Page 31 of Highlander’s Dangerous Gambler

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It was a week before she saw him next.

In that time, Aileen was practically climbing the walls in frustration. She tried to tell herself that this was nothing to do with Scott and that she just wanted to get home again.

But who was she kidding?

Seven days. With nothing to do but sit and think about the laird's proposal. If proposal was the right word. In reality, the laird had issued her an order: marry his son or else.

Her family still did not know the particulars of how she ended up in the McLeod estate, and Aileen was keen to keep it that way!

But every time she contemplated this marriage, her heart sunk into her boots. That she did not want it was an understatement. There had to be a way out, and Aileen had hoped that Scott might be it. Or, at the very least, he might try a bit to talk the laird out of his mad proposal.

So far, he had done neither, and it was with uncertainty that Aileen mounted White Star at first light a week later.

"Ready for the off?"

Scott grinned as he adjusted the saddle on his stallion. Walking over to the black horse, Aileen petted it fondly. It harrumphed lightly as she caressed it.

"Aye," said Aileen, with a flick of her eyes. She did not add that she had been ready for the last five days. Instead, she ran her eyes over the man accompanying her.

Bright sunlight hit his face. And in it, he looked every bit as handsome as she recalled from the previous week. Scrutinizing him, Aileen surmised that he had trimmed back his beard a little in the intervening week, but that was all.

She must have stared too hard because she felt him gaze at her, his bejeweled eyes following her from place to place.

"Need a hand?" he asked, leaping to her assistance as she prepared to mount White Star.

Aileen turned to watch him. In all honesty, she did, but pride forced the answer coming from her.

"Nay, I'm braw," she said, wishing her words were true. All the same, Aileen was determined to make it look so. Maybe if she tried hard enough, it might come true.

Determinedly, she mounted White Star. It was the first time she had tried since coming off him over a week ago in a full bid to appear healthy. Aileen threw herself onto the white gelding.

Mistake.

Argh!Her ribs nearly cracked for a second time. Doubling over in pain, she cursed her own stupidity as Scott looked on.

"Lassie?" he asked, concern etched on his face.

Damn!This was not the reaction she had hoped for. Far from gaining his respect, Scott now looked at her like a small child who needed rescuing! Determined to keep it together, Aileen gritted her teeth and mounted the horse.

She could do this! With gray, strained cheeks, Aileen lifted up the reins and eased herself into the saddle. It was not easy. It definitely was not comfortable, but once she was in position, she was glad she had made the effort.

"Alright?" Scott asked. He still had not taken his eyes off her once, and now that she had settled on White Star, he continued to stare.

"Aye, really," she said, perhaps a tad unconvincingly.

Scott did not say anything but merely smirked. Then he pulled together his reins, and with just the slightest glance to her, cracked the whip.

They were off!

Finally, the journey that Aileen began to wonder she would ever make was underway. For a few minutes, they rode in silence, Aileen contenting herself to simply watch the countryside fly by in a haze of green.

It was not an easy ride. Everything ached. But despite this, Aileen found herself enjoying it immensely. It was the first time in a week she had felt the air through her hair. Grinning from ear to ear, Aileen pulled up the reins and speeded up.

"Good to be out?" asked Scott, reading her mind.

Embarrassed, Aileen gave a nod. "Aye," she said, with a clipped look to him.