Master of the Highlands

“It seems he ’s chosen you,” he said. “But you’ll need a name for him. ”

Lily patted his wiry fur, a steel gray the color of the Highland sky, while he teetered on overlong legs like a newborn colt. The pup gently swatted her on the shoulder with enormous paws that spoke to the huge size he ’d one day grow to be.

As if reading her mind, Ewen marveled, “Aye, those feet are like wee boats. He ’ll be a braw one, this lad. But don’t mistake his playfulness—these animals will kill to protect their own.”

Ewen squatted down to pat the dog roughly on the side of his belly, and their hands accidentally brushed. Lily jerked her arm back to her side, pretending that she suddenly had to make herself more comfortable on the cold, stony ground. She was annoyingly aware of Ewen ’s proximity and vowed that her mind would keep control over the sensations that once again rushed through her traitorous body.

“It looks like an Irish wolfhound to me, ” she said in a voice that wavered more than she would have liked.

“Aye, that sounds right. I ’m told the mutt’s grandsire hailed from Ireland and was used to track and kill wolves. The Irish haven’t been able to eradicate the pests as we Highlanders have.”

Though Lily flinched, she decided not to make an issue of it. Ewen was clearly trying to make amends, so she would do the same and not mar her first wonderful moments with her new puppy. She steered the subject in another direction. “How did you guess I ’d want a puppy? I ’ve always wanted a dog named Finn. Doesn’t he look like a Finn?”

“Och, Finn? ’Tis bad enough to have a beast that hails from Ireland, but to name him thus? Why not Angus or Fergal or some other braw Scots name?”

Lily looked directly at him and, with out thinking, raised her eyebrows and shot, “Get over yourself, Ewen. ”

Lily didn ’t know who was more startled by the staccato burst of laughter that erupted from the laird, her or the puppy.

“You ’re a curious lass, Lil’. I ’ll be going for some time now—I trust you’ll have no troubles minding both the pup and my son while I ’m away. ” The tease in his eyes told Lily that this was his effort at matching her sarcasm.

She didn’t know what game they were playing, but she found herself joining along. “Mmhmm”—the words were out of her mouth before she could think about them “and I ’— ll need to keep an eye on Robert too, I suppose. ”

“Robbie can mind himself. ” Ewen’s lighthearted tone turned suddenly serious. “Don ’t be troubling with him. You’ll have troubles enough keeping your eyes open for Rowena. The wench hasn ’t been spotted since that accursed picnic of hers. ”

“I didn’t mean keep an eye on Robert, I meant ” … , she mumbled. “I …I don’t know what I meant. And of course, I ’m on the lookout for Rowena. ”

“Aye then. I’ll see you when I return. ”

“Wait! I mean, wait. Where are you going?”

“It’s not of your concern, lass. ” A dark cloud swept over Lily’s face. “Och, woman, ” Ewen amended, “I’ve a wee bit of spying to attend to. The redcoats are up to mischief on the clan’s own borders. ”

He regarded Lily for a moment then added, “And I’ve a person to see on the way home. ”

Before she could ask any questions, Ewen instructed, “I ’ll be home by nightfall. Mind yourself while I ’m away. ” He turned abruptly and stalked out of the gardens before Lily could even register his comment.

“Mind myself?” Exasperated, she muttered to her new confidante, “Mind myself. How dare he? Mind myself indeed … bullheaded man. ”

Finn merely looked on with liquid brown eyes and a gleefully lolling tongue.

“I’d say you were heartsick, lad.”

Ewen merely glared at his uncle, then wordlessly kicked Ares into a canter. Donald’s laughter boomed through the valley, the sound echoing off the rocks and hills all around. His uncle knew him too well, and his laughter was a mocking challenge to the laird to get ahold of himself. Ewen had vowed never again to get caught up in the wiles of womenfolk, yet here he was, acting the heartsick boy. Something about Lily set him off balance. Giving her the mutt had started well enough. Then, before he could master the situation, it devolved into wordplay that crackled like dry kindling set to flame. Like a fool, Ewen had purposely grazed his hand against hers just to feel once more the touch of her skin and the shock it sent through his loins. He couldn’t help himself where she was concerned—his desire for her heard suggestion in her every word, read it in every glance.

She had offhandedly mentioned Robert and he ’d lost his wits. His accursed foster brother was enamored of her intellect, and Ewen had seen the lad’s eye rove over the rest of her one too many times as well. The thought of her possibly returning his interest agitated him.

