Page 6 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

A Flicker of Romance

M aggie bounded up to Amelia as soon as she spotted her. “Is it true?” she asked.

“Is what true?” asked Amelia, knowing exactly what her friend was talking about. She was not sure how everyone in the castle seemed to know about her interaction with the Laird, seeing as it was only her, the Laird, and Jon in the room, but the gossip had spread like wildfire.

“Someone said that ye banged yer fist on his desk!”

“Well, I certainly did not do that,” said Amelia.

“But ye did have a go at him?”

“I did not know that he was the Laird,” admitted Amelia. “I found myself in his study, shouting at Jon, who I had assumed was the Laird, and thank you very much for not alerting me to that fact before I went up there, and that was when I found out that Jon’s uncle was really the Laird.”

“So, what did ye do?” asked Maggie.

“Well… I shouted at him,” said Amelia with a smile. She placed her hands on her hips.

“I think that yer me hero,” said Maggie with a laugh. “Gelila, are ye listenin’ to this?”

“Aye, but I’m also tryin’ to do me work too,” said Gelila. “As we all should be.”

Maggie patted Amelia on the arm and smiled at her one last time before she turned and went back to work.

“I have to admit that we’ve all dreamed of it, but yer the first to actually do it, Amelia. Maggie’s nae wrong when she says yer her hero. Yer a hero to us all. As long as he does nae come down on us harder because of it.”

That gave Amelia some pause for thought.

If Jon were the Laird, she could deal with him, or she thought that she could.

He had pushed and had come close to doing something but had held himself back.

She knew exactly how to push his buttons if push came to shove.

The Laird, however, was a different story.

She did not know the man, and she did not believe that her feminine wiles were going to be enough to get what she wanted from him.

“I am no hero,” said Amelia. “I just cannot hold my tongue sometimes. I might have stood up to the Laird, but that will come back to bite me in the rear; I am sure of that.”

“I’ve seen the way that the Laird’s nephew looks at ye,” said Gelila with a sly smile. “I wouldn’t mind being bit in the rear by that one.” Gelila burst out laughing, and Amelia could not help but join in.

There was a point where she would have agreed with that sentiment.

There was no denying how he had stirred something deep within her, and she was only human, but he was infuriating too.

He had purposely hidden the fact that he was not the Laird, and it was his fault that she had gone off at the actual Laird.

And there was the push and pull. When he had pressed her up against the wall, she had longed for him to press his lips to hers, but then he had stopped himself.

When she thought back about his comments, it was obvious that he had set out to torment her just for the sake of it.

She had been his for the taking, but he had been the one to put an end to that.

Well, if that is what he wants, he can have it.

Amelia was not going to bother herself with the man anymore.

She did not need to, now that she knew where the true power lay.

The Laird had given her the power to hire more staff, and that was all that she wanted right now.

She would focus solely on the tasks at hand and forget about men. At least, for a while.

“Where are yer thoughts?” asked Galila. “Have we lost ye? Are ye thinkin’ about the Laird’s nephew, eh?”

“No, nothing like that,” said Amelia. “I have the power to hire more staff to help around here, and that means that all of our jobs are going to be a lot easier, as they should be. You have all worked far too hard for far too long.”

“Well, isn’t that braw news,” said Galila. “Ye’ve only been here a few days, and ye’ve accomplished much. Maybe the Laird has takin’ a likin’ to ye too.”

“Oh, I hope not. I have nothing against the man, but he is a lot older than me. Besides, I do not need a man right now. Anyway, I must be off, there are more horses coming into the castle today, and I need to oversee the work in the stables to make sure that everything is ready. My faither always told me that happy animals make for a happy life.”

“Standin’ up to the Laird and gettin’ us more help around the castle. Ye really are a hero, Amelia.”

Amelia blushed and said nothing more. She left Gelila in the kitchens and headed for the stables.

It was a long walk, but it gave her the chance to memorize some more of the layout of the castle.

She did not quite know her way around yet, but she did have a good sense of the direction she needed to go in to get to the stables, and she took the long way around.

Then, she found herself blocked by a stone wall.

There was a short corridor down a series of twists and turns that were obviously unused, but it eventually led to nowhere.

Amelia was about to leave when she turned to face the wall again, placing a hand there.

She traced a series of lines with her finger as if drawing out a door on the solid wall.

She pushed on it, but it was solid, and the surrounding area gave no clues as to whether there was anything down here.

She pressed her hand to the cold stone for a moment longer before retracing her steps.

The stories of hidden passages and secret crypts were still fresh in her mind, but she hoped they were true, more than she expected them to be.

There was too much excitement in her life already for her to be looking for more.

With that thought in her head, she made her way quickly to the stables, berating herself for taking a long detour.

