Page 8 of The Iron Highlander
Her sisters all turned at once to Reuben who walked around to the head of the table and the girls got up to greet the Laird.
“Oh, please,” he waved them back down to their seats, “Do nae interrupt yer meal for my sake, good morning, ladies,” he said to her sisters. “Katherine.” He glanced at her and Kate’s jaw tensed for a moment at his choice of her name. “Mother,” Ruben ended his greeting.
“Good morning, son,” Grear said.
“Did ye all sleep well last night?” he asked.
Lily nodded, Willow and Freya answered “Aye”. Rueben turned to Kate as his food was served, their gazes met and she broke it off without so much of a regard for him. She continued at her food while he chatted with his mother across the table, but Kate could almost feel it every time his gaze wandered on her.
She felt it lurking, but she did not afford him the courtesy of reciprocating it, she would not. He would not expect to get that from her, even if it is his house. It was not hard for her to imagine what he thought and probably expected of her and her sisters, given that they were at the mercy of his sanctuary. She was not going to let him rest with the idea that his armless façade was going to be enough.
He asked what the plan was for the day, and her sisters all looked at her. Kate felt her shoulders slump as she knew she had to fight the battle with one arm tied behind her back when she had to let her sisters free into the whatever idea of pastime they could find around. Grear mentioned the peacocks and Willow’s face lit up. Kate was helpless.
She heard as each of them showed excitement at something the woman mentioned was available for them to explore and when Grear turned to her, Kate was forced to give a flimsy response about seeing the garden some time.
“I would like to be excused,” she said as she got up from the chair. She eyed her sisters none of whom looked to be ready to depart the new company, and she curtseyed at the Laird and his mother before stepping away from the tables. Kate made sure not to meet Reuben’s gaze before she turned away.
She heard the sound of the chair shifting at the table and the heavy steps that followed. She had a fairly good idea of who those footsteps belonged to, and they were not of any lady at the table. She stepped out of the dining hall briskly into a large drawing room where she heard her name echo, she did not turn until she felt the hand take her arm. Before she could get too upset about the touch, it grew gentle before he let her go.
“Laird McDonald.”
“Ye must have heard me calling yer name,” he said.
“I must have.”
“Look, I can see clearly that ye are upset,” he said, inching closer towards her and closing the distance between them. “I understand that yesterday I could have handled things better. I could have been more gentle and shown ye that I am not really that kind of a person but –”
“But ye are. There is no need to hide it,” she said.
“I am nae!” He sucked in his breath, quieted as Kate’s reaction showed he was only proving her point. “I am sorry, I should nothave raised my voice. I am nae that kind of person. We got off on a wrong foot, but ye are here, and so are yer sisters. And I am glad that ye still are. I want ye to know that ye all are welcome to stay for however long ye wish ye to, just like mother has said. Feel free to have a taste of the castle and explore,” he said.
Kate chuckled, “Do ye really think that we are that little? I know just yer type, Laird McDonald, but I will not be rude because after all ye have sheltered my sisters and me for the night. We will not be getting a taste of yer castle for long, so ye can rest assured that ye will have it all to yerself again in no time. We will be gone soon, so do not bother trying to prove some kindness that is clearly not ye,” she said, staring right at his eyes as she spoke.
He was silent at her words, staring at her with his brows pinching as though he was searching for something in her gaze, she wondered what.
“Ye do not have to be so cruel,” he said.
Kate chuckled, and broke the stare before she looked back up again, “Cruel, ye say? How am I being cruel if I am only speaking the truth?” she asked. “Ye daenae have to pretend.”
“So ye have assumed the very worst of me from one encounter?” he asked.
He was still playing chase with her gaze and his eyes, and Kate was not letting him have his way. She was not going to let him wear her down with whatever it is he thought that he had.“Before my sisters and I made our way here we’d heard stories, all ye did was lean me even more towards believing that we heard was true. If there is worse than what ye have right now, I do not believe my sisters and I will be here long enough to find out,” Kate said.
“Really? And there is nothing I can do or say to make ye change yer mind?”
“Because ye wish to trap us in yer castle?” she asked.
“Of course not. But given yer current situation, I would like ye know that the McDonald’s castle is always open to ye. So please, will ye forget and forgive my previous display and let me and my family host ye and yer sisters, right?” he said.
It was her turn to fall silent as she stared at him. The two of them remained on the spot for a moment and Kate almost found herself falling for the words, but it would not be. She told herself it would not be.
“Thank ye, but I and my sisters will be looking to move on from yer castle,” she answered she turned around and walked away, leaving him standing alone in the room.
He could not explain what it was or how it was that he wanted to run right after her again and grab her arm and have her turn around to look at him again, even if was to have the same conversation from the beginning to the end, so he would end up losing.
He did not care. He would not care. He watched the woman walk away and Reuben found himself swallowing to catch his breath. He inhaled deeply and his senses almost ran amok as he took in the scent.Lavender.
There was no way this was over.
