He reached out and caught her hand. “Ye cannae leave.”
“Why ever nae?” she asked.
“I told ye that suitors are comin’ to meet ye today,” he answered.
“And ye will tell them that the bride they’re looking for has chosen to lock herself in her chambers.”
“Why must things be so difficult with ye?” he asked with a frown.
“And why is kindness so difficult for ye?” she shot back. “I came to offer a truce, but ye threw it in me face.”
“Yer truce is a tray of tea and biscuits?” His lips curled into a mocking smile.
She tried not to think of how dashing he looked, smiling like that, and cleared her throat.
“I can simply take it back to the kitchens if ye daenae want it,” she declared.
“Nay, nay,” he said. “I will take it. Thank ye.”
She wrung her hands, not knowing what to do with herself as he looked at her. Then, after a short moment, she moved to pour the tea.
He accepted a cup, and they took their tea in silence.
It was not one of those uncomfortable silences where one would hurry to fill it, but one where nothing needed to be said. She wondered how she could feel such comfort with a man who annoyed her endlessly.
“Laird McGhee?” a footman called out. “Laird Douglas is here to see ye.”
“Aye, show him in,” Darragh ordered, rising to his feet. Then he turned to her. “I would thank ye to wait outside until I call for ye.”
“Why? she asked. “Is it nae me he’s here to see?”
“Aye, but I realized after yesterday’s disaster that I must screen the men beforehand,” he said. “I want to see ye married and claim me inheritance, but that doesnae mean I will subject ye to a life of suffering, Talia. I willnae let that happen to ye.”
He regarded her with such intensity that she was inclined to believe him.
“I havenae agreed to marry yet,” she reminded him.
“I ken. I just hope ye keep an open mind when ye meet them. Ye may find a man ye could love in one of them.”
I highly doubt it,she wanted to say, but kept the words to herself and walked out before the first suitor was brought in.
From her position, she could clearly hear everything that was being said, and she had a clear view of Darragh as he welcomed the suitor.
Laird Douglas was tall, as tall as Darragh but broader in an almost frightening way. Howevern his young, handsome face added a boyish charm to his intimidating looks. His unruly blonde locks curled and fell over his forehead in a manner she found endearing. He was dressed fashionably, with his plaid draped over his shoulder and pinned with a gold brooch that glinted.
Perhaps he would be more tolerable than the men she had met yesterday.
“Laird McGhee,” he greeted with a short bow. “’Tis a pleasure to see ye after so many years.”
“Indeed, Laird Douglas,” Darragh answered. “‘Tis good to see ye well.”
“I must admit that yer letter came at a most auspicious time,” Laird Douglas said. “As ye would have it, I am looking for a wife.”
“And how would ye treat said wife, Laird Douglas?” Darragh asked.
His expression was stony, from what Talia could see. If she did not already fear him, she might have actually shivered at the cold look in his eyes.
“I daenae ken what ye mean by that question, Laird McGhee,” Laird Douglas answered with a frown. “I thought I was here to meet yer ward?”
