Page 24 of The Lady of Her Highland Clan

Clyde smiled precariously as he steadied himself and brought his strong arm to help her.

"I need the coin," he said after a few seconds of thought. Then, he turned his face toward her. He was so near she could see every pore in his skin. "That's the long an' short o' it..."

His lips twisted into a grin, but it was short-lived. Fiona looked at him seriously.

"Why?" she asked in a barely audible voice.

Clyde looked away. "There are raids on the clan," he said softly. "I am sure ye ken yersel' the area borders wi' some lawless clans." Clyde pushed back his billowing black hair, which had suddenly made an attempt at strangling him. "An' I dinnae have the coin tae pay the men tae stop them. I mean, nae enough for the troops, an' nae even enough tae help arm the rest o' them."

Clyde sighed. Fiona felt immediate guilt. She had suspected but not known this. Now she felt a little bad for Clyde's predicament.

"We can help fight wi' ye in the borderlands," she said genuinely.

Clyde's smile alighted on her briefly but then moved off.

"Thank ye most sincerely," he said. "An' I am most grateful... But there's more," he continued.

Fiona had a feeling this might be the case, so patiently, she listened. It was becoming lighter, and the gold August sun was finally mounting a pushback against the gray drizzle.

"It's nae just that I dinnae have the gold; that's one thing," said Clyde, a little reluctantly. Fiona could tell that he didn't like talking about this. "But there's someone in the clan, a wee bit close tae home, who is vera keen tae help oot. Like, vera, vera keen. But it comes at a price if ye see what I mean."

Perhaps Fiona's face did not look as if she did know because Clyde continued.

"This person—och, my cousin Fraser—has all the gold a person could need, an' he is vera keen tae be the laird." Clyde's eyes arched upward, and he gave a little shrug.

Now Fiona did see, staring into the blazing sun, because as they had been stood there, the day had gotten underway in a sudden display of light.

"Ah," she said, shielding her eyes against the sun. It was bright, but it was still cold. Gazing across the steep green glen, Fiona felt the distinct chill of autumn in the backdrop.

"Aye." Clyde smiled ruefully. "An' if that's nae enough, then this cousin, Fraser, well, he isnae the kind ye'd want as yer laird, or, if I'm honest, as yer neighbor."

His eyes connected with hers, and now they sat completely still, each on horseback. Fiona gazed at his clean-shaven cheekbones and chin, bathed in sunlight, alive with radiance.

"In fact, he's a brute," said Clyde bluntly. "A real warrior in love wi' blood. I mean, och, I think he means well for the clan, an' in his way, he's tried tae help me, but I dae fear for the peace in the area if he ever gets hold o' the reins."

Fiona smiled but a little stiffly. Clyde was staring at her a little too much.

"So I better nae die," quipped Clyde, a ready grin wrapping around his face. This made Fiona look. Now that he had her attention, Clyde continued, his green eyes twinkling. "Because he's my next o' kin. I've no one else!"

Fiona's mind immediately clicked back to what Grace had said. The words betrothedto the Anderson maid came straight to her. Unsurely, she looked at Clyde.

Was he still set to marry her? Had it all been called off? As she tried to penetrate his tricky green eyes, Fiona gave up guessing.

There was simply no way of knowing, and, as much as she might want to, there was no way she could ask. Instead, she just sat there, struggling for words.

"I see," she said, after a suitable gap. She pulled her aghast mouth into a smile and then tugged on the reins.

"Well then, Laird Greenock," she said, looking at him as formally as she could muster, "we'd better see whether we can decide where this, um, gold is hidden. As ye can see, we have things tae talk about."

"Aye, we do too," said Clyde cunningly. But Fiona was ready for him. She was determined not to be dragged into anything before the time was right. All the same, she was beginning to see how useful this might be, if anything were to be discovered.

Clyde smiled. "Aye, mistress," he said, pulling his impatient horse to join her, "Because as far as I can see it, we both have things we need. Ye need tae prove yersel' tae the elders o' the clan, an' I, well, I need tae find some gold."

Fiona did not argue. In fact, she was already sold on the idea, but there was no harm in letting Clyde think that he had come up with it. She merely nodded.

Emboldened, Clyde continued. Now they had begun trotting across the steep glen, which overlooked the clan castle.

"An alliance between the Duncan and the Greenock clans could work out well for the both of us."

Fiona looked at him closely.

"Aye," she said assuredly. "So it could. An alliance..."

But inside, all she could think was, Aye, an alliance, of what—business or pleasure?