Thirty-Eight
Laurel hurried up the stairs to her solar, assuming Brodie was already there since she hadn’t found him anywhere else. She turned on the landing and ran into Colina.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Laurel smiled, but it fizzled at Colina’s look of disgust. It raised Laurel’s hackles.
“You should be,” Colina snapped. Laurel narrowed her eyes.
“I should be what? Which part?”
“Both, I suppose.” Colina sniffed. Laurel was accustomed to the habit now, and she knew it had nothing to do with illness and everything to do with demeanor.
“I ken I’m still new to your clan, so mayhap I must learn that the laird’s family isn’t held to the same high standards as the clans I’m accustomed to.” Laurel looked down her nose at Colina. Then sniffed. “Because I’m certain the wife of the laird’s little brother doesn’t issue commands to the clan’s lady.”
Colina’s back went rigid, and Laurel was certain the woman bared her teeth for a heartbeat. “You’d do well to remember how new you are.”
“And if I should forget?” Laurel taunted. She’d seen Brodie step into the passageway from the corner of her eye. He crept along the wall until he could hide within arm’s reach of the women.
“You seem accident prone, my lady,” Colina mused.
“It cannot be both accidental and intentional.”
“So you say.”
Laurel narrowed her eyes and looked questioningly at Colina, as though she tried to figure her out. “You do understand why something can’t be both, correct?”
Colina sneered, “I’m not stupid.”
“Just lazy.”
“Too good for the likes of you or this clan.”
“But you chose to marry into it.”
“Aye, well, I didn’t get everything I chose.”
“Didn’t you know you were getting the baby brother?”
“I chose a mon determined to lead. I got a milksop.”
“You chose Brodie but got Dominic?” Laurel pretended to sound confused. She was intrigued by what she might learn.
“Nay, you eejit.
Laurel furrowed her brow and looked up at the ceiling as though she was trying to work through what Colina said. “You thought Brodie was a choice. You thought he might marry you.”
“If that’s what I wanted.”
Laurel struggled not to laugh. “You knew Dominic is the younger brother. You believed you could have had the aulder brother. You were certain Dominic was the better leader of the two. Even if he were, what would it matter? You passed up the heir for the spare.”
“There’s a spare for a reason.”
Laurel kept her expression light, but she grew deadly serious. “One person’s accidental is another person’s intentional.”
“Now you understand.” Colina glared at Laurel before offering a sugary smile. “And you do seem accident prone.” Colina tried to step around Laurel, but Laurel shifted to block her.
“And if I’d like to stop being accident prone?”
“It’s not aboot what you’d like.”
