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Chapter Four
Blair
The man standing before her was beautiful. He was like a prince from a fairy tale, with eyes like the sea on the finest of days and hair appearing golden under the sun’s rays. She could barely take her eyes off him, and yet, he seemed bitter and sad. His smile didn’t reach his eyes. The way he spoke with his father was filled with anger and remorse. Blair didn’t know what dark cloud hovered over him, but she wished to be the one to take it all away, to bring a true glimmer of joy to those beautiful eyes.
“Father has decided to provide his whore with lodging at our grand estate.”
Blair frowned. Her gaze darkened, and she decided whatever lovely thoughts she had about him, she promptly took them back. His mouth hung open as if he was shocked by his own words.
“Either that, or he’s decided to take in beggars off the streets.”
Blair gasped, bringing a hand to the old wooden brooch keeping her cloak together at the nape of her neck. The lady before her smirked while Daniel’s mouth hung open. “Excuse me, sir,” Blair said while stepping forward and shoving a finger in his face. “But I am no mistress, and I am no beggar. Yer father came to—“ Her mouth clamped shut as she remembered she wasn’t supposed to mention any word of the laird’s illness to anyone in the castle.
And she was beginning to understand why.
His son was cruel and foul-mouthed, while Lady Alisa seemed judgmental. There was irritation lurking behind those eyes. Blair didn’t know if it was due to her attire or because the laird had deemed her worthy enough to take in. Only Daniel seemed kind, yet he stood, looking between them with his mouth hanging open in horror.
“Ye take that back,” said Laird MacBean. “Miss Blair has been nothing more than a kind soul.”
Aindreas chuckled, flashing a cruel smile toward her and making her want to wrap her tiny hands around his throat and throttle him. “Why should I take back what we all know to be true, Father?”
“Because it’s not, lad!” the laird shouted, making Blair flinch as it echoed throughout the hall.
Aindreas scoffed. Any beauty Blair saw within him died within those short few moments, and all she could see was a sorry excuse of a man. Perhaps, he was more like the prince from her Mamó’s story than she thought. He lacked the prince's beauty with his hateful words, yet he also seemed to lack the love and joy of family. Already, within a few short moments of her being at Castle Lachlan, Blair could see the hate and the anger between the MacBeans. She didn’t know how much longer she could withstand it.
“I beg to differ, Father.” Aindreas gestured towards her, looking her up and down. Blair’s hands clutched at her body while his gaze raked over her. Her face flushed, feeling as if he was undressing her with those cerulean eyes of his. “Well, at least I can applaud ye on yer tastes. She sure is bonnie, Father. Mother would be indeed quite jealous.”
“Yer a cruel, spiteful, empty shell of a man, now aren’t ye?” Blair said, her voice nearly a shout while she stepped towards him. “And I will not have ye talk like that to me.” She ran her hands down her dress. “So what if I may not dress like ye? So what if I may be poor? At least I learned how to treat people with the respect and kindness they deserve.” She looked him up and down. “And what of ye? With yer nice clothes and yer fancy castle. Yer nothing more than a spoiled brat tugging at yer father’s tartan.”
Aindreas closed the distance between them. “Oh really?” He tilted his head to the side. She felt a spark within her, heating her insides as he gazed down at her. The young man glared at her with both wrath and a hint of yearning. She didn’t know if it was a yearning for her or a yearning for her to be gone. “Is that what ye see me as?”
Blair’s face heated. She was too close to this man. Fear made her tremble, and her bravery dissipate. She didn’t know what she was more concerned about: what he would do or the impact his gaze had on her.
She swallowed the fear in her throat and leaned towards him. This man wasn’t going to get the best of her. It didn’t matter if he was the laird’s son. He shouldn’t treat others like they were nothing more than a rat to be squashed, even if they were below his station. “Aye, that’s what I think of ye,” she said while closing the distance between them. She tried to ignore the fact their noses were nearly touching or that he smiled quite nicely. “I am no beggar. And I am most definitely not a mistress.”
Aindreas tilted his head back, bursting into a fit of laughter that echoed through the hall. Blair looked around, feeling very conscious of their argument in front of not only the laird and his family but several servants. “I like her, Father. Yer mistress definitely is interesting.”
Blair’s hands fisted. “Why ye—“ She moved towards him, not knowing exactly what she was going to do. Interest peaked in Aindreas’s gaze. His lips parted, and she couldn’t stop herself from watching his tongue slide against his bottom lip. She raised her fists, wanting to yell at him, scream at him to stop being so cruel to her.
Before she could do anything, Daniel grabbed her and pulled her towards him. His hand rested against her clenched fist, and he patted her shoulder. She jerked towards him, feeling wound tight and on defense. What terrible place had the laird taken her to? She wanted to go home. She wanted to be somewhere people were kind. Loneliness had been better than this Hell he had taken her to. Tears prickled her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away, feeling her body relax in Daniel’s arms.
“Ignore him,” Daniel said while flashing her a sweet smile. “He is not worth yer ire.”
Aindreas groaned while massaging his temples. When he dropped his hands, he met her gaze, appearing regretful, which made her even more confused about this beautiful man. “I didn’t mean to—“
“Maybe ye should think before ye speak, Aindreas,” said Daniel with a dark scowl. “Then ye wouldn’t find yerself in so much trouble.”
Aindreas scoffed. “I do—“
“Aindreas,” Laird MacBean said while pinching the bridge of his nose, his tone nearly a shout. “I don’t want to hear another word out of ye, lad.”
“But—“
“Ye have been acting lack an immature arse since I returned. Must I have ye whipped?”
The tension in the air chilled as if frozen over, and Blair was worried about what to say or do next. “I’d like to see ye try, Father,” Aindreas spat.
Laird MacBean shook his head, shoving a finger towards the hall’s entrance. “To my study. We must have a serious discussion about yer actions.”
