Page 9 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

A Second Chance

J on got out of bed. He had not slept a wink, tossing and turning.

Amelia shouting at him and pointing out exactly the kind of man he was had been the warning he needed, and he felt ashamed.

Everything was true. He had toyed with her, thinking that it was just harmless fun, and he had pushed that more and more.

He had advanced on her and then drawn back.

He could not blame her for how she felt.

He had thought that he was a man, but that was not what a man was.

A man took care of his woman, protected her, and that included her feelings too. He had only been thinking of himself, but this was a new morning, and that meant a chance to start anew.

When he had kissed her, she had kissed him back, there was no doubt about that, and it had been intoxicating.

He had never been kissed by a woman like that before, and that gave him more reason to do this right.

He wanted to kiss her again and do a lot more than just that, and he would do anything to make it happen, and that meant doing things right.

He checked in his closet and pulled out a fresh pair of trews and a shirt—one of his nicer ones, and he took a deep breath.

Once he was dressed, he left for the courtyard and the gardens beyond.

Fall had not yet taken hold, and it was still moderately warm.

Jon breathed in as if he was breathing for the first time.

He was a man reborn. At least, he hoped he was.

“Mornin’,” said the gardener as Jon strolled into the gardens. The gardener did not seem surprised to see Jon, even though Jon was sure he had not been in the gardens before.

“Mornin’,” replied Jon. He was not sure if he should ask first or not, and he decided that he did not need to.

He wandered from flower bed to flower bed, picking flowers from each one.

A red rose, followed by a yellow one. A white flower that he did not know the name of, a purple flower, and another red rose.

He spent a few minutes and was happy with the small bouquet that he had created.

When he left the gardens, the gardener was looking at him with an inquisitive look.

Jon waved, and the gardened waved back before going back to his work.

The next step for Jon was to find Amelia, and he did not have to look very hard for her.

After walking back to the courtyard, he spotted her at one end, walking in his direction. He took that as a sign of fate.

As she got closer, he became more and more nervous. She smiled at those she passed and exchanged a word with some. When they got close, she smiled at him too, and that sent butterflies fluttering in his stomach, but when she walked straight past him, he felt lost.

“Amelia.”

Amelia turned around and looked at Jon, a surprised look crossing her face. “Jon,” she said. “I didn’t see that it was you. I saw you with the flowers, and I thought that you were someone else.”

“Aye, I don’t usually have a bouquet of flowers in front of my face, that’s true.”

“They are beautiful,” she said, walking back to him and putting her nose close to smell them.

“I picked them meself. They’re for ye.”

“For me. Oh… thank you.”

“Aye, yer welcome. Look, I ken that I acted like a brute, and I ken that ye have nay reason to have anythin’ to do with me, but I wanted to do somethin’ to apologize, and I thought that flowers might do the trick.

” He handed the flowers to Amelia, and she took them with a smile, but she did not say anything in response.

“That’s just the start,” continued Jon. “Look, I ken that there is somethin’ between us, and I think that you ken it too.

” There was a small crowd of people milling about close to them, but Jon did not care.

“I want to do this right, and the way that I’ve been actin’ so far has not been that of a man. ”

“I might be to blame too,” said Amelia, softening.

“Nay, ye are perfect, and I should have treated you as such. I want to make right by ye, and I am askin’ ye for a fresh start.”

“A fresh start?” Amelia looked around at the small crowd that was obviously listening in, while trying to remain inconspicuous. She grew red in the cheeks.

“Aye, a fresh start. I want to prove to ye that I’m not the man that I’ve made meself out to be since ye got here.

If ye dinnae want to do that, then I would understand and leave ye alone for the rest of yer life.

” Jon took a breath. He was not sure that he could follow through on that promise if she did feel that way.

He continued, hoping that he was winning her over.

“But if ye will give me a second chance, I want us to start again. I’d like to court ye. Nay expectations from either of us, we just have a picnic together and talk. That’s all.”

