She hated that she could not even deny it.
“So I have served beautifully as bait,” she muttered.
Isobel sighed. “That isnae what I said.”
“It is enough.”
“Ava, listen to me. This is a good thing. The room is fuller. The choice is broader. That was the point.”
Ava gave a small, humorless smile. “How lovely. I am glad me humiliation has proved useful.”
“Ye arenae humiliated.”
“I am standing in a bride auction.”
“That doesnae mean ye will be chosen.”
At that, Ava turned fully toward her. The low talk in the hall seemed to recede, and all at once, there was only the one question that had been ringing over and over in her head.
“And ye promise yer brother willnae choose me?”
Isobel answered too quickly, “Aye.”
Ava narrowed her eyes. “Do ye?”
“He would never force a woman who clearly doesnae wish it.”
“That wasnae the question.”
Isobel drew herself up a little. “If ye act as though ye have nay desire to be here, Ciaran will see it well enough. He isnae a brute.”
Ava stared at her.
This wasn’t a reassurance that the matter had been cleared up beforehand. All Ava could hear was Isobel’s confidence in how her brother ought to behave, and she wasn’t sure if that was enough.
“So,” she said slowly, “I am meant to trust that if I look sufficiently miserable, yer terrifying brother shall take the hint.”
“He isnae terrifying.”
“There is a reason he has that name.”
“He was named by fools.”
“Bymanyfools,” Ava pointed out. “And some of them may be excellent judges of character.”
Despite the edge in her voice, Isobel almost smiled. It vanished quickly when Ava did not.
“Ciaran has pride,” Isobel said. “He would never choose a woman who made her disinterest plain.”
Ava looked past her for a moment, over the shoulders and turned heads and carefully arranged composure of the hall. The women here were being assessed.Counted. Imagined into futures that might please fathers, clans, or lairds.
Her skin felt too tight with this knowledge, for some reason. The air suddenly felt too thin for her when she looked back at Isobel.
“Why did ye nae simply tell him nae to choose me?”
For the first time since Ava had started panicking, Isobel looked genuinely uncomfortable.
“I couldnae,” she answered after a moment.
