Page 43 of Highlander’s Quest of Desire

Chapter Seventeen

“Look! A starling.” Charles pointed toward the sky.

“Eh?” Edward squinted up at the sky. “’Tis a common blackbird, ye blind bat.”

Elspeth held the bouquet of posies to her nose and smiled. It was the only way to make sure Edward’s bad breath didn’t turn her expression sour. They were walking through the front gardens, and the Labert boys were vying for her attention. Any other woman would have felt lucky to have three men fighting over her, but Elspeth felt harassed.

Every morning she would wake up and hope that she would have enough time to shadow Master Faraday and learn his skills. But every morning, at the breakfast table, the Labert boys would devise plans and expeditions around Balquhidder and rope her in. Elspeth was nothing if not polite, and she found it hard to extract herself from their plans.

“Come, Elspeth,” Daniel said. “Let’s hunt for rabbits.”

“I can show ye how to build a trap.” Charles offered.

“And I can show ye how to make nice gloves for winter,” Edward said.

Elspeth smiled with her teeth, but it never reached her eyes. She was tired and wished for nothing but the peace and quiet of Master Faraday’s study, or the library. Thoughts of the library brought her a nice distraction. She looked up at the castle and the library window and wondered what Bruce would be doing at that moment. Would he be annoyed if she were to intrude on a place he had marked out for himself since they had arrived at Balquhidder?

“Are ye coming, Elspeth?” Daniel asked, jolting her out of her thoughts.

“Maybe we should head back to the castle?” she suggested. “I’m a little tired from our morning jaunt.” This wasn’t true. In fact, she was itching to run away from them as far as she could.

“Are ye feeling poorly?” Charles inquired.

“Shall we take ye to Mater Faraday?” Edward came closer, the stench of old eggs wafting from him.

“Aye!” she exclaimed backing away from them. “Master Faraday might have the cure.”

“I’ll escort ye,” Charles said, and extended his arm.

“I think she’d much prefer me.” Edward pushed Charles away.

“Let’s leave these two to fight,” Daniel suggested, offering his hand.

“I can go by myself,” Elspeth said. “Ye were looking forward to hunting rabbits. Ye should go ahead.”

“Nonsense!” Charles declared. “Ye’re more important than rabbits.”

“We insist,” Daniel said.

Elspeth looked from one brother to the next, her heart sinking realizing there was no escape. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she only had to interact with them by themselves. Individually the Labert boys were good company, attentive, and gregarious. As a collective they were obnoxious, competitive, and suffocating.

She was about to give in when the sound of horses’ hooves caught their attention, and they looked toward the path that led to the town at the base of the hill. Two horses and two riders emerged from the tall hedges. Elspeth didn’t recognize the horses, but she recognized Laird Labert and Bruce Grant.

“Wasn’t Da in the castle?” Edward scratched his head.

“I thought Bruce was in the library,” Elspeth said, glancing back at the castle, as if hoping to see Bruce waving from the window she had been staring at all afternoon.

They walked down to the path to meet them. Curiosity piqued in Elspeth’s breast and she wondered where Bruce had gone, and why with Laird Labert? But who would he go with if not Laird Labert? It was unlikely that he would ask one of the Labert boys. They annoyed Bruce more than they irritated Elspeth. And he would never ask Elspeth.

The misunderstanding between them had never been resolved. They had only grown more distant at Balquhidder. The small snippets of conversation they managed when Master Faraday attended to his wounds was the only communication they’d had.

“Da!” Daniel waved at the riders as they came closer. “Where have ye been?”

“Whose horses are these?” Charles asked.

“What happened to ye? Yer a mess!” Elspeth declared.

They were covered from head to toe in dirt. Laird Labert’s shirt was torn, exposing the smattering of gray hair on his chest, and a bruise was blooming on his jaw. Bruce’s left hand was bleeding, and his disheveled hair was full of cobwebs and dried leaves.