Page 15 of Highland Vows of Betrayal

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CHAPTER SEVEN

“What is going on?” Noah demanded as he strode into the room.

How can this be happening already?

His breathing was heavy as he marched into the great hall, scarcely able to accept what he had witnessed. From the door, he had seen unmistakable signs of his bride-to-be flirting with his own brother, her hand clasped in his far longer than he considered decent or polite.

She is a flirt!

The woman turned her chin up, seeming irked by the way he stared at her.

“What a welcome!” she said, a sudden amused smile on her lips as she spoke with thick irony. “I dinnae think I have ever been welcomed to a castle before by a gentleman calling on all the demons in hell. Did I drag in such flames from hell when I arrived?” She turned in a circle and looked down at her gown in horror.

Ian began to laugh as he stepped up to join his brother. She was audacious indeed, this Lady Eloise MacLaren.

She is nae what I expected.

“Shall we try this again? Perhaps ye should go out the door and return with something more pleasant tae say?” she suggested. Once more, Ian laughed while Noah stared, his jaw clenched.

“I thought ye said she was mild in manner.” Noah glared accusingly at his brother, who could not control his mirth enough to speak.

“Is that praise or censure, sir?” Lady Eloise questioned.

“It depends.”

Damn; in one respect Ian was right. She is a beauty.

He’d never seen anyone quite like Lady Eloise before. Her auburn hair was dressed into a fine updo, with a few artful tendrils curling at each temple. He had the errant idea of pulling those tendrils, shaking her hair loose to fling it across his pillow.

Stop thinking such things!

Her bold blue eyes flashed at him and wore an amused but maddening smirk. She appeared to enjoy irritating him. He supposed he should be happy that at least she wasn’t the mild-mannered mouse that Ian first presented her as. That would have been dull indeed.

“Ye were charming tae my brother just now,” Noah said, nodding at Ian. “And ye expect me tae welcome my bride with open arms when ye would rather give yer attention tae him?” The lady’s lips parted, surprised at his declaration. “Well, at least the lady can be at a loss for words,” he observed, his shoulders squared back, a superior look on his face.

“Did ye think ye would silence me so easily?” She tipped her head to the side, watching him closely.

“Ye have quite a tongue on ye, me lady.”