Highlander's Love Child : A Highlander Steamy Romance Short Read (Highland Lover Series Book 5)

by Fiona Knightley

  Chapter 3

  Oliver sits upright on his bed. What a long night. He hasn’t slept much. Instead, he has been tossing around on his bed, waking up unexpectedly, and then falling back into restlessness. He looks around his room and reminds himself that he is still Dunfermline. A village that has always brought him peace whenever he wanted to avoid Sophie's spectacle in Montrose. A town where he would have loved to dwell if not for the change that came with his father's death.

  Coming here has always brought him peace, except this time, it doesn’t. His encounter last night at his art exhibit has put him in this state, a situation where he has to ask himself thousands of questions. And he’s curious about answers to these questions.

  “Amelia,” he whispers softly to himself.

  The one person he didn’t expect to see in Dunfermline. When he saw her at the show last night, he couldn’t explain the tingling sensation that ran within him. It was as if she came to his present life, drawn by his thoughts and longing for her. Yet she wasn’t happy to see him. He remembers the lack of warmth on her face when he had called out her name and come closer to her.

  Has she fallen out of love with him? Or is it because of Laird Thomas?

  Yesterday evening, he thought he was mistaken when he saw someone that looked like her. In the past three years, his constant thoughts of her had made him see visions of her several times. Then last night, he saw her smiling and walking around the room. He had attempted to ignore it at first until it seemed too real to be a mirage.

  When he called out her name and she turned to acknowledge it, he knew it was reality. This wasn’t yet another vision like the many he’d experienced so many times over the years. She had even admitted to relocating from Arbroath to Dunfermline. He had found her. There is no need to wonder any longer. However, what seems to be off is the way she reacted to seeing him again.

  They have indeed been apart all these years because of their differences and the issue they had in the past, but he has forgiven her and wants to make amends. They had been in worse situations than this in the past. They had adjusted and taken their relationship to the next level. Why, then, should this be different?

  Thomas stands up from his bed and walks to the table where the ale bottle has been standing. He pours some of the drink in a cup and throws it down his throat. His drinking habit has been on and off; one minute, he tries to stay away from it; the next minute, he is down its path again.

  Drawing does help him have an uncluttered mind and clearer thoughts, but when his mind is teeming with too many thoughts to draw, he resorts to his ale. This is one of those days.

  He looks around the untidy room with shards of crushed papers tossed from one corner of the room to another. These are pieces of paper from his drawings and paintings. The situation in his room isn’t a problem for him now. Of course, the domestic staff he hires to care for his house in Dunfermline will soon be here. In no time, the room will be in a recognizable state once more.

  He looks out his window. The sun is up, and the weather looks bright. What does the day bring for him?

  Typically, he would have gone to conclude his artwork's sales at the gallery room, but his mind isn’t set up for this type of activity this morning. He woke up this morning, longing for something entirely different—the desire to see Amelia again.

  Their conversation last night was strange. A tête-à-tête that he still questions. He had seen discomfort in Amelia as she spoke last night. Yet, even with that blank look, she is still as beautiful as he remembered.

  Ah! What a stoater. Her beauty never seems to fade. A tiny shape of a smile crosses at the side of Oliver’s mouth. Seeing Amelia dressed in red is the most beautiful thing he has seen in the past three years. The image of how the evening gown hung on her body can’t seem to leave his mind.

  A woman like her couldn’t go unnoticed when she walked around the room that night.

  He reminisces, seeing how her golden hair falls on her shoulder. She looks like evening sunlight, the color of peach in the black dawn. She has her way of being so graceful at her simple best, something most women are missing, especially in Dunfermline.

  Of all this, what seems to continually throw him off guard is Thomas. The way he is everywhere around Amelia is provoking. And to think he openly calls her his love! Huh! How bold of him! For how long has he been with her to have the courage of introducing her as his love?

  And come to think of it; Amelia didn’t make any objection to the words Thomas said. She didn’t say no, nor did she say yes. Does it mean she is equally in love with him? Naw! That can’t happen on my watch!

