Page 80 of Trapped with the Vicious Highlander
“I dinnae want ye to go,” Margaret sniffed, hugging her even tighter.
“I wish I could stay, Margie. But I can’t.”
As a footman loaded her box into the carriage, Ava looked to Flora for help. She got it immediately.
Flora scrambled forward to grab Margaret. “Come on, child. We must let the governess leave now. The sun is beginnin’ to rise.”
It took quite a bit of strength to finally peel Margaret’s arms from around Ava’s waist, and there was quite a dampness in the spot she had buried her face in.
Ava looked up at the castle one more time. At the smoke rising from the chimneys and into the grey morning sky. She would always carry the memories of this place with her. She would always remember standing in this very spot for the first time, feeling all those eyes on her.
“I dinnae ken why Brodrick isnae here. I knocked on his door several tomes, but he didnae respond.”
Ava laughed. “It is quite all right. He’s done enough already.”
Of course, it wasn’t all right. It was far from all right. Brodrick couldn’t afford to watch her leave, so he remained hidden in his room. He had ordered a guard to escort her carriage though because, according to Flora, he did not want her to journey through the woods alone.
That was fair.
Even as Ava made her way to the carriage, she knew. She could feel his gaze on the back of her head, hot and thrilling. He was watching her from somewhere in the castle, and she just couldn’t tell where.
She stepped into the carriage, and Margaret stepped forward.
Ava sighed. “You cannot come with me, Margie. We have talked about this.”
Without responding, Margaret pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to her.
Ava took it, a surprised look on her face. On the parchment were names of animals, written just as she had done on their way to Castle MacDunn.
“For yer journey. So ye can cross off the animals ye see on the way,” Margaret whispered.
Ava blinked back tears and gripped the parchment even harder. “Thank you, Margie.”
Margaret stepped back as the carriage started to move.
One last wave, one last tear, one last look at the castle, and then Ava turned around, wiping the tears from her face.
It was for the best.
Everything was for the best.
The journey back to the border felt longer, and by the time they drew closer to the orphanage, Ava realized why. She had no one to talk to. The last time she was talking to Margaret, and when she wasn’t, she was ogling Brodrick out of the corner of her eye, watching his every movement.
Thoughts of Brodrick consumed her as the wheels rolled along the rocky path, leaving a brief trail of dust behind.
The Highlander didn’t just come into her life. He broke in. He destroyed the walls she had spent quite a while building up after the ordeal with the Viscount and had made her feel loved. Worshipped. He treated her quite differently than any of the other men in her life had ever done.
“It isnae yer fault if nay Englishman could handle ye.”
She shook her head as his words continued to echo in her mind.
No. This was the logical thing to do. Their arrangement was never permanent. She was only to remain in the castle till Margaret found her voice. And even when the little girl did, Ava didn’t leave until she was sure Margaret was safe, loved, and well cared for.
That had always been the arrangement, and she had managed to fulfill it.
But why did it continue to feel like she had just made the biggest mistake of her life? What was this deep, haunting dread in the pit of her stomach? She tried to convince herself that it was because the carriage wouldn’t stop galloping along the dirt track, but she knew it was much deeper than that. She knew there were some issues she would have to face at one point or another.
As she watched the cottage appear on the horizon, she braced herself. There was nothing she could do now. She was home. She was where she was supposed to be, and all that had happened in the last few weeks was just one long, thrilling adventure that had to—no,neededto come to an end.
