Page 17 of Highlander’s Dangerous Gambler

Aileen watched expectantly. There was still so much she didn't know. She opened her mouth to speak, but was drowned out by a whale belch from the laird.

"Scott?" bellowed McLeod from outside in the corridor. His voice was so loud, it reverberated around the room three times. Sheepishly, Scott shrugged.

Putting his finger to his lips, Scott smiled ruefully.

"Later..."

Later.

It was precisely three days later before Aileen saw Scott again. In that time, she had gotten acquainted with the sounds and smells of the McLeod castle. Despite never leaving her bedchamber, she had already formed an impression of a large and chaotic headquarter.

Men stomped in and out on horseback, and servants bickered merrily when they thought their betters weren't listening. Delicious cooking smells ensconced the castle twice daily, and a tiny little maid brought thumping great meals to her door. A phantasm in black informed her she had broken her ribs, and an older maid, with an almost devout obsession with bedpans, had nearly tied her to the bed to make her "heal."

She was bored, bored, bored.

By the time Scott strolled into the bedchamber, she almost ate him.

"When am I going home!" she shrieked, almost the second he had walked in through the door.

Scott stopped dead as if he had been shot. He stood for a little while in front of her, blinking.

"Nae yet," he said, briskly recovering himself. He came to sit down beside her. Aileen, who had lifted herself half out of bed, eyed him with disdain.

"Well when?" she asked, point-blank. Her strong blue eyes met his and held there, together in a moment. Then Scott pulled away.

"When ye’re better," he said, moving from the foot of the bed. He shifted his head, evading her gaze. Aileen narrowed her eyes.

"Well, I'm better now," she said, pointedly moving from the bed. "At least, enough to go home."

Ach!A steel rod ran through her in the ribs. At a stroke, Aileen crumbled, collapsing sideways onto the bed. Immediately, Scott was at her side, his muscle-bound arms lifting her to her feet.

"It's alright," he said in a steady voice. Inside, all Aileen could feel was pain. Sweat clung to her forehead, cascading down her face. The last thing she felt was alright, but she was not about to tell Scott that.

Instead, she gathered her last reserves of strength. "Och, dinnae fash," she said, shaking his grip off. In actual fact, she liked the feel of his chunky hands upon her shoulders. A peel of pleasure rang through her, mingling oddly with the ache in her ribs.

"The physician said..." began Scott, fixing his blue eyes on her sternly. Aileen poo-pooed him.

"Och, what does he ken, the auld charlatan... He also told me to take a course o' leeches...for broken ribs!" snapped Aileen. She had been here precisely three days, and in that time, she had had long enough to dislike both Doctor Flowers and his moribund nurse.

Scott glanced at her sideways, mischief dancing in his blue eyes. "He comes highly recommended," he chided, "an' is well thought o' in the clan."

To this, Aileen said nothing but just stuck her tongue out swiftly. Then she looked away. She could not be sure, but she thought she caught the edges of a grin forming on Scott's face.

"Och, ’tis a pity ye didnae listen to the physician!" tutted Scott, his eyes turning wryly to hers. "A few days' bed rest an' follow his orders, an' maybe ye might be better noo. Ach, I dinnae ken. It's as if ye dinnae have the confidence in yersel’ to get better."

Aileen stared incredulously. She could not believe what she was hearing.

"I ha' the confidence to get home!" she declared, but the hesitancy in her voice gave her away. Scott's eyes met hers keenly. Feeling their beam, Aileen shied away.

The question in Scott's blue eyes said it all. He held his head to one side and looked at her mockingly. Irritated, Aileen tried again to raise herself from the bed. She could do it, but it was difficult. Staggering from the side of the bed, she hobbled over toward him.

"There," she gasped. Immediately, she was obliged to sit upon the bedchamber chair. Again, Scott watched her with amused interest. Before he could speak, Aileen tried again.

"Och, I ken I cannae go yet, but I did want to get to check on White Star," she said. The pensive look on her face caught Scott off-guard. Now he brought his attention to her.

"White Star?"

"My horse," said Aileen, as if it was obvious. It was obvious. She glared at him indignantly. "It's been three days an' I havenae seen him."