“Just talking?” asked Amelia with a sardonic smile.

“To start,” said Jon. “We get to ken each other and go from there.”

“And if this picnic were to happen, when would that be? And where would it be?”

“Today,” Jon blurted. “We could walk by the river, and I’ll bring a basket of food, the very best. Some wine too. We can walk by the river and talk. I dinnae ken why I keep saying talk, but I do want to get to ken ye more. So, picnic today by the river? What do ye say?”

Amelia had been thinking about the kiss ever since it had happened.

She had not liked what had come after, it had been too rushed and forceful, but the kiss was magical.

As soon as their lips had touched, she had not wanted it to end.

She had not wanted to kiss a man more than she had wanted to kiss Jon, and she wanted it to do it again.

But he had been a brute, that much was true.

She had two men after her. Ruben was a good man. He was pleasant, but he did not know what he wanted, or he did not know how to do anything about it, and that was frustrating. Jon knew exactly what he wanted, but he tried to take it by force. That made him a brute.

Until earlier today. The vision of him with the bouquet of flowers had melted her heart.

Now, she did not know what to think of him.

He was a bundle of raw passion, but the flowers had taken her aback.

That was something that she had not expected, and that is why she found herself on her way to meet with him by the river.

When he had asked her to join him for a picnic, she could not say no.

It could have been the kiss, the promise of good food and wine, or the chance to get to know him; she did not know. It did not matter. She had agreed to it, and she was going to give him a second chance.

“How are ye?” asked Jon when she arrived. He was standing under a large oak tree with a basket in his hand, and he looked ruggedly handsome. She had pushed back any lustful thoughts for now, but she could appreciate the beauty in a man.

“I am well,” she said. “And how are you?”

“Happy that ye came. I was nae sure that ye would.”

“Well, here I am,” she said. “So, what do we do now?”

“Now, we walk,” he said, offering his arm. She smiled and took it, the muscles rippling below. She almost laughed at the image of the two of them walking together. Their previous meets had been tense and passionate, but this was nice.

“So, you want to get to know me,” said Amelia. “What do you want to know?”

“I’m nae one for inane conversations, and I like to get to the bigger stuff, so excuse me if I offend ye.”

“I’m hard to offend.”

“Alright. I ken that ye came here after yer faither passed. How did it happen?”

Amelia took a breath. “He was murdered,” she said. “He was a merchant, and someone didn’t take kindly to the power that he was gaining, and they decided that the world would be better off without him in it.”

“And is it?” asked Jon.

“For the murderer, maybe, but not for me.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jon.

“Thank you. It’s nice to talk about it. Not many people want to talk about stuff like this. You live here with your uncle; can I assume that your parents have both passed away too?”

“Aye, they have. Me maither passed in childbirth, and me faither succumbed to the pox when I was only a wee lad. Me uncle has raised me since then.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m glad that you have your uncle. When my faither passed, I didn’t have anyone. I’ve been working ever since to try and make a living, but it’s hard. Moving from place to place. I don’t have any friends or family anymore. I don’t have much of anything, to be honest.”

“I hope that you can find some of that here,” said Jon. “I ken it can never replace what ye had, but I’d like to think that ye’ll call the castle home someday.”

“That might be nice,” said Amelia. “Maybe I will. What about your family? You’re what, forty-five and not married yet?”

Jon spat out a laugh. “Twenty-seven, I’ll have ye ken. Do I really look that old?”

“I can’t tell with you Scotsmen.”

“Well, me uncle has been lookin’ for a wife for me, but I’m glad that he hasn’t found one yet.”

“How do you know that he hasn’t found lots of potential wives, but they all don’t want to be wed to you?”

“I don’t know if ye are trying to get a rise out of me on purpose, but ye certainly are amusin’. I’ve missed this over the past few days.”

“I have too,” said Amelia. They walked in silence for a little.

It was nice to be talking with Jon like this again, and she felt that she could be herself in his presence.

When they had gone on a little more, Jon stopped and placed the basket down on the grass.

