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“Ye willnae talk to her like that in me presence, under me roof. I willnae allow it for one more second.”
Astrid looked up to see Flynn enter, his face seething with rage as he strode in gallantly and came to stand right beside her. She did not know how this would look to her father, but she knew that if the situation was unsalvageable before, it was completely out of hand now. There was no hope anymore.
CHAPTER14
Flynn could not believehis ears. He could never have imagined a father, any father, scolding his daughter in such a way that she had tears in her eyes. Laird O’Donnely had made Astrid cry, and Flynn knew he could not stand to hear it. He had only been passing by the parlor when he had heard sudden shouting, and he had entered just in time to hear Laird O’Donnely telling Astrid she was gullible and asking her to get out of his sight.
His heart broke when he saw her sweet, beautiful face flooded with tears, and he knew he would have to intervene. There was no way he could stand to see such injustice done to his betrothed, a woman he cared about immensely. He could not see her hurt.
“Ye willnae talk to her like that in me presence, under me roof. I willnae allow it for one more second.”
Flynn walked inside and noticed how all three people in the room turned to look at him with surprise while he stared at the old Laird with anger in his eyes.
He went to stand directly beside Astrid and possessively took her hand in his to make sure Laird O’Donnely could see she was not alone. The old man would not stand there and abuse her, thinking she was powerless. Flynn would always be beside her, and anyone who wished to say even a word to her would have to go through him first.
“Are ye tellin’ me how to talk to me own daughter?” Laird O’Donnely asked angrily.
“As long as yer under me roof in me castle where I am the Laird, I can tell ye whatever I wish to, and ye will listen to me. I willnae stand silently as ye talk to Astrid this way. She isnae only yer daughter but me betrothed, and I will never tolerate any disrespect towards her even if it is done by her own faither.”
Flynn could see surprise registering on the old Laird’s face, since this was the last thing the man must have expected from Flynn. Astrid’s grip on his hand tightened, and he turned to stare at her tear-streaked face.
“Yer misjudging the situation, Flynn. Faither and I just had a slight misunderstanding pertaining to something,” she explained, and Flynn knew she was just trying to protect her family.
“I dinnae care if it was a misunderstanding or nae, Astrid. All I care about is ye, and I cannae sit silently while someone talks to ye this way or berates ye,” he said, softly wiping the tears from her face.
“Get away from me daughter!”
Flynn turned to look at Laird O’Donnely again and simply cocked an eyebrow. “Or else?” he asked dismissively, knowing the old Laird could never hurt him.
“I willnae tolerate this behavior, Flynn!” Laird O’Donnely exclaimed furiously, and Flynn sighed.
“And I willnae tolerate ye disrespecting Astrid ever again. If ye cannae respect yer daughter, ye will have to respect my betrothed, and I willnae repeat meself,” Flynn stressed, his tone dangerously low. “Moreover, if Astrid wished for me to move away from her, I wouldnae ever touch her. Since it is evident that she has nay problem with it, yer nae one to tell me what to do and what nae to do.”
“Flynn, stop. He is me faither,” Astrid pleaded, her voice weak.
“I am sorry if ye were hurt, Astrid,” Flynn apologized immediately. “Let me take ye to yer bedchamber.”
Astrid nodded before turning to Keira, who was standing right there, a small smile on her lips. “Come see me after.”
“I will,” Keira replied.
Flynn took Astrid’s hand and led her out of the parlor and straight towards her empty bedchamber, where Bannock was waiting for her. He smiled as he watched her greet her cat by placing kisses on her small head, and he stood at one end simply enjoying the show.
Once Astrid was done, she finally realized that he was still there and belatedly turned to face him. “Thank ye,” she whispered, walking towards him as he stood leaning against the wall.
“What for?”
“For standing up for me.”
“Why was he talking to ye like that? What did ye say to him?” Flynn asked, completely ignoring her gratitude, knowing that it was unnecessary.
He would stand up in front of anyone for Astrid without a second thought, and he had already told her that before. He only wished for her to really believe it and stop acting surprised every single time.
“That isnae important,” she replied, dodging the question.
“I wouldnae pry into ye and yer family problems, Astrid, and I am sorry if ye think I shouldnae have talked to yer faither this way, but I couldnae just stand there and watch ye cry as the man scolded ye for something extremely invalid, I am certain. Yer too precious for that.”
Astrid instinctively looked up at his words, and he could see warmth brewing in her gaze.
