her over the years was sitting beside her, asking what she wanted to eat.
Had finding his daughter softened him up, or had rumors about his escapades been greatly exaggerated?
* * *
Several thoughts were swirling in Brodrick’s head as he bobbed and swayed to the sometimes harsh movements of the carriage. What would his kinsmen say when he arrived at the castle with an English lass accompanying his daughter? Will they despise him for it or chalk it up to a father being desperate to do anything for his daughter? Margaret did not trust him, but she trustedher.
His eyes flicked to Margaret again, whose eyes remained fixed on the road, as if she was on the lookout for something and hadn’t found it yet.
He then glanced at Ava, whose eyes were on the road as well. He watched how she gently swayed to the movement of the carriage as well, how the red in her hair caught the bright rays of the morning sun. When she wasn’t being a thorn in his side, she looked rather peaceful and kind.
He knew better, but something about this moment made him want to discard his initial impression of her.
Ava was anything but peaceful.
The journey dragged on, and soon they rode past two villages, most of which had been completely burned and turned into rubble.
Brodrick swallowed. He did not regret anything he had to do to find his daughter. Not one single thing. Razing these villages led him to her, and if he had to do it all over again, he would not change a single thing. He noticed the discontented look on Ava’s face.
“Ye dinnae have to worry,” he said, meaning to alleviate whatever guilt she felt as she watched the ruins of the villages. “Most of them werenae so innocent.”
