Page 20 of Highland Vows of Betrayal

“Why nae? Ye would laugh if ye stood where I stand.”

“Well, I am standing here and I dinnae like what just happened.” Noah’s eyes shot past his brother, looking down the corridor after Eloise. He shouldn’t be this heated over a woman he just met. He’d felt instant attraction before, certainly, yet this was something different.

Being attracted tae a wife will be naething good. Remember, she flirted with Ian, the wench!

His gaze shifted to Ian, and he felt a burn in his gut. Unsure what the sensation meant, he turned to the mirror and fussed with his hair aimlessly, trying to make it lie flat.

“Noah, ye can see why any bride would be angry, can ye nae?” his brother glanced over his shoulder as if she stood directly behind him. “I dinnae imagine a woman so spirited as she would ever agree to ye having mistresses.”

The words stilled Noah, staring at his reflection, lost in thought. He had no intention of giving up his mistresses. They would keep his heart safe from one woman alone.

“It was a strange meeting with her just now, nae?” Ian said conversationally, shifting to lean against the doorframe. “Aye, awkward. I’d say the lady was nervous.”

“Nervous?” Noah spluttered in surprise. “Ian, she flirted with ye.”

“Is that what it was?”

“Do ye really have such little experience ye didnae see it?” Noah asked in amazement and crossed the chamber to reach his brother, only to find Ian still shaking his head.

“That’s nae what I saw. I saw a nervous lady.”

Then ye are blind.

Noah wished to say much, but he was too fond of his brother to cause arguments where there was no need of them. He satisfied himself by thinking Lady Eloise was a charmer more than he realized, and brave too. It was audacious indeed to flirt with Ian!

If only that audacity could be corralled… The mere thought started an idea blooming in his mind.

“Oh, nae. Nae, I ken that look. What are ye thinking?” Ian lifted a hand to point at Noah’s face.

“What?”

“Ye are up tae something. Ye think I have nae seen that mischievous look all my life? Ye always have it when ye are about tae do something ye should avoid.” Ian warned Noah. “Ye had it the day ye brought frogs into the castle. How about the day ye threw daggers across the great hall, using one of our ancestors’ paintings for target practice?”

“’Tisnae so bad. Let’s just say I have an idea tae perhaps test Lady Eloise’s limits. Tae see what sort of lady she really is.” He folded his arms and stood tall, letting the idea develop. He wished to see her cowed, her gaze cast low. She was nothing like the meek obedient woman he was promised. If he could test her and frustrate her as much as she had frustrated him, that could be entertaining.

“Well, I’d issue caution against the idea, but I ken ye well enough. Ye willnae listen tae me, so I’ll talk of why I really came tae see ye.” Ian rolled his eyes. “I have had a message from our scouts that watch the villages.”

“Aye? What do they say?” Noah paused, relaxing a bit. He’d placed scouts in the villages a few years ago to keep track of any strange doings in the clan.

“A blacksmith came tae one of the scouts with a message. It seems a group of men clad in clan colors has been searching one of the villages, and they werenae subtle about it.” Ian grimaced at the thought. “Nae one kens who they were or why they were there.

“Aye, that’s odd.” Noah nodded slowly, deep in thought. No such report had reached his ears before, no tales of mysterious men in cloaks. “Deliver a message tae the other scouts tae watch out for such men again.”

“Aye, will do.”

Noah walked to the door just as Ian moved out of the way.

“Where are ye going now then?” Ian asked as Noah stepped through. “That mischievous smile is back on yer face. It’s worrying me.”

“Dinnae be worried, brother.” Noah’s smile grew wider. “I am just going tae see my bride. I have something I’d like tae say tae her.”

“The words might be kind, yet when ye say them, I fear they’ll worry me.”

“Ye worry too much.”

CHAPTER NINE

“Nae, nae, this cannae be happening!” Scarlett paced up and down, repeatedly trying to grab the gown and keep it in place. “I didnae see him. I saw nothing of my sister’s betrothed!” But no matter how much she swore her innocence, she couldn't undo what had happened. Her attraction to Laird Chattan had intensified. The muscles she saw in his chest, arms, and legs made him look more like a soldier than a fine gentleman with servants at his disposal.