Chapter 10
Ava woke to the bright sunlight filtering through the window. She blearily peeked her eyes open to find that her husband had not stayed the night with her. She really should not have been as disappointed as she was in the fact. She wanted her freedom, did she not?
She looked out the window to see the snow covering the grounds, exactly as she had expected. A smile slowly spread across her face.
Nathan will be so excited.
Mary knocked on the door and let herself in. “Me Lady, I’ve just come to check that ye’re all right. Ye’ve slept through breakfast.”
“Aye, I’m all right, Mary.” Ava smiled at her. “It was just a long few days, and I needed rest.”
Suddenly, she remembered she was supposed to meet Finlay.
“Ach! What time is it?” She bolted out of bed to change. She was still in the gown from the night before!
“It’s half past nine, me Lady,” Mary replied, her brow furrowing in confusion.
“Bollocks! Can ye help me get ready? I’m going to be late!” Ava was hopping up and down, trying to wiggle her dress down over her hips.
Mary’s lips twitched. “Aye, of course, me Lady. But late for what?”
“I’m meeting with Finlay to discuss… well, never mind. I’m just late! Please help!”
Mary shook her head as a laugh escaped her lips. “Ye just need to stay still and stop hoppin’ like a jack rabbit, and I’ll undo yer laces.”
She helped Ava undress and then laced her into a fresh gown embroidered with gold and silver thread. It glittered in the sunlight. Ava loved it. Without meaning to, she found herself wondering if her husband would like it too.
Blast him. She. Did. Not. Care.
She should focus on something else.
“Mary, I’m starved. I’m afraid I’ll waste away if I daenae eat,” she whined.
Food was more than just food to Ava; she adored it. notShe was known for becoming a right holy terror when she missed even one meal.
“Well, it’s a good thing I brought ye breakfast, me Lady.” Mary winked as she smoothed down Ava’s skirts. “If ye sit here and eat at yer vanity, I’ll style yer hair.”
“Mary, ye’re a lifesaver! Thank ye, thank ye, thank ye!” Ava pulled her into a hug and then promptly did as she was told—perhaps for the first time in her life. “Also, stop calling me by me title. Ye cannae be much older than me. Please, call me Ava,” she added around a mouthful of eggs.
“I am sorry, me Lady, I am afraid I cannae do that. But thank ye for being so warm, I appreciate it.” Mary gave her a small smile through the mirror.
“Ye’re nae denying just because ye’re afraid of the Laird, are ye?”
Mary looked away. “Of course nae, me Lady. It just would have nae been proper.”
“I see,” Ava said chewing slowly. “Well, thank ye for yer help anyway. I daenae usually behave like this,” Ava said while chomping on a sausage.
“Of course, me Lady.”
All right, she’d have to work a bit harder than that to make the servants comfortable around her then.
A few minutes later, she was thoroughly stuffed while Mary proudly eyed her dainty half-updo.
“However did ye manage that?” Ava asked, examining the delicate braids that crowned her head.
“I have little sisters,” Mary explained. “We often have fun braiding each other’s hair.”
“Sisters are the best.” Ava smiled sadly. She desperately missed her sisters, but in a way, she was here to protect Thalia, so it would have to do.
Shaking her head to clear it, she thanked Mary and then made her way out of her room to meet Finlay. She found him leaning against the wall opposite the door, waiting for her.
“Ye’re late,” he chided, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Ye sound like yer braither,” Ava muttered.
“Still, when ye agree to something, the least ye can do is show up on time.”
His long hair hung around his shoulders, and a few errant strands brushed his square jaw. He was a handsome man; she could not deny it. But seeing him did not spark something inside her the way seeing Caden did.
She felt herself blush.
“Ye didnae show up to our wedding at all, Finlay. I daenae want to hear a peep!” She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him.
He put his hands up in surrender. “All right, ye win. Can I take ye on a turn about the castle, me Lady?”
He offered her his arm, and she took it. They slowly walked through the halls, their footsteps quietly echoing off the walls.
They spent the first few minutes in an awkward but companionable silence. She could sense him gathering his thoughts, so she kept silent.
Eventually, when they crossed into the west wing, he turned to her and said, “Listen, Ava, I need to explain in detail why I couldnae marry ye.”
“All right, go ahead then,” she encouraged him.
Finlay let out a sigh and rubbed his head. “Ye see, I thought ye would be better off with me braither.”
Ava stopped in her tracks. Finlay knew she hated it when people made decisions for her. Still, she waited for him to continue.
“And, I was afraid. I couldnae get married, and I didnae want to hurt ye. If word got out that I spent the night with one lassie or another, I did not want ye to be humiliated or ashamed of me.”
Ava felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She forced herself to breathe slowly. “We discussed that when we agreed to marry. I told ye I daenae care who ye sleep with or what other people think of me.”
“I ken, but it was also unfair to ask ye to marry me when I knew ye could never be truly happy. And Caden… well, he was lookin’ for a wife anyway.
I ken ye needed yer uncle off yer back, and Caden is a good man.
He’ll take care of ye like I couldnae.” Finlay pressed his lips together, shifting from one foot to another.
“I simply cannae understand why ye thought ye could make this decision for me, Finlay,” she chided, and he hung his head. “Ye’ve ken me since we were bairns. Ye ken better than everyone besides me sisters that I need to make me own decisions.”
Finlay nodded. He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.
