Page 6 of Addicted to His Highland Bride

Felix smiled stiffly and shook the proffered hand. “Blame my sisters.”

“I saw them nae a moment ago. Och, they look magnificent in those gowns! They must have cost a fair bit of coin, eh?” Kenney winked, but Felix said nothing, prompting Kenney to continue. “Edwina, I must introduce ye to Lady Millar and her sister. Ye’ll adore them.”

So ye can try and coerce Ryder and Angus into one of yer schemes? I daenae think so,Felix scoffed inwardly, as his gaze ventured back toward the beautiful woman.Edwina. A pretty name for a pretty lass.

Her rage seemed to have ebbed, replaced by a confusion that creased her eyes at the corners. Felix could almost see the cogs turning as she tried to piece together who he might be.

“Och, I havenae even introduced the pair of ye!” Kenney smacked his forehead. “Edwina, this is the host of the evenin’, Felix Quinn, the Laird of Moore. Laird Moore, this is me cousin, Lady Edwina Young.”

The moment the words left Kenney’s mouth, Edwina’s eyes widened to the whites in obvious horror. Finally, she knew who he was, and whose vase she had broken. Her beautiful eyes flitted to the stains that covered his shirt, and the pink of her cheeks attempted to match the deep red shade.

“It might’ve been polite if ye’d introduced yerself sooner, Laird Moore,” she mumbled, dipping into a curtsy.

Felix suppressed the urge to reach for her dainty chin, to tilt her head back up so he might look into her eyes once more. “I wasnae given much chance,” he said, putting his arms behind his back for safekeeping.

Edwina visibly bristled, and he braced for what was sure to be another tirade, venting her rage.

“Apologies, I do believe I’ve seen an acquaintance,” Kenney interrupted. “Please, excuse us.”

The heron-like man seized his cousin by the wrist and all but dragged her away, likely to stop her from saying something thathisbusiness endeavors might regret. Felix turned to watch her leave, finding the rear view of her just as pleasing as the front. Truly, she had the most divine curves, as if she had been poured into her gown. His palms itched to rest his hands upon the swell of shapely hips, his arm longing to wrap all the way around her strikingly narrow waist.

As if sensing eyes upon her, Edwina glanced back over her shoulder. Felix’s hand came up in a playful wave, while mischief curved his lips into a smile. It was not like him at all, surprising him as much as it appeared to surprise her. Indeed, he could not deny the satisfaction he found in the ensuing purse of her plump lips, for she looked even more furious that she could not chastise him any longer.

She has a fire in her, that lass.And he feared a spark had blown from her flames, landing much too close to a tinderbox within him. One more breath of her, and there would be a blaze that he would not be able to put out.

CHAPTER4

Down a silent,empty hallway where no other guests had dared to tread yet, Edwina wrestled away from Kenney. Her wrist throbbed where he had gripped her too hard and being dragged this way and that had left her at the end of her tether. Still, he held on, refusing to release her.

“Would ye unhand me, or I swear I’ll bite ye!” Edwina snapped.

Huffing out a strained breath, Kenney yanked her closer. “I’ll release ye if ye promise to behave yerself. Ye’ve nay notion of who that man is, or how valuable he might be to me. I willnae have ye and yer mouth ruinin’ me chances of doin’ business with him.”

“Ye dinnae hear the way he spoke to me! It wasnae even my fault that my wine spilled on him. If he dinnae have such a… such a… broad chest, I wouldnae have bounced off him like a bird off a window!” she muttered, still pulling to free her arm.

During her unceremonious escort through the Castle, her mind had wandered to that broad chest. It had been akin to walking into a solid wall, otherwise she would not have lost her footing. Tall and handsome as the Laird was, she was almost disappointed that he had not tried to lunge to her rescue, preventing her from falling backward. At least, she would have been disappointed if he had not proven himself to be a brute.

What sort of man doesnae tell a lass that he’s the Laird of the Castle? He wanted me to be embarrassed. I ken he did.She tugged against Kenney’s grasp and, at last, he let her go.

“I daenae care if he deliberately clouted ye, Edwina,” he said coldly. “He’s a respected Laird, and ye’re just a lass whose faither used to be an Earl. Ken yer place, or I’ll have to remind ye.”

His harsh retort stung Edwina’s heart. “Aye, and ye wouldnae be an Earl at all if me faither hadnae died, or if a lass like me was allowed to inherit, so daenae forget that either!”

“Just stay out of everyone’s way and daenae get yerself into any more trouble,” Kenney shot back. “I daenae ken why ye even came.”

It seemed her cousin was determined to land as many harsh blows as possible, and that one pinched at her pride. Mainly because he was right—why had she come? She had thought it might be a pleasant distraction from the banality of Beckingdale Manor, where Kenney reigned as a tyrant, but wherever Kenney went, ill luck had a way of following.

“Even if he wasnae the Laird of this Castle, ye’d do well to be polite to eligible bachelors, since ye need to find a husband as soon as possible,” Kenney went on. “I cannae be takin’ care of ye for much longer, so hurry up and serve yer purpose.”

He carried on with a monologue she had heard a thousand times since he took over the Earldom, but she did not hear the rest of it. She had discovered a way to block out the drone of his familiar speech about her being a drain upon his resources and a burden to the Manor. That night, however, it proved to be easier than normal to remove herself from reality.

She concentrated upon the fresh memory of Laird Moore’s face and fine figure. He had a danger to his demeanor that she could not pinpoint, but that did not mean she would cower in front of him. She would have held her ground if Kenney had not hauled her away. If another opportunity presented itself, she would finish what she had begun, regardless of who the fellow was.

The way he smiled and waved like that! The gall of him!She chewed on the inside of her cheek to temper her irritation, though it had an effect she had not expected.

Her mind sneakily began to frame him in a more pleasant fashion, tossing up images of his lips, his brown eyes, his silky dark brown hair. It played the scene as if hehadcaught her before she stumbled, drawing her attention to his broad shoulders and the sculpted muscle of his strong arms; the shape and definition of them visible beneath the thin material of his shirt sleeves. She noted the hard lines of his chest, and the ridges of a honed stomach, though she had only caught a glimpse of the former in the deep triangle of his collar.

“Are ye listenin’ to me?” Kenney’s sharp voice snatched her out of her daydream.

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