  He has to see Amelia and have a deep knowledge of her and Thomas. But the question remains, how will he get to Amelia? He barely knows where she lives. Damn! He should have asked her or even attempted to find out. Now, looking around in the whole of Dunfermline, it will never be possible for him to see her.

  He doesn’t even know of anyone close to her, expect… Thomas! Of course, why had he not thought of him to begin with? But the question remains, will Thomas tell him where Amelia lives? Or are they living together?

  “Laird Oliver,” Thomas greets Oliver as he enters his living room in the early afternoon of that same day. “Ma help told me you are here. I wasn’t expecting to see ye here.”

  “Aye, I should have told ye I will be visiting ye. Apologies, it’s urgent,” Oliver replies, standing up as Thomas walks in. Oliver looks around the house as if he is looking for or expecting someone else.

  Thomas notices what he is doing but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he waves his hand as an indication for him to sit back on the chair. Oliver sits down. Thomas also sits.

  “Urgent?” Thomas looks at him thoroughly. “Oh! I'm guessing it’s about the portrait I purchased last night. They are pure beauty. I like the oil ye used for them. Yer workers will be bringing them here, right?” Thomas says.

  “Aye...W…well...” Oliver hesitates. “The art is braw and but, Ah'm no here for that.”

  “Ye dinnae? Whit then?”

  “I dinnae see Amelia here,” Olivier says as he looks around the house again.

  At this moment, Thomas understands him.

  “I see ye here fur Amelia?” Thomas says as he stands up from the couch and moves to where a bottle of ale is placed. Thomas pours out some ale into two cups and gives one of them to Oliver. He raises the cup to Oliver in cheers.

  “Why would Amelia be here?” Thomas asks Oliver.

  “She was with you last night.”

  “Aye, but what makes ye so sure she bides here?”

  Oliver realizes the point he is trying to drive at; he shouldn’t have assumed that Amelia is living here with him. That doesn’t speak right of him nor her.

  “Ma mistake…Ah'm sorry fur concluding on that.” Oliver hesitates, then continues. He has to ask Thomas about the issue that worries him, even though his words have probably already betrayed his intent. Thomas needs to know. “What relationship do ye have with Amelia?”

  “That question should be yers to answer. Why do ye search fur her?”

  “It’s a personal issue…”

  “Past affairs?” Thomas interrupts. His face is tight as he looks at Oliver. And Oliver understands now that the next words that will come from him will be even more stern than first.

  “It’s yet personal,” Oliver insists.

  Thomas gurgles, “I deh see anything personal there.” Thomas's face is smug again. “She told me aboot ye. Ah'm sure ye should ken that whatever ye both had has ended. A married man should bide with his wifey and not run after another hen.”

  “Married man? Wifey?” Oliver says, uncertain of what Thomas means by that.

  “Ah'm with Amelia. She is ma lass.” Oliver is surprised by his words. Though his intuition has proven right, Thomas's words still catch Oliver off guard.

  “I respect yer work,” Thomas continues, “but I wouldnae want ye to be near Amelia. Ye got to let her be,” Thomas says. And from the boldne
ss in his voice, Oliver is convinced that he means every single word.

  Chapter 4

  Oliver sips from the cup of ale Thomas had given him. At some point during their conversation, he forgot that he was holding the drink. There are a lot of things Oliver wants to say to Thomas. However, with how stoic Thomas's voice is when he tells him to steer clear of Amelia, coming up with the right words to convince him will be difficult. Moreover, his only mission here is to find Amelia, not to clear up any allegations made against him by Thomas.

  His intention of visiting Thomas is to ask him where Amelia is living. It isn't very reasonable for him to think they would be living together. His feeling of Thomas and Amelia living together is backed by the belief that he knows Amelia has no close relation in Dunfermline. However, no matter how intimidating Thomas's words are, he still needs to find Amelia. It would have been better if he asked another person. Still, unfortunately, Thomas is the only one in Dunfermline who knows Amelia.

  The fact is, whatever words Thomas may say to him to scare him or push him away from Amelia, he still needs to make his intentions clear.

  Oliver retakes a sip of the ale as if to draw strength from it to further his words. “How do I find her?” Oliver asks.

