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Fin chuckled. “Now, we both ken that isnae true,” he said. “But I just want to apologize for me behavior yesterday.”
While still far from looking friendly, at least some of the fire in her eyes dimmed. Ivy’s cheeks lost a bit of their color, and her body seemed to relax - a little bit. Her shoulders were still bunched, and her one hand was still balled into a fist at her side. She gripped her book so tightly with the other, Fin was half-afraid it would crumple like a piece of parchment.
Eyeing him like she would a snake that was coiled and ready to strike, Ivy retreated to her bench and sat down again. A small smile touched Fin’s lips as he looked at her. She was so small and delicate, and yet, she was ferocious and had the heart of a lion. She was not intimidated by him, and he liked that about her. He liked the fire that burned within her. It was surprising to him simply because he found her so disagreeable at times, but Fin thought there was something genuinely compelling about her. He felt drawn to her in unexpected ways.
As she looked at him, the weight of expectation hung heavy in the air between them. She lifted her chin and looked at him icily, doing her best to keep that imperious expression on her face.
“Listen, ye tried tae apologize tae me yesterday, and I acted like a bleedin’ fool. I got ontae ye about things that arenae me business,” he said sincerely. “And for that, I’m sorry. It wasnae me place tae say anythin’ about how ye treat yer staff.”
Ivy looked at him evenly for a moment, and he watched as her face and her posture both softened. The icy demeanor slipped away and was replaced by something warmer and, much to Fin’s surprise, a genuine smile. It was small and a little sad, but it was a smile, nonetheless.
“I accept your apology. Thank you for that,” she said. “And truthfully, you gave me some things to think on.”
“Oh, did I now?” Fin grinned, a bit of a swagger in his words.
“Yes. After I got done being thoroughly enraged by you. But, I must be honest and admit that I never gave much thought to how I treat my staff. And there certainly was never anybody around to call me out on it,” she admitted, her voice soft. “So now that you have, I can see that it was wrong of me because you are right, they are people too. I have made a vow to myself to treat them better.”
Fin chuckled softly. It was strange to him that somebody would have to try to treat people better or treat them like human beings. But he had to admit, growing up a noble, Ivy probably did not have the best examples. Her brother certainly did not seem the type who would associate or look kindly upon commoners. Ivy’s willingness to not only see his point but to promise to do better in her own life, raised the esteem Fin held her in. It showed that she was a good person.
“But,” she said, raising a finger at him. “This does not give you free rein to insult or mock me as you did.”
“Of course not,” he replied. “I will also do my best to treat you better, as well.”
Her lips curled upward, and for the first time in their brief acquaintance, her smile actually reached her eyes. And to Fin, it made her face, or maybe even her entire being, glow brightly. He thought it made her even more beautiful than he already did.
“That smile looks good on ye,” he said. “Ye should dae that more often.”
“Well, my life is complicated, and I do not often have reasons to smile,” she replied. “But I will do my best.”
“We’ve all got things tae work on in ourselves and our lives.”
“Indeed, we do.”
Fin stared down at her, looking deeply into her eyes for a long moment and felt a ball of warmth form inside of him. It quickly spread through his body as he held her gaze and sent tendrils of strange, tingling energy crawling across his skin. As he felt his stomach churning, he felt their gaze lingering a little too long, and he felt awkward. He looked away quickly and cleared his throat, gathering himself before he turned back to her.
“So, can we call a truce between us then?” he asked.
Her smile was warm and genuine. “Yes, I think we can do that.”
Fin nodded. “Good. That’s very good.”
