Page 51 of Highlander’s Forbidden Fruit

Laird MacLeod smiled and nodded, but Evanna knew he was indulging her. They rose from the table and joined the dancers. John winked at her when no one was watching. Evanna smiled back. She noticed the flagons and wine being served along the tables but nowhere more than at Aleck’s table where he was plying a particular man with drink. He seemed completely absorbed, and Evanna wondered who the man was and what he was saying to engage Aleck so completely.

And then her mind went unwittingly where she hadn’t wanted it to go - Aleck’s conversation with Isla. Deeply confused, Evanna danced absentmindedly with her father, hoping for some clarity.

Chapter Nineteen

The feast was well underway when Ted Graham finally showed up. Aleck had been afraid he might not come for whatever reason. At first Ted was reluctant to drink and seemed on his guard, but by and by, as the music mellowed him, and the conversation engaged him, he took a few sips. By the time the flagons were empty, Ted Graham was keeping up with the rest at the table.

“The land here is much better than what we had in Dundee,” he said when Aleck asked him why they had moved to Glenlivet. “People are much nicer too,” he grinned, smashing his cup against Aleck’s.

“And I suppose Lockard missed his daughter.”

“Hah!” Ted’s laugh was like a bark. “Them two cannae stand each other.”

“Then it was yer idea to move?”

“Nae.” Ted waved his hand as if swatting at a fly. “It was Anne’s idea to move back here. It was far enough from Dundee, and her father’s influence meant the gossip wouldnae follow us.”

“Gossip?” Aleck asked. “What gossip?”

Ted opened his mouth to say, but a shrewd twinkle lit up in his glazed eyes. “D’ya ken? I cannae remember.”

Aleck wanted to kick himself. He had been too eager and shown his true intentions. Ted ate in silence as the rest around them laughed and sang. Aleck noticed the flagons were empty. Ted would need more drink before he would finally give him the last piece of the puzzle.

“Joe, Royce,” he motioned for his friends.

They collected the flagons from the table and made their way to the kitchens. Cook was busy marshaling her troops.

“Mrs. McTavish, we’ve run out of ale in the hall,” Royce announced, his cheeks ruddy with drink.

“By the looks of ye, ye’ve had more than enough,” Cook scoffed. “Aye, I’ll send up some more. Alice! Fill up these flagons for the lads, then fetch more of the empty ones from the hall and fill ‘em up. Ye’ll be needing wine as well?”

“Aye.” Aleck nodded.

“We’ll need to send for more supplies soon.” Cook made a note in a small journal she kept in her apron. “Right! Bring it here.” She filled up Aleck’s flagons from a cask and handed them to him. “Take these, yer lads will bring the rest.”

Aleck didn’t need to be told twice. He marched the flagons out of the kitchens only to be accosted by Isla Graham. He groaned internally. There was no time to waste. If Ted ate some more, and drank less, he’d be too sober to give Aleck the information he needed.

“Ye havenae danced with me at all today.” Isla protested. “Yer avoiding me, Aleck Bryce.”

“I’ve been busy,” he said shortly. “And I’ve naught danced with anyone, so it’s nae that yer special.”

“Of course, I’m special,” she winked. “Why else did ye ask me father to the feast if nae for me? He told me so.”

Aleck couldn’t come up with a reasonable response to that, so he started walking towards the stairs.

Isla kept prattling on about dresses and ribbons, but Aleck was only paying her half a mind. His ears pricked when she mentioned Evanna, but he didn’t get the gist of what she had said, only that her tone had been bitter and malicious.

He snapped at her, an involuntary response. He couldn’t help it. There had been times when he had been excessively harsh with Evanna, but if anyone else were to criticize her, it made him irrationally angry.

The scolding seemed to put Isla in her place for the moment, so he took the opportunity to put as much distance between them as possible. Aleck bounded up the stairs careful not to spill any ale from the flagons. He was concentrating on getting away from Isla and not spilling ale that he only noticed Evanna on the stairs when he was a few steps away from her. He stopped, shocked to see her.

“Did ye need something?”

“Aye, just the ale and wine.” Evanna was breathless. She must have been dancing with John to make her breathless and thirsty.

He told her that drinks were taken care of. He even lifted his own full flagons to show her how seriously he took their hosting duties. There was an ulterior motive, yes, but he couldn’t tell her that. The one time he had shared his suspicions about Isla’s family with her, she had been dismissive.

“Thank ye.” She didn’t look him in the eye but turned to leave. Of course, she must want to get back to John. She hadn’t seen him in three months. He had felt much the same when she had returned. He had wanted to spend every waking moment with her, but that was not possible when the object of your affection loved someone else.