Highland Grace Read Online Free Page B

laughed.
    “Boiled or raw,” Branwenn rejoined, the devil
in her eye.
    Maryn laughed so hard she snorted, which
caused his brother to howl even louder.
    Jesslyn’s hand flew to her mouth, hiding a
smile that sent warm sunbeams through Bao’s center, which he
viciously squelched.
    “Now, now, my wee bairns, no one is eating
hooves or toads, so cease this silliness and find your seat
at the table,” his grandmother said as she pressed her hands into
the curve of both their backs and urged them forward. “Daniel, will
you escort your wife and Jesslyn to the table?”
    Bao reached around his grandmother and tugged
on his sister’s straight black locks that had grown past her
shoulders in his absence.
    “Ow! Stop that you buffoon!” she yelled and
slapped at his hand.
    His grandmother halted and grabbed a fistful
of each of their outer clothing, forcing them to stop their forward
motion as well. “Branwenn, that was extremely unladylike. Beg
forgiveness from your brother for raising your voice.”
    “But Grandmother Maclean, he started it! He
pulled my hair!”
    “You are my ward and I’ve promised to train
you to be a lady. A lady may not have control over another’s
actions, but she most assuredly has control over her response. You
have just shamed me with your behavior.”
    Branwenn’s eyes got misty as bright flags of
fury—and no doubt mortification, Bao was sure—slashed across her
cheeks, but she blinked away the tears and turned to him. “I’m
sorry I yelled at you, Bao,” she said in a strained voice.
    Bao felt horrible. He’d just been so happy to
see her and had fallen easily back into his life-long habit of
teasing and tormenting her. But, his grandmother was right. He’d
asked her to train his sister so that she could make a good match
for husband, and he must learn to treat her differently, at least
in front of others. “‘Twas I who was wrong to treat you as a bairn,
when ‘tis so obvious that you are a young lady now. I beg your
forgiveness.”
    Branwenn nodded.
    Bao looked into the sad, purple pools of his
sister’s eyes and resolved to spend some time with her alone as
soon as they could arrange it. He needed to soothe his niggling
worry and conscience that his sister was not settling in here.
    His grandmother lifted her hand to his
sister’s fiery cheek and pressed a kiss to the other one. “That was
as gracious an apology as I’ve ever heard. You’re a beautiful young
lady, I simply want your behavior to match your appearance.”
    “Aye, Grandmother,” she said and leaned into
her embrace.
    “Shall we join the others at the table then?”
Bao asked. Maryn, Daniel, and Jesslyn had discreetly left the three
to their discussion and had already settled at their places.
    “Aye, let us dine,” his grandmother said.
“Otherwise, we all may become so hungry we’d eat
hooves.”
    Bao and Branwenn grinned at her jest. This
time, Bao moved between the two ladies and led them toward the
others. He gently held his sister’s delicate-boned, tiny hand in
his beefy, calloused one and the warm glow that filled his heart
expanded further.
    After seating his grandmother, he settled his
sister onto her stool and bent low, whispering in her ear, “Will
you take a walk with me after we break our fast?”
    Branwenn nodded. “Aye.”
    He took the place his grandmother indicated,
the same place he’d had when he’d been here last summer. Next to
Jesslyn. All right. After the meal, after the walk with
Branwenn, I’m gone from here. Before he could stop himself, he
stole a glance at her. Why did she have to wear the same damned
gown she’d worn the day he’d plundered her?
    As if his sister had read his mind, she
leaned around him and said to Jesslyn, “The silvery-blue of your
gown makes your eyes even bluer. You look lovely.”
    Jesslyn’s gaze lifted from her seemingly
intent study of the trencher. “My thanks. Malcolm, my late brother
bought the material for me with his earnings in the