Page 12 of Auctioned to the Cruel Highlander
To his surprise, she nodded at once.
A faint stir rippled through the hall.
“Ye should choose another,” she added in a rush. “Any of them would make a better wife for ye.”
A wave of shocked murmurs swept through the crowd.
It was clear the other women were shocked that a woman like her had the gall to challenge the Laird’s choice. It was also clear they were all waiting to see how he would punish her.
He held her gaze a moment longer, and then, at the periphery of his vision, he saw Isobel duck her head with a guilty look.
Uh-oh.
He knew immediately that something was gravely wrong.
“Come with me,” he suddenly said, tugging at Ava’s hands.
“What?” she sputtered, resisting.
“I said, come with me.”
Ava couldn’t respond before he led her out of the hall. When they stepped into the passageway, he put one hand on her elbow and gently nudged her forward in the way he always commanded men and women.
“This way.”
He watched the indecision in her eyes before she chose to obey. It was clear she didn’t want to cause a scene. He could, however, feel her reticence, especially in the way she walked and moved her arms.
Behind them, the hall remained full of half-buried attention. No one called after them. No one was foolish enough to interfere.
Good.
A public disruption could still be contained, and that was what he intended to do with this lass.
He led her into a small study off the main hall, shut the door, and let the silence close around them.
It was a plain enough room, useful rather than grand. There was nothing in it but a narrow desk, a chair, and a chest by the wall. The noise outside faded at once to a distant murmur, as if the whole absurd event had been pushed behind thick cloth.
Ava stood at the door, breathing too quickly, her hands curling and uncurling in the folds of her gown.
Ciaran turned to face her.
For a moment, he simply stared at her.
She was obviously distressed, but there was more to it than just alarm. There was a hint of intelligence and hurt pride as well. It was like she was already planning an escape.
He had seen frightened women before. This was not the same creature as the near-fainting lass in the hall.
Ava Fraser was not collapsing.She was scrambling for a way out.
That was different.
“All right. Do ye mind telling me what in God’s name just happened out there?” he asked, straining his voice just a little. Something he’d never had to do in years.
The word landed between them like a dropped stone.
She gulped. “I shouldnae have been chosen.”
He said nothing.
