“Then most men in me position are fools.” Noah leaned back in his chair. “I’ve seen what happens when marriages are arranged without regard for the people involved. Me own parents barely tolerated each other. Me father had mistresses, me mother spent half her time in her chambers rather than face him. Is that what’s best for a clan? Is that what I should wish for Esther?”
“Nay,” Ava whispered. “Nay, of course nae.”
“All I want is for her to be happy. To feel safe. To ken she’s loved and wanted.” Noah’s voice softened. “That’s why I hired ye, Ava. Ye care about her. And that’s worth more than any amount of trainin’ in which fork to use at formal dinners.”
Ava had to blink back sudden tears. “She’s easy to care for. She’s a sweet child, despite everythin’ she’s been through.”
“Aye, she is.” Noah’s expression grew darker. “Though she wouldnae have had to go through any of it if her father had been even half a man.”
This was her opening. Ava took a breath. “Can I ask... what happened with Esther’s parents? Ye said yer brother abandoned her, but...”
Noah’s jaw clenched. “William is me younger brother. Always resented that I inherited the lairdship instead of him, even though I’m the eldest, and that’s how it’s always been done. After our father died, William left. Said he wanted nothin’ to do with the clan, with me, with any of it.”
“And Esther?”
“I didnae even ken she existed until two years ago, when William showed up at the castle with a half-starved six-year-old and a note sayin’ she was his daughter, and he was leavin’ her in me care.” Noah’s voice shook with barely suppressed rage. “Justdumped her at the door like she was unwanted baggage and rode away.”
Fury ignited in Ava’s chest. “What kind of man abandons his own child?”
“The kind who thinks only of himself.” Noah’s hands clenched into fists on the table. “The kind who saw a child as a burden rather than a blessing. I’ve been searchin’ for him. Hopin’ to find him and make him answer for what he did. But William’s disappeared. Could be anywhere.”
“Good,” Ava said vehemently. “If I ever meet him, I’ll...” She stopped, realizing what she’d been about to say. “I’ll have some very strong words for him.”
Noah’s lips twitched despite his anger. “I imagine ye would.”
“How could he just leave her like that? She was six years old! And from what ye’ve told me, he’d been hurtin’ her, neglectin’ her.”
“Aye.” Noah’s voice was granite. “William beat her for stutterin’. Made her feel ashamed of somethin’ she couldnae help. Told her she was stupid, worthless.” His eyes met Ava’s, fierce and full of pain. “It’s taken two years just to get her to believe she’s safe. That she’s wanted. That she matters.”
Tears were streaming down Ava’s face now, and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. “She does matter. She matters somuch. And any man who cannae see that, who’d hurt a child for somethin’ so innocent, he’s nae a man at all. He’s a monster.”
“Aye,” Noah agreed quietly. “He is.”
They sat in silence, both lost in their anger and pain for a little girl who’d been hurt by the one person who should have protected her most.
Finally, Ava wiped her eyes. And then, without quite deciding to, she reached across the table and covered his hand with hers.
“William may be her father by blood, but he’s nae her father in any way that matters. Ye are. Ye’ve given her a home. Safety. Ye’ve given her a chance to be a child again.” She held his gaze, needing him to hear it. “That’s what a real father does.”
Noah went very still. He looked down at her hand resting over his, then up at her face again. The expression flickering in his eyes was something she couldn’t name, too raw to be just gratitude, too guarded to be anything she dared to interpret.
Then his hand turned underneath hers. Slowly, until his fingers closed around her hand and held it.
“Thank ye,” he said quietly. “That means more than ye ken.”
His thumb traced a slow, single line across her knuckles, just like at dinner—deliberate and steady. The warmth of it moved up herarm and continued, settling somewhere in her chest that didn’t really belong there.
Let go.Let go of his hand, stand up, and leave.
She didn’t move. He didn’t release her.
The fire crackled. The library held its breath. Ava realized that the table between them was closer than she needed it to be, and if she didn’t leave soon, she would do something she absolutely couldn’t take back.
But she couldn’t seem to make herself move.
“Ava...” Noah started, leaning forward slightly.
A clock somewhere in the castle chimed the hour, breaking the spell. Ava jumped to her feet, her cheeks flushing.
