Page 39 of Saved By the Cruel Highlander
Holly would have done it if she were alone, but she had committed herself to the Laird. If she didn’t follow through, then she still had Felix to deal with.
She chewed on the chunk of bread she had dipped in the soup.
“Aye, ye are right,” she told Elias. “It’s very pleasant with more butter.”
“Aye, I always liked loads of butter on me bread when I was a kid, and?—”
The Laird stopped suddenly, and Holly was sure it was because his childhood reminded him of their current predicament—Cole.
As if he sensed it, Cole suddenly piped up, “Me Laird, Sir, McAllister, can?—”
“Just Me Laird is fine,” Elias said.
“Aye, Me Laird, but how did ye get yer big scar?” Cole asked.
Elias shot him a glare, but Cole was too young to notice.
The servants stationed outside the room were horrified as Cole asked the question, and one of the maids covered her mouth with her hand.
“Did ye get them in a fight, Mister Laird?” Cole continued.
“It doesnae matter where I got them,” Elias snapped.
“Aye, it doesnae matter,” Cole repeated. “Did ye fall when ye were as young as me? I fell once and got a bump on me head.”
“Will ye shush the child?” Elias said to Holly.
“He doesnae mean any harm,” she said. “He’s only inquisitive.”
“And I dinnae want an inquisitive child in me dining hall,” Elias warned.
“Ye were the one who joined us,” Holly pointed out.
The tension rose in the dining hall, and the staff all stared straight ahead, but Holly was sure they would be gossiping later about the lady who stood up to the Laird. Would they talk about her positively?
“He’s the one who came into me castle,” Elias shot back.
Holly’s jaw tightened. “And we both ken why that was.”
“Do ye like havin’ scars, Me Laird?” Cole asked. “I like how they look on yer face.”
Elias’s fork dropped onto his plate with a clatter, startling Holly and the two maids stood closest to him. Holly wanted to run to Cole and scoop him up in her arms to protect him from the Laird.
Elias suddenly pushed back his chair and stood up. It rocked backward but didn’t topple over. When he walked toward Cole, Holly almost screamed at him not to hurt the boy.
“It’s nae nice to ask people personal questions at lunchtime,” Holly said quickly to Cole.
Elias had that fire in his eyes. Holly knew he had every right to be angry, but she didn’t know what she would do if he lashed out at the boy.
He towered over him, his face strained. Yet, as he looked down at him, something softened, and the strain around his eyes eased. He reached out a hand, hesitated a moment, and tussled Cole’s hair.
“Nay, I dinnae like havin’ scars,” he said with a growl. “I dinnae like them at all.”
Then, he quickly strode out of the room.
Cole picked up another loaf of bread, chewing on it as he spoke. “I think he was angry with me.”
“Och, he’ll be fine,” Holly said, hoping he would. “Sometimes, people dinnae like to talk about things, and the Laird doesnae like to talk about his scars.”
