Her father was not fooled, however. He knew his daughter too well. “He has much to recommend him as a husband,” he pointed out. “He is wealthy, handsome, and he works hard. He could sit back and let a manager do it for him but it seems that he likes to get his hands dirty. To me, that is the mark of a good man.”
“If you say so, Papa,” she said grimly. “But I have come to know him a little better than you over these past weeks and I can tell you that he is a very strange man. Sometimes he can be pleasant and friendly, the next moment in a terrible rage. If you are looking for a husband for me, look elsewhere, because I don’t want him. He is too hard to handle.”
John was astonished. He had never heard his daughter speak in such tones about anyone, and he wondered why she had taken against this man so much. Surely he could not be as bad as the picture she had painted?
“He sounds odd,” he remarked, trying to sound neutral. He was accepting this man’s hospitality, after all. “But don’t be too quick to judge, my dear. Your mother and I took a few months to grow on each other. We thought that our parents had chosen badly, but we grew into love, and it took time.”
“I believe you, Papa, but I think you’ll find that this is one case where that will never happen!” She sounded furious. “I would be miserable for the rest of my life if I were to marry him.”
John went quiet, wondering how the conversation had taken this unfortunate turn, but before either of them could say any more, Teresa knocked at the door.
“M’Laird, Milady has woken up,” she told him, smiling. “She is askin’ for ye.”
They both jumped up and ran upstairs.
Meanwhile, Ava and Alastair had gone inside the stable to see Pinky standing looking out placidly over the front of her stall as they came in. She whinnied a welcome and stamped around in her stall, bumping against the door and trying to get out.
Ava laughed, and hugged the big mare, who seemed determined to completely transform Ava’s hair into something resembling a haystack. “Have you missed me, Pinky?” she asked delightedly. She produced an apple and gave it to her, then Pinky made it disappear in less than a minute. Ava opened the stall door and went inside, then Alastair lifted her up on Pinky’s back and she bent down over the mare’s neck and inhaled her sweet horse smell.
When she smiled, Ava’s expression was joyful. “It’s good to be back up here again,” she breathed. “Perhaps in a few days the three of us can go out.”
“Caitlyn is leaving tomorrow,” he reminded her. His face was set in stone, giving nothing of his inner feelings away.
Ava’s face fell as she remembered. “I forgot,” she said sadly. “It will be so lonely without her. It was lovely to have a woman friend to talk to. There are some things you cannot say to a brother.”
She dismounted, and Alastair put an arm around her shoulders. “I will have to start holding a few ceilidhs around here,” he sighed. “It is time you were married.”
“I must admit I would like to go to a ceilidh now and again,” she said, trying to sound positive. They were both thinking about the last disastrous one that had been held in Mullach Castle. She looked at Alastair’s face, which was frowning again.
“Do you not think that it is time you were married too, Alastair?” she asked tentatively.
“Long past time,” he replied. “But where would I find a wife? I snubbed all the local gentry. No self-respecting woman would have me now.”
“What about Caitlyn?” Ava asked as she stroked Pinky’s soft nose.
Alastair’s stomach lurched. “Especially not that one,” he said grimly. “We dislike each other intensely.”
Ava stood in front of him and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. “That is not true,” she stated mischievously. “A little bird told me that you had been seen kissing her!”
Alastair glared at his sister furiously. “Caitlyn told you that?” he asked furiously.
Ava shook her head. “Not Caitlyn,” she replied smugly. “You were seen.”
This was a lie, but Ava knew that his reply would be truthful.
Alastair’s jaw dropped and he stared at her, speechless. After a moment he turned away.
“Is it true?” Ava asked. “I want to know.”
“Why is it any of your business?” he asked, crossing his powerful arms over his body defensively.
“Because I like her very much,” Ava replied, crossing her arms as if challenging him. “And I think she would be good for you, and you for her. Is it true? Did you kiss her?”
He hung his head and sighed, then nodded. He uncrossed his arms and bunched his hands into fists. “It was not the kind of kiss you mean. It was not...romantic. And I do not want to discuss something like this with my sister!”
Ava smiled to herself. She was not experienced in love, but she had read romances, and been to ceilidhs, and she knew that love had many ways of showing itself. However, she wisely decided to drop the subject.
“Tell the others I have work to do,” he told her gruffly. “I will be back for dinner.”
