Page 35 of Trapped with the Vicious Highlander
“I said, I didnae say anything. Now, will ye leave me alone?”
Flora sighed and moved towards the door. “’Tis nae yer fault ye’re a clotpole. ‘Tis nae me fault either for havin’ one as a braither.”
“Dinnae speak to me like that,” Brodrick warned in a low voice.
Flora lowered her head before meeting his gaze again. “’Tis whatever ye say, I suppose. She is in her room, is she nae?”
Brodrick nodded.
His mind was still racing with all the questions that plagued him. Why had Ava reacted to him like that? What happened all of a sudden? He hated not knowing the answers to these questions, and he hated the fact that Flora continued to bother him even more.
“I shall go to her room then,” she whispered. “Do ye want to say goodnight to Margaret?”
Brodrick shrugged. There was no point in doing that. His daughter still hadn’t begun to warm up to him. She could do without his presence for the rest of the night.
“Do I bring her to the study?”
“Nay. Take her to her room. I shall speak to her tomorrow.”
Flora nodded. She retreated to the door, and as she reached for the wooden handle, she turned around once again. Brodrick could feel her gaze burn deep into him.
“And ye’re certain ye did nothing to the woman?”
“Flora,” he growled.
She raised her free hand in surrender and walked out of the study. “I have left some venison for ye in the dining hall. Ye still intend to go back, do ye nae?”
“Aye,” Brodrick responded, his voice curt.
Gently, Flora closed the door, leaving him to his thoughts once again, to the overbearing silence of the study, to the pressing question that was slowly ravaging his mind. To thequestionsthat greatly bothered him. The ones he knew wouldn’t be answered today.
For the briefest moment, when Ava left the study, he wanted to run after her. He wanted to follow and ask what had happened. But for some reason, he hadn’t. He had felt she needed the time to herself. Maybe he had inadvertently hit a nerve and she needed to heal without his presence. Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if that had been a giant mistake on his part.
Should he have gone after her? Would that have stopped the confusion fogging his head now?
Trying desperately to quiet the thoughts in his head, he moved away from the desk and headed out of the study.
* * *
Ava stepped into the bath, her mind still hazy from the kiss. Had she really done that? She had really allowed Brodrick to take her, to kiss her. And worse, she hadenjoyedit.
She slowly lowered herself into the bath, the water slowly crawling across her shins, up her legs, and finally stopping right at her shoulders. It had been quite the long day, and if the coldness of the water was going to be of any kind of relief, she was most definitely going to take it.
Her past with men hadn’t exactly been glamorous; there was no other way to put it. She cupped some water and splashed it across her face, her eyes closed, locking away some rather painful memories.
She had decided to close her heart to men long ago, and she had managed to keep it that way for the past few years. So, what was it about Brodrick that upended everything? What made it so easy for him to get right to where she had managed to stay hidden for such a long time? How was he able to break down the walls she had built for such a long time with such demonstrated ease? Was it his body?
No, it had to be more than that. It was something else. Something deeper. Something she was rather scared to admit to herself. She splashed water on her face again, the question continuing to plague her mind.
What is it about Brodrick Culloch?
Was it his protective instinct? Was it the fact that he had been quite gentle with Margaret over the past few days? Was it the fact that he was adamant about not spending one more second without his daughter by his side?
Was it?—
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.
“Who is it?” she called, hoping her voice was strong enough to carry from the bath.
