Page 26 of Highlander’s Dangerous Gambler

For a moment, McLeod's face clouded. Then, he spoke.

"Aye," he said thoughtfully. The laird picked himself up from the bed stool he was perched on and began pacing about the bedchamber. Aileen and Scott watched him closely.

"Aye, maybe ye’re right."

The laird stomped about the room some more, pensively. Tensely, Scott wondered what he was going to say. His presence cast a shadow, literally, over the sunny room. As he paced, Scott tried to elicit eye contact with Aileen, who looked unusually bewildered.

Seeing her there, so lost, gave Scott's heart an involuntary jolt. Somehow, everything he had seen of her so far wasn't quite the whole story, he was sure. A lass like this was not about to roll over and submit to marriage, let alone to a man she had never met.

And if Scott got his way, she never would meet him. His eyes met hers, which made her smirk. It was only slight, but it was the response he was after.

And he smiled too. Good. This was more like the lass he had met dressed as a man. Wistfully, Scott gazed at Aileen.

It took some guts for a lass to compete in a race meant for men. But all the same, McLeod was no match for her. He knew too well.

"Aye, lad, ye’re right. We cannae do anything until this lassie toddles off back to her estate," said the laird, his burly brow caught into a frown. "So ye should take her back to the Duncan clan an' formalize our intent."

This caught Scott off guard, but he did not show it.

"Of course," he murmured, with a small glance to Aileen. Her face had become a cloud, and suddenly, Scott did not fancy his chances of a good outcome. "But nae until the lass is able—"

McLeod turned sharply, as if he was about to dispute this, when Aileen suddenly shook her head.

"No," she said resolutely. She looked McLeod straight in the eyes. "I cannae marry anyone," she told him.

There was a pause, and Scott took a breath of air. He had not heard anyone refuse the laird before. Well, he had, but it had not ended well.

"Pardon?" said the laird icily. He moved slightly toward Aileen. "That sounds like ye’re saying no..."

"That’s correct," replied Aileen without missing a beat. "I'm sorry, sir, but I cannae marry yer son. I've nae even met him."

The laird's eyes swung dramatically around the sunny bedchamber. Then, to everyone's surprise, he threw his head back, laughing.

"Och, lassie, is that all?" He grinned wildly. Scott felt his hands fasten over his sgian-dubh. He didn't know why, but when the laird laughed like that, it made him nervous. "Well, that's soon remedied. I will arrange a feast in yer honor as soon as I send word."

Aileen opened her mouth to speak but closed it again like a landed fish. The laird's expression had become black.

"After all, lass, ye are grateful, are ye nae, for my continued help?" he asked, his wild eyebrows snaking upward. Aileen looked at him blankly. "I mean, I havenae told yer clan what ye were doing to get so hurt."

His eyebrows snaked upward, and Scott got his intonation. The bawbag!

Scott felt a trickle of ice in the pit of his stomach. The laird was not averse to using blackmail or downright intimidation to get his own way. As well he knew.

"I..." faltered Aileen, only just grappling with the duplicity of the laird. Scott felt ashamed. "Ye mean..."

"I mean, if ye refuse my kind offer, then I may be forced to tell yer sister—an' clan—that their maid was sneaking about trying to take part in a race made for men, an' making fools of them all!"

McLeod's dull eyes glinted with malice. Scott could feel the atmosphere in the room turn cold. Aileen's eyes flashed with insolence. Before she could say something she might regret, Scott dived in.

"Sir," he intervened, "the lass is vera grateful," he said, with a quick glance at Aileen, who scowled. "But we are a long way off from that. She still needs rest, to complete her recovery..."

Scott glanced heavily at Aileen as he spoke, trying to mollify her.

"But when the time is right, aye, o' course, I will return the lass to her clan, an' there, she can pass on the message to the lady herself."

It was a pure play for time. Scott did not know what else to do right then. His only thought was for getting Aileen away from McLeod, as soon and as quickly as possible.

And from the look in her eyes, she was not arguing. Scott could only hope she would understand. But return to her clan, they must. And the message must be sent.