Page 32 of Trapped with the Vicious Highlander
“Well, next time I will let ye have the floor. How about that?”
“You, My Laird, are quite unbelievable, do you know that?”
Silence fell over the dining hall. The maids disappeared one by one after they had made sure everyone had been properly served.
“Why dinnae we begin? Uh… Braither, will ye say grace?” Flora asked, swallowing.
“Nae feelin’ very graceful at the moment,” Brodrick muttered, his eyes narrowing on Ava.
Ava looked down at her plate, unblinking, her eyes reflecting the candlelight.
“Very well. I shall say it, then,” Flora whispered.
Ava could hear the mild exhaustion in Flora’s voice but refused to acknowledge it.
Flora’s voice droned on in the background as Ava drew her knife against her fork.
Brodrick couldn’t take her eyes off her. His gaze roved over her clavicles and chest, which heaved up and down as she managed to contain what he assumed was her anger. His eyes lingered a bit too long on her collarbone, and for the briefest of moments, he wondered what it would feel like to touch it.To lick it.
“Amen.” Flora’s voice rose again, cutting through his thoughts.
He took a helping of the food and felt the juice of the venison burst across his tongue as he chewed slowly. His eyes remained fixed on Ava, who took a bite and chewed.
Whatever was going on between them was more than these petty arguments, he knew it. It felt like there was a basket of apples hanging above both of them, and flames were licking at the bottom of the basket. Any moment from now, the flames will weaken the basket and the apples will fall right on their heads.
He couldn’t wait for the pressure between them to come to a head. There was just something about Ava that unsettled him. She wasn’t like any other woman he had encountered, and he hated that she had such an effect on him. He hated that she made things a challenge and the fact that she always made him stand on his toes around her.
“Whatdidhappen between ye and the men in the courtyard?” he finally asked after watching her take a sip of ale.
Ava threw her head back. “Of what importance is it to you? Why do you so desperately want to know what transpired between us?”
“Because I ken me men, and I ken how they can get, especially when…” he trailed off.
Ava narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“I just need to ken if they teased ye about yer?—”
Ava dropped her fork. “Good Lord.”
Flora tried jumping into the conversation. “Why dinnae we finish the food and?—”
Ava was no longer listening. “Is that how you see me? As a victim? You think I haven’t heard people talk about my size behind my back and right in front of me? You think I haven’t had to develop a thick skin because of the remarks I’ve heard in the past few years?”
“Ava—” Flora tried.
“Wait.” Ava held up a hand. “Is that why you insisted on me notwandering?Because you didn’t think I would be able to handle remarks about my body?”
“Aye! Alright?” Brodrick snapped, letting his fork slip from his hand. “I brought ye here to take care of Margaret. How will ye be able to do that if ye’re being mocked?”
“Mock—” Ava inhaled sharply, feeling her anger grow to a boiling point. “You are the most reprehensible?—”
“Can ye both leave the dining hall? Go settle this in the study if ye have to, but I willnae have ye both bitin’ each other’s heads off in front of the bairn,” Flora interjected rather sharply.
“Fine by me,” Ava huffed.
She threw her napkin on the table, and they both made their way out of the dining hall. She entered the study first, and then Brodrick followed, shutting the door behind him.
“Do you ever hear yourself when you speak, My Laird?”
