Page 15 of A Virgin for the Beastly Highlander

But he knew it was more than that—Olivia was like a breath of fresh air, so original and sure-minded. She certainly was not the ordinary daughter of a laird and while her skills were a bit…untraditional, he found he preferred them.

A curious knock on his door had him looking up and wondering why the noise had come from the bottom of the door. “Enter?”

Olivia came in, her hands bearing a tray but what drew—and held—his attention was that she was wearing a dove gray silk gown that clung to her slender curves, while over it an emerald tunic shimmered in the daylight, its silken hues perfectly matching the color of her eyes.

His brows lowered, “What are ye doing here? Shouldnae ye be readying for the wedding?”

“To give ye something to eat, of course,” she looked at him as if he was unfamiliar with the idea of food. “And the fitting was already done. Yer seamstresses are working away, and I trust them.”

She placed the tray on the side table and Conner stared down at it as if he’d never seen stew or bread before. “What is it?”

“Stew,” she prodded the bowl and then nudged the platter. “Bread.”

Gingerly, he picked up the spoon, dipped it into the simmered medley of meat and vegetables, and sipped it.

“It’s good,” he mumbled while looking at the broth. “Tis delicious, truly.”

He tore off a piece of the bread and dipped it into the bowl, sopping up some of the broth. Olivia had taken a seat near the window and watched him. “How are the preparations going?”

“Fairly well,” he said, taking another spoon. “Everything is in place. But it will be another day instead of the morrow.”

She settled back, slipping one leg over the other, and Conner glimpsed her shapely ankle. “I’ve seen a few things about the castle that I think ye would like to revisit. The sentries on the battlement’s parapet, they should be in pairs, nay alone. And the timing should be tighter. One guard shouldnae walk here and there, but in measured rotations.”

He shot her an annoyed look. “Me guards are doing everything right.”

“I’m nay saying that,” she gave him a vary look. “But it could be better.”

Conner knew his men, he had trained with them for years and still did. The system his father had put in place had been modified to cater to the newer times, and the frequent uprisings from the English, but they were not on the mainland and were out of the purview of the English attackers. Moreover, their island had four clans who ruled it, his, the McKoys, the Harolds, and the Ungers, but none of them, aside from when the McKoys had feud with him, were hostile.

He looked down at the bowl, nearly empty, and the hunk of bread in his hand. Was this a ploy? “Me men ken what to do. They needn’t any more adjustments.”

“These are just trivial things,” she said. “Alexander the Great changed his tactics to win every war.”

“Alexander the Great conquered and ruled three empires, from Greece to Egypt to the East. He dinnae live on an island in the North Sea with little enemies,” Conner grated.

Her eyes narrowed to slivers, “Are ye always this stubborn?”

“Aye,” he ate the last morsel of bread. “And ye would be wise to learn it now.”

She huffed, “God’s teeth.”

Oddly, Conner felt humored. “If that is all, ye are free to leave.”

“I will nae,” she sat back and crossed her arms. “I’ll stay right here until ye see sense.”

“Well ye’ll be staying the entire day.” he said while reaching for the stack of papers. “Possibly the night too, take pleasure in yer foolishness.”

She pinned a glare on his head but he ignored it, no matter how scalding her look was. She would understand that he did not fold so easily and if she were as stubborn as he was, he wanted to see how long this stalemate would take—and what he would do when she did fold.

Chapter 7

What a stubborn man!

She could not believe that he was happy to ignore her so easily, as if she were not in the room. As hard as she tried to catch his gaze, it was as if she were a spirit. One hour passed, possibly two and he would look right through her and that irked Olivia. She scowled and trained her gaze on the wall.

“If ye glare at the wall any harder, ye will set it on fire,” he murmured.

Her head snapped to him, “So ye do see me.”

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