Page 21 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

Banished

V incent strode up to the door with purpose and knocked on it angrily.

He did not wait for anyone to come and knocked again almost immediately.

When the woman answered the door shortly after, she looked flustered.

Jon had seen her around the castle many times and had suspected that he was perhaps one of his uncle’s mistresses, but he had not known for sure until now.

When she saw Vincent on her doorstep, she looked surprised but happy. When she glanced behind him to see Jon standing there also, she quickly lost that expression.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, me Laird?” asked Ada. Her hair was all over the place, and she quickly tucked some behind her ear. She was obviously not expecting company, and she tried her best to make herself more presentable.

“Ye dinnae need to do that,” said Vincent. “He kens that ye are me whore.”

Ada gasped a little, taken aback by being called a whore, and Jon was surprised by the comment too, but his uncle was angry, and that was showing.

“I ken what ye did, and I need ye to tell me why ye did it so that we can take care of it,” said Vincent.

“What are ye talkin’ about?” asked Ada.

“Dinnae do that, Ada. I’m nae going to ask ye this again. Tell me why ye sent someone after Amelia, and if ye lie to me, then I cannae help ye.”

Ada opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it again. She looked from Vincent to Jon before settling on Vincent. “I did it for ye,” she said.

“For me?” asked Vincent. He looked around at Jon with a frown on his face. The Laird shook his head before looking back to his mistress.

“I love ye, ye ken that. I thought that when we spoke, ye—”

“I made it perfectly clear that I was going to wed Amelia; I couldnae have been more clear about that. I should have done somethin’ before this, but I trusted that ye had more sense. The way ye were talkin’ was crazy, but I did nae think ye would do somethin’ like this.”

“I did nae mean for it to go this far. I did nae think anythin’ would happen to her. She was nae meant to be harmed, only scared.”

“I was there,” said Jon. “He was sent there to kill her, and ye ken it.” Jon wanted to deal with her himself, but the Laird was between them. “He had a knife, and he would have cut her neck if I hadnae have been there.”

“No!” shouted Ada. “I just wanted to scare her off. She should’ve listened to me letter, and it wouldnae have come to this. The Laird is me man, and I can give him children.”

“I’m nay one’s man,” said Vincent. “Oh, I’ve heard enough of this babblin’.”

“What are ye going to do to me?” asked Ada.

“Just go inside, and dinnae talk to anyone, aye?” asked Vincent. “I’ll take care of this.”

“Aye,” said Ada. “Yer a good man, Vincent.” There were tears in her eyes, and Jon wanted to say something, but his uncle shot him a look. Ada took one more look at the Laird and closed the door.

“Come on,” said Vincent. He took his nephew by the shoulder and led him away from the house.

“What are ye going to do with her?” asked Jon. “She needs to be punished.”

“And she will,” said Vincent. “She cannae be a part of the Clan anymore. I wanted to put her at ease so that she wouldnae think about doing anythin’ stupid, but as soon as we are back at the castle, I’m sendin’ guards to have her arrested.

She’s going to be locked away for this. She’s been faithful to me in every way, but she has gone too far. ”

“She does nae ken too much about how ye run things?” asked Jon.

“Nay, I never talked to her, only had her in me bed. Dinnae, worry, she’s going to be taken care of.

I’m sorry that this happened to ye, Jon, and I cannae help but blame meself for gettin’ ye mixed up in this.

If I hadnae told her about being wed, she wouldnae have sent ye or Amelia those letters. I should be apologizin’ to ye.”

“Nay, uncle, ye have nothin’ to apologize for. That woman is crazy, there is nay doubt about it. And I would like to talk with ye about Amelia.”

“Aye, aye, in good time, Jon. Let me deal with this first, and I need to make sure she is well too. When this is sorted, we will sort everythin’ out, Jon. I’m sorry about all of this, truly I am. Maybe I’ve not made the best decisions, but I will try to in the future.”

“Aye, that sounds braw, Uncle,” said Jon. He felt at peace with everything going on around him. The assassin would be called off, and he could finally see a future with Amelia.

Amelia walked upstairs with the guards. She had not understood why she had needed to see the healer at all, except to get her out of the way so that Jon and his uncle could talk, and she wanted to see Jon again more than anything, but she was going to have to see his uncle first, for that was where she was being summoned.

They walked past the study and continued on. There was no one in the room. The guards led her to a wing of the castle that she had not frequented before, and they stopped outside a room with a large oak door. One of the guards knocked, and the voice of the Laird was heard from inside.

“Enter.”

The guards stepped aside to let Amelia enter the room.

She pushed the door open and went in, surprised by what she saw.

The bare stone walls of the hallways leading to the door did nothing to suggest the color and vibrancy that was contained within.

There were books of every color. Amelia had been in a library before, but the spines of the books had always been dull grays and browns. These books were obviously expensive.

“How are ye feelin’?” asked Vincent. He was standing at the rear of the room, holding an open book.

“I am fine,” said Amelia. She turned on the spot to take in the entire room. There were books covering every wall. It was beautiful.

“What do you think?” asked Vincent. He closed the book and placed it back on the shelf.