“I’m nae like Emma, kind and flexible. Or like Thalia, open and enthusiastic about whatever life throws her way.
I’m very set in me ways, determined to live the life I dreamed of.
With my little animals and the peace and quiet of nae running a household, let alone an entire clan!
It was unkind and wrong of ye to take me freedom and agency away from me. Ye didnae even warn me.”
Tears welled up in her eyes and she took a deep breath to calm herself before she cried.
She was still frustrated, but she had to admit, Finlay’s plan made sense.
And, in a way, being married to Caden was much better than being married to Finlay, or any other man her uncle might have chosen.
Not because she wanted him, of course, but because…
well…he could carry her around, that should count for something.
Finlay reached out a hand, and she took it. He ducked down to her height and looked her right in the eye. “Ava, I am so sorry I disappointed ye. I was a coward.”
Ava swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“Thank ye. Ye ken, I told ye I daenae blame ye, nae truly. I am frustrated, and scared, but I understand. It was unfair of me to expect ye to marry me when I kent ye daenae want it.” She gave him a small smile.
“Thank ye for helping me weather me uncle’s insane demands.
And thank ye for findin’ a way to get me out of marryin’ some strange old man. ”
“Ye’re welcome. Now, do ye forgive me?” Finlay pushed his bottom lip out so far that it was comical.
She resisted the urge to laugh as she tapped a finger against her lips. “Hmm, nae sure yet.”
She gave him a teasing smile, before he pulled her into a hug. It felt warm, familiar, and comforting in the whirlwind of emotions of the past several days.
“Daenae stop on me accord,” Caden’s voice tore through the air behind them, low and lethal.
Ava’s heart skipped several beats.
Finlay jumped back as if she had burned him, leaving a current of cool air in his wake. She rolled her eyes at him.
Then, she turned to face Caden. “I’m so happy ye could join us, husband.”
Caden opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Nathan, who chose that moment to rush toward them in the corridor. Finlay and Ava both knelt to greet the boy, but he ran past them to the window. He clapped his hands together and pointed at the snow outside, squealing in delight.
Ava was so relieved that the child was oblivious to the tension he broke. She was also pleased that he was warming up to her.
Walking up behind him, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Ye want to go play in the snow with me?” she asked.
“S-s-snow,” Nathan whispered to the window in a low, sweet voice.
Ava froze and looked back at Caden and Finlay, who seemed just as shocked as she was.
Not wanting to scare the little one though, she hurried to reply.
“Snow, it is, then, laddie.”
Nathan clapped again and rushed into her arms. Ava looked up at Caden with pride.
See, ye old beast? He just needs time and encouragement.
Ava took Nathan upstairs to change into warmer clothes before going outside to play. Caden had to admit that he had never seen the boy so happy.
He also had to admit that Ava’s proud look stirred something deep inside him. Something good.
Because the tight hug he had witnessed before Nathan interrupted them had also stirred something. Something hot, dark, and dangerous.
As soon as they were out of earshot, he pinned Finlay to the wall.
“What the hell was that for, Braither?” he demanded.
“What was what for?” Finlay said innocently.
“Daenae play games with me, Finlay. Why were ye hugging me wife?” Caden shook him hard, as if to get the answer out of him.
“Temper, temper!” Finlay teased.
Caden glared at him.
“Speak. Now.”
Finlay threw his hands up in exasperation. “Oh, for God’s sake, man. I was apologizing to her, just like ye asked me to! We made up, and now we are friends again.”
A wave of embarrassment washed over Caden. Instantly, he released his brother and stepped back.
“Ach, well then, I appreciate it.” He straightened his tartan sash awkwardly.
“Well, should ye nae apologize to me for almost killing me too?” Finlay rolled his eyes.
“ Daenae press yer luck, boy,” Caden warned.
“Well, since Mr. Jealousy seems to have taken over yer brain, would ye mind tellin’ me when exactly ye started liking yer wife?” Finlay arched an eyebrow at him.
“Shut yer mouth, Finlay,” Caden grunted, “Ye ken it isnae like that.”
Turning to the window he saw Ava had just stepped outside, carrying Nathan in her arms.
Setting him down, she started to pull a little ball of snow between her arms, making it round and round as she went, till eventually she offered it to the little boy. When he tossed it at her, she laughed and pretended to fall down.
Nathan tried to make a few balls of his own next.
“She’s really good with him,” Finlay noted.
Caden could not reply. He was mesmerized as he watched her falling on the snow and moving her hands and legs up and down to make what looked like a snow angel.
Well, it did not really, but Nathan was very eager to join her, and his little smile was enough to make Caden believe some angel had joined their castle anyway.
“I bet they’ll make a snowman then,” Finlay said. Both brothers watched as indeed, Ava showed Nathan how to make a snowman and forage for his body parts in the garden.
Nathan found a stick that was apparently perfect for their creation. Just as they were walking back to the snowman to put on the piece, he slipped and fell on a patch of ice.
To Caden’s shock, the boy laughed. Ava picked him up and pressed a kiss to his head. When she set him down, he fell again and giggled riotously. Caden watched with clenched fists as they repeated this several times.
Finlay put a hand on his shoulder. “Caden, are ye all right?”
“I cannae watch that and do nothing,” Caden declared.
“Do nothing? Caden! Wait!”
Caden shook off his brother’s hand and stomped toward the garden.