Page 76 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
What was happening?
She could hear the footsteps stop at some point, and then a ripping sound, as if someone was tearing something into pieces, pierced the air. She rose to her feet and waited, exchanging glances with some of the concerned maids who had also made their way to the dining hall.
“What is happening?” she called, staring at her maids and waiting for them to give her a concrete explanation.
“’Tis the Laird, M’Lady,” one of them responded, her voice sharp and laced with the same worry she had on her face.
“The Laird? What is he doing?”
“He’s with his man-at-arms,” the maid elaborated.
Keira shot Shona a shocked look as the footsteps picked up again, and only after the mention of the man-at-arms was she able to deduce that there weretwopairs of footsteps.
“What are they doing?” she pressed, feeling her heart pound in her chest.
The tearing sound continued to echo through the castle, almost loud,wrong, and with practically no regard for anything.
“They’re—” The maid broke off as anotherrippierced the air. “They’re pulling down the tapestries, M’Lady. The two of them. They’re both tearing them apart.”
Keira swallowed, listening to the sound grow even louder and closer. Soon, she sawhimby the doorway, sword in hand and the most tense expression she’d ever seen on his face.
He walked in, his dark brown eyes fixed on her, unflinching and unyielding. He pulled out his sword again, not bothering to look at Shona or Tommy even once. Keira, fear trapped in her throat, gathered every ounce of her will to resist the urge to take a step back.
He moved closer to her, the handle of his sword gripped tightly in his hand. Then, he turned away from her, his eyes settling on the large tapestry that hung in the middle of the dining hall and dropped down just a few inches away from the table. He raised his sword and, in one fell swoop, slashed at the tapestry. It tore into two, and the other part fell slowly and rather dramatically on the table, right between the lettuce and the cheese.
Keira stared at it, and then back at him, as if he’d just done the unthinkable.
“Nay more of this,” he declared, his voice rough and dangerous.
He then moved even closer to her, and she could smell his sweat and feel the heat that radiated from his body. His forearms glistened in the overhead sunlight, and it took every ounce of herself-control not to reach out and touch them or even linger too much on them.
His eyes locked onto hers again, and she swallowed because he did the same. She could see the brown flecks in his eyes, and it was almost like they came to life when he spoke.
“Nay more borders.” The words came out slowly, as if they’d been waiting on the tip of his tongue for what must have been the longest time.
Keira swallowed and watched him turn around. Just as he had come, he left almost immediately, his man-at-arms hot on his heels.
She was left alone one more time with Shona and the few maids who stood around to watch, some out of loyalty and others out of curiosity. She could hear his footsteps grow distant and more tearing sounds as he moved. He was pulling down the other tapestries as well.
She finally exhaled and pulled out her chair one more time before lowering herself into it. She had seen it in his eyes—the pure determination. The fact that she might have gone too far with the tapestries and he’d had enough of it.
She wanted to speak, wanted to tell him something—anything—but words had failed her at that very moment, and she was absolutely certain that she knew why.
But he was right. He had truly said it, and now she knew she had no choice but to completely stand by it. She had thought about pulling down the tapestries anyway, but he did it because he’d had enough.
And frankly, she was beginning to grow tired of this back and forth as well. One thing was certain, though, and he had said it in no ambiguous terms.
Nay more borders.
27
Evander tossed and turned in his bed, the troubling thoughts in his head growing louder by the second. He was tired. He was done with everything. The borders, the silent treatment. And then she had informed him that she would not be attending the cèilidh anyway.
There was only so much he could take, and Keira was beginning to affect him in more ways than one.
What was the point of the cèilidh if she wouldn’t even be there to see it in the first place? Could he still do anything to change her mind?
Not that he knew of. It had been almost two days since he cut down the tapestries, and Keira hadn’t spoken to him about it yet. She always craftily avoided him one way or another, getting pulled into something at the very last minute whenever he tried to approach her.