“This is wonderful,” said Amelia. She took a step farther into the room and spun around again. She had never seen anything like it. “Why have I never seen this before? Jon never mentioned anything like this.”

“Jon does nae ken about this. This is me private sanctum, a place where I come to think and have peace—a lot of secrets in this old room. I havenae shown this to anyone else, but I wanted to show it to ye, Amelia. I’m glad that yer well.

I dinnae want ye to worry about what happened earlier today, it has been taken care of. ”

“Who would do such a thing?” asked Amelia.

“It was an ex-lover of mine. She was jealous of ye, and she wanted to scare ye off, thinkin’ that she had a chance with me. I want ye to ken that yer life is in nay danger as long as I’m around.”

“It was Jon who saved me from the assassin.”

“Aye,” said Vincent, clearly irritated by the remark. “I mean from now on. Jon let the man go, though, didn’t he? I’m havin’ him rounded up as we speak. If it was nae for me, ye wouldnae ken who was after ye, and the man would still be out there. Yer safe now, and that is because of me.”

“Thank you, my Laird,” said Amelia. The room was amazing, but she had a feeling that she should run from here and never return. “Where is Jon?”

“He’s attendin’ to business,” said Vincent. “And ye dinnae need to call me Laird anymore, ye can call me Vincent.”

“Of course,” said Amelia. Everything was going from bad to worse, and she did not want to ask the question, but she had to. “Why did you bring me up here, my—Vincent?”

“The danger has been taken care of—it’s passed. Now is the time to plan for me future. Take a look around ye, Amelia. All of this is yers now. What is mine, I give to ye. Well, not everythin’, obviously.” Vincent flashed a charming smile. “But ye will want for nothin’.”

“The room is a wonder, but I have to—”

“You are the future of this Clan, Amelia. We are the future of this Clan. Together, we are going to strengthen our position of power, and the Nelson name will resound in this castle for generations.”

“I need to speak with Jon,” said Amelia. “Where is he, my Laird. He needs to speak with you about us.”

“Dinnae worry about Jon anymore, my dear. Ye dinnae need to worry about anythin’ anymore. I spoke with Jon, and he kens what is what, alright. Look, Amelia, I dinnae just bring anyone to this room, so please think about what ye want to say or do next.”

Amelia looked around the room again. Such beauty encompassing such ugliness.

She had never felt threatened in the castle before, but she had the distinct feeling that she was being threatened by the Laird.

It was possible that he had spoken with his nephew, but she did not believe that Jon would have left it like this without speaking with her.

“I can sense yer hesitation, Amelia. I ken how ye feel about Jon, and I ken how he feels about ye, but he’ll put the Clan first. I’m nae askin’ ye anymore, Amelia, I’m tellin’ ye how it is going to happen.

I’m the Laird of this Clan, and I’m takin’ meself a wife.

I’ve decided that ye are going to be me wife, and that’s the way it is.

Jon has had everythin’ handed to him, and he’s not going to take this from me.

Ye dinnae want to put his life in danger, do ye? ”

“His life?” asked Amelia. “You cannot be serious? Are you threatening to harm your own nephew if I do not marry you?”

“I’m askin’ ye to make a smart decision,” said Vincent.

He let out a deep sigh and walked over to Amelia, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I ken ye want to do the right thing. Jon is nae the Laird, and he never will be. He cannae give ye what I can give ye. Ye’ll have more power than ye can dream of, and ye’ll have a big family.

Ye’ll want for nothin’ ever again. Besides, I’m sure that Jon will want to lead our men in the next war.

They can be tricky things, and ye never ken when someone will try and take power. ”

“I….” Amelia did not know what to say. It was clear that Jon was being threatened and that something was going to happen to him if she did not agree to marry the Laird. “What if I do not accept your proposal?”

“Then I will have to find someone else to bear me bairns, won’t I?”

Amelia did not quite know what that meant, but she knew that this could all be worked out if she could talk to Jon, the man she loved.

“I cannot do it, I’m sorry,” said Amelia. “Your offer is more than fair, but I am in love with your nephew. I love him with all my heart, and I cannot marry someone else when I feel this way. I have to marry for love, my Laird. I hope that you can understand.”

Vincent held her gaze for a moment and sighed. A slight smile came to his lips. “Of course, I understand,” he said. “It’s truly a noble thing to wed for love. I’m sorry that we couldnae come to an agreement.”

“I am sorry too, my Laird. I am sure that once you speak with Jon, all of this will be worked out.”

“Aye, yer right,” said Vincent.

“I should go,” said Amelia. She was glad that this had not ended badly.

Love was never easy, and this was surely the final obstacle that they would have to overcome before they could be together.

Perhaps they would run off and spend their days away from everyone else.

“Thank you for your understanding, my Laird.”

“Everythin’ handed to him on a plate,” murmured Vincent.

“I’m sorry?” said Amelia.

“Aye, and well ye should be. Ye havenae made a smart decision, have ye?”

“What do you mean?” asked Amelia.

“Guards!” shouted Vincent.

Three men entered the room—two in uniforms and a slender man in plain clothes.

“Angus, ye ken where to take her. Me nephew needs to learn a thing or two.”

“Aye,” said Angus, taking Amelia by the arm and pulling her forcibly from the room.