Page 48 of Highlander’s Forbidden Fruit

Christmas was a week away, but the castle was preparing for a second feast in two weeks. December was promising to be the worst winter in known memory, but none of this bothered Aleck.

There were many things preying on his mind these days. Laird MacLeod’s consent to considering John Winchester had come as a surprise to Evanna but not so much to Aleck. He knew from past experience that anything Evanna desired, she would get. Laird MacLeod might put up resistance at first, but he would eventually cave to his daughter’s wishes. What had surprised him was Evanna’s unawareness of her hold on her father. It changed his view of her somewhat. Where in the past he had thought she was well aware of her influence and used it to manipulate things her way, he now realized she was genuine in her interactions with her father.

Even more surprising was how she’d taken Sarah Creed under her wing. The castle had talked about nothing else for days. Evanna had gone on her morning walk alone but returned with a scrawny little girl with pockmarks. Sarah had spent the day with Evanna, been bathed, given new clothes, and even spent the night with Evanna. The next morning, Donald Creed had come to retrieve his daughter, and after he had been chastised by Evanna and assured that Sarah had her special patronage, she was sent off with two baskets of food and bolts of cloth for the family.

While some had praised Evanna’s compassion and generosity, others had taken her involvement in the Creed family matters as an interference. There was little love lost for a Laird who dictated how a father treat his daughter, and Evanna had given Donald Creed a humiliating, and very public, tongue lashing. Was no father free to discipline their child anymore? Aleck thought the gossip mongers just wanted something to nitpick at. Evanna had only interfered where the discipline had stumbled into the territory of abuse. He for one was very impressed with Evanna taking an interest in her tenants and holding audience in her parlor every Tuesday morning. It was a sign of maturity he hadn’t expected from her.

John Winchester was expected in Glenlivet tonight. Evanna had been preparing for his arrival since the past week. This was another surprise for him, how well Evanna had taken to the role of mistress of the house. The fact that she was so concerned for John’s arrival and his comforts had made him a little jealous, but he had always known Evanna was meant for a greater man than him.

Because he couldn’t do much about these things, Aleck focused on the one thing he could do something about. Isla Graham had been bothering him for quite some time. The girl had fixated on him since she had arrived in Glenlivet. It had become harder and harder to avoid her. Last night she had stumbled into his bed. He had sent her on her way, but it had frightened him, the steps she was willing to take to ensnare him. He had moved his bed in with Royce to avoid being caught with her alone.

All the inquiries he’d made about the Graham’s had come up short or just repeated the same story that had been going around about Isla’s good-for-nothing father. When Aleck mentioned the sudden change in the father’s attitude and work ethic, people dismissed it as Lockard’s influence. Aleck wasn’t convinced, but since people weren’t giving him a clear answer, he decided to ask the man who could give him a straight answer.

Ted Graham was an average man. He wasn’t too tall, nor was he short. He was neither handsome, nor ugly. He didn’t run to fat, but he wasn’t wasting away. But he was a solid man; Aleck could tell that just by looking at him. The man had muscles that took years of hard labor to build, and his hands were rough and leathery, not hands of a no-good lay-about who had never done a day of work. Aleck had rough hands like those, and it had taken a lifetime of training with Lockard.

Ted was in the small patch given to him to farm, chopping wood when Aleck found him.

“How ye doing, Ted?” he greeted.

Ted paused and rested his axe by the chopping block. “Doing fine.” He nodded, dabbing his sweaty forehead with a sleeved arm. “Can I help ye?”

“The boys and I wanted to welcome ye to Glenlivet. We hope ye’ll join our table at the feast tonight.”

“Bit late, eh?” Ted asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “We came six months ago.”

“Aye.” Aleck rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. “We’re nae the brightest of lads but we have our hearts in the right place.”

Aleck felt nervous in Ted Graham’s company. Something about the man was dangerous and heightened Aleck’s sense of caution. The more he tried to find out about the Graham’s, the more complicated it seemed to get. He couldn’t get a good sense of the family.

“Is it for Isla yer asking?” Ted asked.

For a moment Aleck worried that he had been found out. Ted had figured out Aleck’s intentions in asking him to join them at the feast, getting him well and drunk, and coaxing the information he needed out of him. But the quizzical look on Ted’s face assured him he had meant something else. Could Ted mean Aleck was being friendly to him because he had intentions towards Isla? Of course! With Isla hanging about him all the time that’s probably what he meant.

“Aye,” Aleck said. Why not? If this ruse made Ted more amiable to join Aleck and have his guard down, he was willing to bend the truth a little.

Ted smiled. Aleck read relief across the man’s face. “Good. I’ll join ye tonight.”

Invitation given, Aleck took his leave. There was still much to do at the castle for the feast. Laird MacLeod was much less enthusiastic than he had been for Evanna’s arrival, but preparations were still under way with great urgency.

While the castle was excited about the arrival of an Englishman other than Lord Ashby, and wondering what John was like, Aleck was dreading the encounter. The last time he had seen John Winchester, he had accused the man of taking undue advantage of Evanna. He had also caught them both in a compromising position and made it worse by acting like a boor.

Meeting a man he had insulted wasn’t a prospect he look forward to, much less a man who was set to marry the woman he loved. The coming weeks would be a nightmare, but Aleck had steeled himself to endure it with grace. No point avoiding the inevitable. Aleck made his way back to the castle to help with the last-minute arrangements.

Chapter Eighteen

Evanna had never organized a feast before, but she found that she enjoyed the responsibility and using her creativity. Taking tips from all the parties and balls she’d been to in London and on the Continent, Evanna had instructed the staff to buy all the ribbons from the towns around Glenlivet. The worst of winter had set in, and the last flowers in the greenhouses had been used for her welcome feast. So Evanna and her maids fashioned flowers out of ribbons. The main hall was now festooned with fabric-flowers. The staff were impressed by her ingenuity and, after initial reluctance, were completely behind her leadership of the household.

Evanna did question how well this new relationship would end. Over the past week she had made great effort in forming a relationship with the housekeeper, Mrs. Lane, and the cook, Mrs. McTavish, going to great lengths to mend the two women’s feud. She had spent hours with both women, guiding them towards meal plans that would put some fat on the Laird’s bones and daily activities with his footman so he would be well rested and not tired. But if she were to leave after her marriage to John what was the point?

John was another conundrum she had refused to think about much. Taking the feast as a challenge, she had also taken it as a welcome respite to avoid her own doubts that had arisen from Ashton’s letter. If she were honest, she couldn’t lay the blame solely at Ashton’s door. His words had only fanned the flames of her own reluctance to marry a man she did not entirely love.

But Clara had a point too. If one was to wait for true love to marry, then most everyone would be unwed.

And so, she went about her day, trying to beautify Glenlivet castle so it would be second to no English manor. The Scots had their pride still.

Time was flying by. It was late afternoon by the time Evanna retired to her room to see to her toilet. She picked a pink dress for the evening. It wasn’t the latest fashion, but it was one her father had commissioned for her. She knew the allowances he was making for her by even considering an Englishman as her suitor. The least she could do was wear the clothes he had commissioned for her.

Pinning her hair carefully, she dabbed some eau de toilette behind her ears and on her wrists. Considering the reflection in the mirror, Evanna deemed herself passable. There was no time to do much else, so she slapped her cheeks to make them pinker and went off to the hall to check on the table setting. She was lining up the forks properly when she felt someone close behind her.