Page 3 of Highlander’s Dangerous Gambler

Before he could get to the end of his speech, Aileen simply trotted off. Quickening his pace, White Star went faster, breaking from a trot into a full-fledged run.

"Och!" Aileen put on a very good impression of being perplexed. Furrowing her brow, she made a big show of attempting to stop her horse. "Och, he just went off, I dinnae ken...maybe he's ready for a race!"

Alarmed, the lad looked up. "Race? Nay, ye cannae, miss. It's nae for a lassie like ye. Ye might get hurt."

Aileen threw him a look. "My horse is ready. Are ye? Race ye to the woods an' back!" But before she even got to the end of the sentence, she was already at the gate. Glancing back at the lad, she hid a smirk. "That is, if ye think ye can keep up?"

With that, she was off, an insouciant smile wrapped around her cherry lips. Clinging hard to her horse, Aileen leaned in and ran like the wind. She could hardly stop herself grinning from ear to ear as soon she sped into the green vista before her while the lad was barely out of the training yard.

"Miss!" the lad called, but Aileen was gone.

From behind, she felt their stares, the heat of their eyes burning into her. Let them watch! So they were amused and expecting her to fail? Well, Aileen was not about to give them the satisfaction. Going faster, she sped the gelding up the hillock to the woods.

Behind her, she sensed panic, the sound of the lad following at speed. But he was still nowhere near her. Out into the clear sky, she smiled as she ran. This was what it was about: riding and the open air.

Exhilarated, Aileen climbed higher, exploring with her horse up the hillside and along into the woods. Here it was quiet, with the wind rippling silently through the trees. Aileen took a moment to admire the tranquility of it all before hearing hooves advancing.

Clearly, the lad had finally got his act together. Shaking herself off, she pulled on the reins and hurried ahead. It was not long before she was through the little woods and veering around the small track leading back to the castle.

There, from her vista on the hill, she could see them all—the guards, the horses, and the training ground. In the distance, the Duncan tower formed a gray backdrop to their panicking.

Aileen smirked at the sight of them, all running up and down, finding some way to try and stop her. But she did not linger too long. There also, she saw Fiona, her sister.

Aileen's heart sank slightly. Fiona was clearly behind their sudden desire to find her again. No doubt she wanted her to come into the castle and do some deadly boring activity, like needlepoint. Again.

She sighed. Ever since she had become a mother, Fiona had become annoyingly serious. Well, perhaps she always was, but being leader of the clan meant her word counted. At twenty-four, she was kind but decidedly no-nonsense. Worse still, she had put herself on a mission to marry Aileen off. To whom, it was never quite clear, but it was enough to worry her.

Aileen had precisely zero intention of getting married, either in the next lifetime or this one. Her life was her horses, riding, and whenever the occasion permitted it, dancing. None of these were activities that met with Fiona's approval.

Aileen watched carefully as Fiona went inside the castle, followed by a couple of the elders. Her face drew into a scowl. No doubt they were the reason behind Fiona's sudden interest in marriage.

Throwing her wild locks behind her, Aileen resolved to give her the slip. Waiting carefully for Fiona's entourage to disappear into the castle, she urged White Star on to new heights.

The lad pursuing her was somewhere in the distance; she could hear his horse coming. This was no good. Determined to give him the ride of his life, Aileen continued up and around the small hillock.

Then she set her sights back on reentry into the castle. Now that her sister had gone, the coast was clear. Charging full tilt ahead, Aileen sped like a dart back down the hillside.

Comfortably, she made it back inside the castle gates. From there, she trotted sedately into the yard. There, a bewildered gaggle of guards were waiting for her.

Aileen made sure to ride around three times, very slowly, before dismounting. Even then, she could hear the lad's footsteps were still some way away.

With a casual shrug of the shoulders, Aileen smiled innocently and walked gracefully toward the front of the ground. "So, ye lads still want to give me a few tips?"

Finally, the poor lad on horseback finally caught up to her. Both he and his exhausted horse burst in through the training ground, and he was very red in the face.

As she approached him, the castle guards, who had been standing idle, began to applaud.

Finally, the tired lad dismounted. "Aye," he said, looking shaken. "Ye’re nae bad...for a lass. O' course, ye had a head start on me."

Aileen nodded seriously, as if this was the only factor in her winning. Behind her, one of the older guards came forward.

"Well done, miss," he said politely. "Just think o' the riding tournament up at the McLeod estate. Ye could do Duncan Castle proud if ye were a lad."

Aileen bristled beneath her breath. "Surely I could do anyway?" she asked. "After all, why nae?"

"Och, no," agreed a second guard; this time, it was the sturdy man with the red face. He came over, taking her horse and passing it to the stable boy. He smiled good-naturedly. "We cannae have a maid o' the clan putting herself in danger."

"Why not!" Aileen bristled. She opened her mouth to say that her older sister Grace had done just that, as a warrior, but before she could get the words out, the castle door opened, and a servant sped out.