Chapter 9 #2
Talia laughed again, her cheeks turning even redder, and Darragh wondered what they were discussing. Was Hayden perhaps flirting with her?
Devils!
He needed to hear what they were discussing, but how could he? If he rose from his seat, he would draw attention, and she would no doubt be incensed at him for interfering.
His hand twitched on his lap, clenching and unclenching to work off the emotions warring within him. His blood began to pound in his ears, growing louder by the second as he watched them.
What was it about Hayden that made her smile at him like that? She had never smiled so coyly at Darragh or even looked at him with such interest.
He wasn’t jealous, but he had been the one caring for her all this time. Wasn’t he worthy of the same pleasantness?
She laughed again, and before he could stop himself, he rose to his feet and stormed towards them.
“Leave,” he ordered.
“Pardon me?” Talia sputtered, looking up at him with a frown.
Her green eyes were blazing with fury, even though her voice was perfectly even. She had every right to be upset at him, but he did not back down. He glared at Hayden, and he mentally patted himself on the back when the man released Talia’s hand.
“I asked Hayden to leave,” he clarified, turning to her. “Since he cannae help but put his hands on ye in such an improper manner, I must ask him to leave.”
“But he has done nothing wrong!” she protested, rising to her feet.
Darragh said nothing more. Instead, he turned back to Hayden, who was still sitting, albeit with a frantic look on his face. At Darragh’s scowl, he hastily rose to his feet.
“I apologize for leaving so quickly, Miss Collins,” he said with a quick bow. “But I just remembered that I am expected home early today. It was a pleasure to meet ye. I look forward to our next meeting.”
“Hayden, wait!”
But it was too late, as the man all but ran out of the hall.
“I cannae believe ye embarrassed him so.” Talia turned to Darragh with a frown. “He was by far the most interesting suitor ye’ve brought me, and ye chose to do this? Why?”
“He put his hand on ye in a most disrespectful manner,” he answered, turning away from her. “It was me duty as yer chaperone to ensure ye are treated respectfully, as befitting me ward.”
“Is that the only reason?” she asked, folding her arms.
“What other reason should there be?” He swallowed past the lump in his throat.
He would never admit to her, nor himself, that he hadn’t liked seeing Hayden’s hand on her because he wished it were he who had such freedom with her.
Talia sighed, sitting back down. “I didnae mind him holdin’ me hand. ‘Twas nae unpleasant, and I didnae mind it so much. If I did, I would have told him so.”
She didnae mind Hayden touching her?
“He was rather pleasant to talk to,” she added.
Darragh felt his ire at the man rise again, even though he had already left. Perhaps he should have warned him never to return.
“And he was rather hilarious as well,” Talia continued with a smile. “I particularly liked the stories of his childhood. I am tempted to visit his clan.”
Darragh gritted his teeth the more he heard her speak of Hayden. He didn’t like how her eyes lit up when she spoke of a man she had just met. Meanwhile, he had been with her all this time, and she never spoke of him with such glee or even laughed with him.
What was it that Hayden had that made her so comfortable with him?
Darragh frowned the more she spoke, and he realized that the only reason he was so incensed was that he was jealous.
He rose to his feet, drawing her eyes.
“Is somethin’ wrong?” she asked, concern lacing her voice.
“Me Laird, Alistair Fraser is here to see ye,” another footman announced.
“Good,” Darragh grunted. “Show him in.”
He turned to leave, but Talia stopped him with a hand on his. Heat traveled up his arm at the contact, and he stiffened. She pulled her hand away quickly and placed it in her lap.
“Where are ye going?” she asked. “Will ye nae chaperone me now?”
“I have work to finish in me study,” he grumbled, not meeting her eyes. “I will send me maither to chaperone ye.”
He briskly walked out of the hall and made his way to the morning room. Thankfully, his mother was inside, busy with her embroidery.
“Darragh, what a pleasant surprise,” she said with a smile. “What are ye doing here, instead of chaperoning sweet Talia?”
He paced the room, unable to keep still.
“I am too busy for such matters, Maither,” he said, harsher than he had intended. “I came to ask ye to take me place today.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Is something wrong, Darragh?” she asked.
“I… She…” He breathed deeply. “I had to force Hayden McFarden to leave because he put his hands on hers in the most unseemly manner and she didnae think to correct him.”
“Is that so?” she drawled.
He frowned at her. “Why arenae ye seein’ the gravity of the matter, Maither? She was behaving improperly and nae like the lady she was trained to be. Ye should understand me.”
“I do understand ye, Darragh,” she assured. “But perhaps ye misunderstood what happened?”
“I daenae ken why I came to ye,” he snapped, storming off.
He didn’t wait to see if she had moved to the Great Hall as he had asked of her, and did not stop until he was finally behind the door of his study.
The realization that all of his frustration and anger at Talia’s suitors was because he wanted her attention for himself was more than he could handle. When had desire taken root in him? Surely he did not like her.
He paced the room, trying to make sense of the feeling.
He couldn’t possibly like her—or any other woman, for that matter. Not when there was still so much he had yet to achieve for his clan. He could not afford to distract himself with such paltry emotions when he had yet to fix the damage his father had done to the clan.
With that resolve, he decided to tackle the mountain of work that awaited him on his desk.
He had already begun making a list of the repairs to be done and had received an estimate from the builders and artisans who would be tasked with the restoration of the castle.
Soon, he would have the money he needed to protect his people, and that would be the ultimate satisfaction for him.
Darragh was engrossed in his work when an insistent knock sounded at his door. He looked up with a frown, wondering who it was.
Cohen would have knocked once and entered without waiting for his permission. Amber and his mother would do the same. Whoever it was must not be someone who frequented his study.
Perhaps it was a maid or a footman come to announce the arrival of another suitor. No matter, he didn’t want to be disturbed with any reminders of Talia for the day.
He ignored the knock and continued reading through the correspondence on his desk. The knock came again, louder, and he frowned.
“Enter!” he barked.
The door opened a crack at first, then a head of red hair peeked inside, then the last person he had hoped to see stepped into his study.
“Me Laird, may I speak with ye for a moment?” she asked.
Devils!