The bank was sloped down toward the river, and it provided the perfect place to sit.

“Ye want some food and wine.”

“I would find that most pleasurable,” said Amelia, changing her voice to sound like a queen or what she imagined a queen might sound like.

They sat together on either side of the basket, and Jon pulled out the items. A bottle of red wine imported from France, some cheese from the West of England, bread freshly baked in the kitchens, berries that had lasted into the fall, and some small tarts that looked to have some sort of red jam in them.

Jon broke the bread and handed some to Amelia, followed by some cheese. She picked up a raspberry and ate some of the cheese with the fruit.

“Oh, I kenned that I had forgotten somethin’,” said Jon.

“What?” asked Amelia.

Jon pointed down at the bottle of wine, and Amelia finally realized what he was talking about. There was a bottle of wine but no glasses.

“Well, we will just have to improvise.” Amelia picked up the bottle, pulled out the cork with her teeth, spat the cork onto the grass, and took a large swig from the bottle.

Jon keeled over backwards, his stomach shuddering as he laughed skyward.

When he sat back up, Amelia handed him the bottle with a giggle, and he took two large swigs of the claret liquid.

“We wouldnae have anywhere to put the glasses, anyway,” said Jon, looking down at the sloped bank.

“Don’t try and pretend that this is fate or something. You forgot the glasses, and I came in and saved the day.”

“If you weren’t here, I’d be lost.”

“You know that is true,” said Amelia.

“It is true,” said Jon.

Amelia glanced across at him, taking in his profile as he looked out toward the river. She moved the basket from between them and slid herself over so that she was shoulder to shoulder with him. He put his arm around her and held her tight.

“It really is beautiful here,” she said.

“The river is crystal clear when you are up close and perfectly reflects the blue sky above from this angle, making it look like blue glass. And the hills behind with the purple heather cloaking it like a draped blanket. We don’t have anything like that in England.

I mean, there is lots of beauty there, but it seems more vibrant up here. ”

“Aye, I have to agree with ye there, and I havenae even been to England. When I look out from the castle, I cannae imagine a bonnier and brawer place. Ye’ve forgotten one thing about the beauty of England, though.”

“And what is that?”

“England has more beautiful women. Nay, that’s not entirely true. There are many bonny lasses in Scotland, but one English lass has them all beat.”

“And who might that be?” asked Amelia with a sly smile. She could feel her cheeks turning beet red. Being with Jon like this was a nice change of pace compared to before.

“Amelia Cooper is her name. Ye might ken her,” said Jon.

“I like the sound of her,” said Amelia. “She sounds like quite the woman.”

“Oh, she is,” said Jon. “She can do amazin’ things like figure out how to drink wine without a glass.”

“Is there anything that she can’t do?” asked Amelia with a gasp.

“That remains to be seen.”

They sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company and happy to do so. Times like these needed no words. Amelia was not sure how long they were sitting there, but Jon eventually shifted and removed his arm.

“Come on, let’s get back. I have to get back to work, as much as I would like to stay out here all day, and I’m sure they are missin’ ye too.”

“I forgot about work,” said Amelia with a groan. “So, this is really it? You are not going to try anything?”

“I’m a man of me word, or I’m tryin’ to be. I mean it when I say that I want to get to ken ye first. Anyway, I hope there will be ample opportunity for me to kiss ye again. This is no the end of our courtin’, is it?”

“No, I don’t think that it is,” replied Amelia.

“Then back to the castle we go,” said Jon. “Oh, but do me one favor.”

“What is that?” asked Amelia, suspicious of his tone.

“Me uncle might not like that I’m consortin’ with ye. In fact, he might have forbidden me to be with ye.”

“Whatever for?”

“He said it was because you were English, but I think there is more to it than that. He’s leavin’ the castle for a while, so we should be fine, and I can talk to him when he gets back and figure this out, but can we keep this as our little secret for now?”

“Of course,” said Amelia, both excited and nervous at the prospect.