Page 43 of Highlander’s Forbidden Fruit

“Aleck also has something to say to ye.”

Laird MacLeod looked Aleck up and down, a small, resigned smile twitching his lips. “I suppose I should be glad he’s a Scot.”

“Wait, Da!” Evanna was horrified by the turn of events. “It’s nae what you think. Aleck is here to provide character witness for the man I wish to marry.”

Laird MacLeod’s smile deflated. He slumped back in his chair. “Is he English?”

Evanna’s throat was dry. Words tried to climb up but slipped back down.

“Aye, my Laird.” Aleck stepped in to rescue her.

“Christ Almighty!” Laird MacLeod covered his eyes with one hand. “It is what I feared. Go on then. Tell me all about him.”

“His name is John Winchester. He is the heir of the Earl of Winchelsea.”

“I have nae interest in the man’s wealth,” Laird MacLeod dismissed her words with an agitated wave of his hand. “Ye have enough wealth of yer own to be bothered about the scraps of some English busybody. I need to know of his character.”

Evanna glanced at Aleck. Here is where she needed him most. She knew that Aleck despised John, but he needed to prove otherwise to her father.

“John is an honorable man. When I first met him, I was running through a maze I was hopelessly lost in. We were quite alone, but he took no unseemly advantage. In fact, he asked me about Scotland to calm me and guide me safely through the maze.”

“Stupid contraptions, mazes,” Laird MacLeod grunted but his expression had softened a little.

“John is also a kind man. On his travels in India, he came across a widow with young children. Rather than leave her behind to the mercy of people who would burn her at her husband’s pyre, he brought her along with him to England.”

“Humph. What say ye, Aleck?”

“I cannae claim Lady Evanna’s advantage of having known John Winchester long,” Aleck said. Evanna’s heart sank. “However, he was a perfect gentleman on the occasions I did see him.”

Evanna grinned up at him.

Laird MacLeod sighed. Evanna could see that his heart was troubled, and he was not at all pleased.

“I dinnae ask ye to make a decision now. John has requested to visit us in Glenlivet, and I have invited him. Ye can meet him yerself and then decide if he is suitable for me.”

“I cannae see any harm in that.” Laird MacLeod consented. “When does the Earl arrive?”

“A week from now.”

“What were ye thinking, lass!” he roared. “A week from today, and yer only telling us now? Aleck, fetch Ian and James. We have a guest to prepare for.”

“Aye, my Laird.” Aleck bowed. Evanna mouthed a thank you to him. He nodded acknowledgement before he left the room.

“Are ye furniture?”

“Eh?”

“I asked if yer furniture,” Laird MacLeod repeated.

“Nae.” Evanna laughed.

“Then don’t just stand there; sit.” He poured sherry in two glasses and handed one to Evanna. “It’s times like these I wish yer mother were still around. She’d know what to do.”

Evanna took a quiet sip of her sherry. It was sweet. “What’s happened, Da?” she asked. “Ye never speak of Ma, but now ye cannae seem to stop.”

Laird MacLeod chuckled, but there was little humor in it. “When she passed away, the only thing keeping me from throwing myself from the rafters was ye. I couldnae imagine my life without my Mary. Speaking of her, looking at her portraits; it was a painful reminder of her absence.”

“And now?”