“Miss Amelia,” said Ruben when she got there. The first time she had met Ruben, she had obtained a flawed impression of him. He had been gruff when she had first come through the castle gate, and she immediately pinned him as a man who was not to be trusted, but that opinion was slowly changing.

“Ruben,” she replied in greeting. “When are the horses due to arrive?”

“Later this afternoon,” said Ruben.

“And is everything ready?” she asked.

“As ready as they’ll ever be. Come on, let me show ye.”

Amelia followed him into the stables, enjoying the smell that came from them. A clean stable smelled fresh and organic, even if there was dung in there, and the aroma within was a testament to how well the stable master did his job.

“Oh, give me a second,” said Ruben. He moved quickly to one of the stable hands who was lifting hay with a pitchfork.

“Give me that,” said Ruben, taking the tool from the young boy.

“Like this, aye? Ye have to bend with yer knees and put yer back into it when ye are liftin’.

This is the last of it, and I will nae have it nae done before lunch.

Now, ye kenned this was going to be hard work, but I ken that ye can dae it, Robert. ”

“Aye, I’ll have it done, dinnae worry,” said Robert eagerly.

Ruben moved some more of the hay, showing Robert the correct technique, and Amelia watched, fascinated.

It was another thing that was helping to change her opinion of him.

And, as she watched, she found that her thoughts of not needing a man were slowly leaving.

Jon had created a longing inside, but he had made it clear that that desire could not be chased.

As she watched Ruben working, she realized that she wanted more as a woman.

Each time the stable master bent down to pick up some more hay, his breeches strained against his thighs and rear, tightening so that she could see everything, and she liked what she saw.

As he lifted the piles of hay, his shirt sleeves tightened, too, showing muscular arms. She had not thought of him in this way before, and she blamed the Laird’s nephew for igniting her passion.

She did not see herself marrying this man before her, but what harm would a little fun be?

When Ruben was done, he returned to her, and there was a smile on his face. “Are ye alright, Miss Amelia?” He quickly glanced down at himself as he commented.

Amelia could feel her face redden a little, and she tried to hide the fact that she had become flustered. “I am fine,” she said. “It feels very warm in here.”

“Well, let’s continue on, eh,” said Ruben.

He took hold of her arm, and she felt a tingle of pleasure work its way up her arm.

He was polite, and that was a refreshing change from how Jon had treated her, but she could not help but feel she loved the challenge.

She did not want it to be easy; she wanted to fight for it.

Amelia shook her head. Not everything needed to be a challenge; some things could be enjoyed for what they were.

“Might I add that ye look very bonny today, Miss Amelia.”

“Thank you, Ruben. You do not look so bad yourself.” Amelia blushed as she said it. She had thought it but had not meant to say it out loud. “I only mean…,” she stammered, but she had nothing else to say, and she quickly fell silent.

“I heard about what ye said to the Laird,” said Ruben as they walked the interior of the stables. He kept hold of her arm the entire time, and at one point, he placed a hand on her back to guide her around some mud.

“I probably should not have, but I could not contain myself. It did not help that I thought Jon was the Laird, that roguish devil.”

“Aye, he’s a good man,” said Ruben.

“Yes, that he is,” replied Amelia, staring off into space. There was still something about the man that was alluring.

“But the Laird,” said Ruben, quickly changing the subject. “I would’ve liked to have seen his face when ye shouted at him. I wouldnae dare. I think that he would have had me head if I had. Beautiful women like yerself can do more than plain men like me.”

Amelia could see that he was fishing for a compliment while giving her one, and that put her off a little.

She liked a man with a little more confidence.

Besides, she would not call him plain. He had a rugged handsomeness and muscular stature.

He was a man through and through, and she was sure that he could handle himself very well when it came to anything of that sort.

For a moment, she imagined the stable master with his shirt off.

“He did have a face like a wild boar,” admitted Amelia, quickly shaking the thought from her mind. She was quite happy to be without a man, and she still had thoughts of the Laird’s nephew in her mind.

Ruben burst out laughing at the image, a loud booming laugh that was warm and drew Amelia in.

She felt his hand on her shoulder, and she liked how it felt there.

When he stopped laughing, he stared directly at her, and Amelia suddenly realized just how close they were to each other.

She held his gaze for a moment, wondering if he was going to do the same as Jon had, but he did not make a move, almost as if he was waiting for her to do so.

“I have to go,” said Amelia. “Be sure that the stables are ready for the horses.”

“Aye,” said Ruben, a little disappointed.

Amelia smiled before she turned and left the stable.

She did not know why things could not be straightforward.

Jon had forced himself on her and then drawn away, giving mixed signals.

Ruben had obviously wanted to do something, but he had done nothing.

This was exactly the reason why she did not need to get mixed up with men right now.

She had her duties to attend to in the castle, and they came first. Once she was more settled, she could think about a man. For now, she needed to make sure that she stayed on the Laird’s good side so that she could continue to get what she wanted.