“Could ye pour me another cup, Davinia?” Hector asked Davinia, who was almost out of the room.
“And me as well,” One of the elders added, raising his cup.
Davinia turned to attend to them, but as she passed by Gawain, he stopped her.
"Why don't ye sit with us, Davinia?" He reached out for her hand, caressing his thumb over the back of her palm.
"Nae, I should nae. I’ve more work to do."
"But ye’re a member of the family, why do ye always exclude yerself like ye’re a servant?"
"Davinia kens she’s nae a servant. She’s the housekeep, and she does her job diligently." Hector shot at Gawain, and this earned him a hard glare from Gawain. "Before ye get me wrong, I only mean that she’s coordinating the servants so well, it is better she stays with them to keep an eye on them."
"So, she stays with the servants, mingles with them even during feasts and events such as tonight's while the rest of her family mingles with the crowd, having the time of their life or do ye care to explain more, Sir Hector?"
"Ye misunderstand me again."
"Well, explain to me. I'll listen, I promise." Gawain leaned forward in eagerness.
"All I’m saying is that she does her job so well that leaving her duties might cause a few problems here and there. Davinia kens she’s a member of the family, and she can sit when she needs to." Gawain's frown deepened, letting Hector know he had said something he shouldn't have.
"When she needs to?"
"Gawain, can ye nae start another argument. We are nae done with one, do nae start another." Caillen tried to shut down both men, but it did not go as he planned as Gawain was determined to get Davinia to sit with them.
He was surprised at how comfortable they had gotten with Davinia being treated like a mere maid. Were she not so humble, she wouldn’t spend all her time doing nothing but pleasing everyone.
"I’m nae starting anything, Caillen. Since I got back, I’ve attended two feasts and not once have I seen Davinia sit with us or even at another table, and none of ye say anything about that. I just think it's a bit unfair for her to be treated like that."
"Davinia is held in high esteem, I can assure ye that, Gawain." Emer rushed in to defend her husband. "Me sister just works more than she plays."
"Nae, Emer. I think ye’ve just gotten used to yer sister as a servant in the background. I mean no disrespect to ye but ‘tis nae fair." Emer flushed at the accusation, unable to say anything to counter Gawain, she sighed in defeat.
* * *
Davinia felt her sister pull her into a seat beside her. "Please, sit with us, sister." Davinia, who had been quiet throughout the whole debate, awkwardly sat next to her sister, looking quite surprised at the turn of events.
She knew Gawain was only fighting for better treatment for her, but she felt he was going to make more foes that friends if he kept on that way. Even when Gawain was still in the clan, before his exile, Davinia knew him as someone who was bluntly honest with his thoughts, and most of the time, his honesty did not sit well with his father. Gawain never did know when to stop fighting, and to Davinia, it seemed as if he hadn't changed in that aspect. Unfortunately, if he continued like that, he wouldn't have as many people on his side as he badly needed. She had to remind herself to talk to him about it.
Caillen took a large gulp of his wine, setting down his cup before he turned to his brother. "Well, now that we have settled that, can we go back to our previous conversation?"
Gawain shrugged in reply. "Fine. Gawain, I need ye to understand that nae one here, seated at this table, wants ye to leave the clan. Even if ye do nae trust them, I’m yer brother and believe it or nae, I want the best fer ye. I want ye to be able to move as freely as ye used to, and that cannae happen if ye continue to antagonize every person who does something ye do nae agree with. What ye did to Hector was rude, and by insulting him, ye’ve insulted me. I cannae just sit and let that go. For the sake of order and peace, I’ll settle fer an apology toward Hector and a promise that ye will be on yer best behavior, Gawain."
"Aye, I agree with ye, brother, but I’ve already apologized to Hector. We even agreed to be friends." Gawain looked at Hector, who nodded, the side of his eyes crinkling as he smiled.
"Ha, I see but ye had nae one to witness that truce. Do it again in front of everyone so when next ye misbehave, I’ll have the freedom to hang ye upside down from a tree fer a day." Gawain opened his mouth to say something, but his brother cut him off by placing a finger to his lips. "Apologize Gawain,” He clenched his jaw and barely moved his lips as he all but commanded him.
"Alright then." Gawain turned to Hector. "Hector, I want to apologize fer me actions earlier. ‘Twas wrong of me to cut into yer dance and insult ye in such manner. I want us to be able to work together not just as clansmen but also as friends who understand each other."
Davinia looked at Hector as Gawain ended his speech. He seemed hesitant at first, looking away for a moment as more eyes settled on him. He couldn’t have liked how Gawain confronted him about how she was treated, apology or not.
And then suddenly, his face brightened, and he smiled. "Ye’ve already apologized…." Hector seemed a little rigid. Davinia knew when his smiles were genuine, but this one felt slightly forced, although what he said next calmed her nerves, "We all make mistakes, but we must learn to forgive no matter how hurt we feel. I’ve no problems with ye, Sir Gawain. I hope we can put this behind us."
"Gladly." Gawain turned to his brother with a brow raised. "Are ye satisfied?"
"Ye could have done better but I’ll accept it fer now." Caillen leaned back in his seat, satisfied that he cleared up any sort of conflict between his men. Davinia hid a small laugh behind her hand at the exchange. Even though Gawain could be menacing, blunt, and rude, he had moments when he could lighten up a room. This side of Gawain was rare for her to see, and it was a breath of fresh air compared to his usual grumpy self.
After that, it did not take long for the table to fall into idle conversations of their own with Flora, Davinia, and Emer huddled together. If Davinia had to be honest, she appreciated Gawain standing up for earlier, it had been a while since she and her sister had time to talk properly, though with Flora in the mix, it was a little awkward for Davinia.