Of all the people under his care, Lily and Robert were two who vexed him most, and on a regular basis. Encouraging a friendship—or more—between them would not only get them out of his hair, it might banish the undue attraction that was growing between himself and Lily.

But damned if the notion of Lily and Robert together didn’t gall him. The thought was ludicrous, but it had still haunted the laird ever since Lily had mentioned Robert while lying in his bed. He couldn ’t believe that she ’d want a lad like Robbie, for that is how Ewen considered him. An overearnest, insufferably pedantic, at times arrogant, but admittedly well-meaning lad. But perhaps that’s what women wanted where Lily hailed from. Men who lived in their heads, not their bodies.

But Lily, who fought like the wolf she so stubbornly protected, who survived the labyrinth without losing her life or her sanity, who worked with her hands in that ridiculous garden of hers. He didn’t credit that she would choose one such as Robert, but then perhaps that is what all women craved. Well-groomed men who wielded their words with more skill than they did their swords.

“Lad, you’ll slow that beast down now. ” Donald had ridden up beside Ewen, catching him unawares. “I ’ll not abide you riding a perfectly good mount into the dirt. ” Laughter gone, his tone admonished Ewen, treating him like an ill-behaved nephew rather than the laird that he was.

Ewen bit his tongue. He wouldn ’t lash out at his uncle, nor should he be taking his frustrations out on Ares, who gamely kept up with the unnecessary pace that Ewen was setting for him.

“Aye, you’re right, of course. ” Gripping his thighs against the horse, Ewen eased his gait down to a trot and eventually a brisk walk.

“That’s better, lad. Now you’ll tell me what’s got you in such a fankle. ”

Ewen didn’t answer, so Donald continued to press. “I ’ll venture your problem has a bonny tangle of curls on its head, eh?”

“You venture wrongly, uncle,” Ewen snarled.

“You ’ll not fool me, Ewen Cameron. I can see the lass writ clear on your face. Deny it and I ’ll redden your seat with my stave just as I did when you were a wee lad. ”

Distant birdsong and the skittering of gravel under the horses’ hooves were the only things filling the silence that stretched between the two men. Donald watched the feelings that warred on the laird’s face, and just when it seemed his comment would go unanswered, Ewen replied in a voice hoarse with emotion, “Aye, I suppose the lass does get under my skin. ”

“Aye, I do suppose, ” Donald muttered in a whisper thick with sarcasm.

Not looking at his uncle, Ewen continued, “I’ve sworn off the lasses. With John as my heir, there ’s no need for me to take another wife.”

“So lassies are just for breeding then, is it?”

“Och, don ’t fash me, man. You know what it is I ’m saying to you. ”

“Make it clearer for an old man such as myself, aye?”

Ewen pulled Ares to an abrupt halt and turned to face Donald. “I ’ll not discuss this more than need be. You know my marriage to Mairi was a farce. John will be Lochiel after me and so I’m not in want of another wife. ” He kicked his horse back into an easy trot.

Donald called out to Ewen’s back, “You’re just marking the clan’s needs. What of the needs of the laird himself?”

Donald took the laird ’s silence as an invitation to continue.

“Soon the day will dawn when you look in the mirror and see an old man looking back. Don’t be like me, lad—a lonely old bull with naught to show for a life of hard work. ”

“Uncle, you ’re a feared warrior and an indispensable part of this clan. I ’ll not have you speaking so—”

Donald interrupted gruffly, “Don’t be daft. Warrior, farmer, tinker, I don’t care what I am, lad. What I really want is a plump lass to warm my bed, with a smile on her face and a kind word at the ready. And if you’ve not yet realized that ’s what it comes to, then you’re greener than I took you for. ”

Ewen didn ’t respond. Donald barked, “Are you listening, boy, or am I just gathering wool?”

“I hear, uncle. Now mind me. The lass doesn ’t belong to this time or this place. ” His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “I ’ll wager that what she truly wants isn’t a man such as is bred by the Highlands. ”

“Then you ’ve no eyes in your head, lad. Lily looks at you with a spark in her eye, like she ’s drowning and you ’re a gulp of air. ”

Ewen muttered angrily to himself, “I’m the one who ’s drowning, man.”

The laird cleared his throat then continued in a tone that left no doubt as to whether or not the subject was changed.

“It’s time to stop nattering like a bunch of lassies and discuss what we ’re on for.”

Donald paused a moment and decided to allow his nephew the abrupt change in conversation. In a garrulous tone that belied the more sensitive subject matter, he asked, “So our fool general friend found he couldn’t grease your palms so now he’s building a wee fort nigh to Cameron lands, eh?” ns class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">