Page 4 of Auctioned to the Cruel Highlander
“Aye.”
“And yet nay one wishes to hand him a daughter.”
Isobel folded her arms. “That is a cruel way to put it.”
“It is an accurate one.”
“He is steady,” Isobel said. “He is honorable. He protects his people. He takes duty seriously.”
Ava tipped her head. “I didnae say otherwise.”
“Then why do ye sound as though he keeps wolves in his chamber and sharpens knives for pleasure?”
“Because,” Ava exhaled, “he looks as though he might.”
Isobel let out an exasperated breath. “Ava.”
“What?” Ava spread one hand. “Ye cannae expect me to lie simply because I love ye. He is alarming. Every tale that reaches this castle says so. Half the time, he is spoken of as if he were some war-spirit called up from the forest.”
“That is absurd.”
“Aye,” Ava relented. “But absurd things have never stopped people from believing them.”
Isobel leaned forward again, one elbow on the desk. “He is quiet. That is all.”
“He isnae quiet. He is theSilent Death.”
“That is only a name.”
“It is a dreadful one.”
“It isnae one he chose.”
Ava gave her a long look. “Did he object to it?”
Isobel opened her mouth, then closed it.
“That is what I thought,” Ava said.
Bruce, perhaps bored by the lack of proper attention, wriggled free and hopped down to the floor. He wandered beneath the desk and nosed at Isobel’s hem while the two women kept their focus on the papers between them.
For a little while, they studied the names in silence.
Ava read the evidence of the problem more clearly. Real efforts had been made, and real families had been approached.Real refusals had also arrived.
“He frightens them,” she concluded.
Isobel did not answer at once.
“He does,” Ava insisted. “It is the only explanation.”
“He shouldnae.”
“Perhaps nae.” Ava tapped the page lightly. “But he does.”
“I ken what they say,” Isobel huffed.
Ava softened a little. “And I ken ye daenae like hearing it.”