  From the corner of his eyes, Oliver sees how Thomas looks up at him suddenly. He must have thought that telling him to stay away from Amelia would be enough to stop his inquiries. Well, he came here for that purpose, and nothing will stop him.

  “I need to see her fer a reason,” Oliver says further.

  “I meant ma words…bide away from…”

  “Ye have naw right to decide fer her who to see,” Oliver cut in. “Let her make that decision.”

  Thomas casts a stern look at him then takes a sip from his drink. “Aye, it’s her decision to make. But she deh wants to see ye.”

  “Ye deh ken that”

  “I ken!” Thomas snaps, “She says so herself.”

  Can this be true? Does Amelia say she doesn’t want to see him?

  Perhaps Thomas is bluffing. Of course, he doesn’t want Oliver to see Amelia, so he could make up words to throw him off. Ah! This is where Thomas is muddling up. If Thomas had known him well, he would have known that Oliver is not a man that quits easily, especially when it comes to matters that involve Amelia.

  “I still want to ken where she bide,” Oliver says. This time around, he is the one with the stoic voice. He needs to put his words straight to Thomas.

  “Wit gives ye so much confidence that I will tell ye?”

  “No confidences, just following ma instincts.”

  “Well, yer insight fell ye, I can’t give ye that which ye seek,” Thomas says as he drops his cup on the table. “Forgive me, Ah'm a busy man. I need to be of fer an appointment.” He signs him to the direction of the door, indicating that he should leave. “It is sound having this conversation with ye,” Thomas adds.

  Thomas is a stubborn man, it seems; he doesn’t give in easily. Oliver throws the last contents of his cup down his throat. He raises the empty cup to Thomas in salutation, then places it on the table next to him. Thomas walks him to the door, and Oliver has no option but to leave. A man’s authority in his home cannot be underestimated or overlooked.

  Oliver might be leaving now, but this is not the end of it. If he can’t get what he wants directly from Thomas, he’ll have to get it indirectly from him. It might require him to spend few more days or even weeks in Dunfermline, but he won’t mind.

  Oliver goes home, thinking of the perfect plot of how to appear before Thomas again. That is, if he will. Even though the two knew each other only on a business-related level, Oliver is learning another part of Thomas that he never knew.

  In Dunfermline, it is easy to meet a fellow businessperson, especially during events and gatherings. It was on one of these occasions that he encountered Thomas. They got talking and introduced each other to their business. Oliver has purchased some properties from Thomas, and Thomas has equally purchased some paintings and artwork from Oliver, including some of the images which he saw on the wall of the drawing-room when he visited him.

  Now, it seems that their friendship may change. After all, every action on earth has its effects. People fall in and out of favour with each other when things don’t go agreeably, even with business partners.

  He and Amelia did not have a falling out with each other during the dispute surrounding his father’s death, so why should they now? He firmly believes that having a proper chat with Amelia will help put a few things straight. Thus, retreating is not the best thing to do.

  If he backs away as Thomas had instructed him, to go back to Montrose without seeing Amelia, he will forever live regretting it. Besides, in the past three years, he had often awoken in the middle of the night, wondering where she could be and how far life had taken her. Only to one day, out of the blue, see her in the last place he had expected.

  Naw! He is not ready to back out now. Thomas might think he has put his words square to Oliver. But he has no idea that he is just beginning. He will get the information he needs from Thomas, by any means.

  It’s been four days since Oliver’s visit to Thomas's home. Oliver has paid a lad to trail Thomas's movements and monitor the places he goes to. For twenty shillings, the boy was very dedicated to doing a good job for him, and he was sure to return with some answers very soon.

  As much as this action may seem dishonourable, this is the only choice he has to see Amelia again. That, or he could post a painting of Amelia on every market or the road of Dunfermline and offer a bounty for anyone who knows where she resides. Which, of course, would undoubtedly alarm Amelia as well as tipoff Thomas to his next action.

  He wants to make amends with her, not send her from him forever. The past few days, as he waits for the lad to give him exciting news, have been some of the longest he has experienced. Every evening, the lad comes to his lodge to deliver his report on Thomas, which has him visiting estates, lands, castles, and nothing to do with Amelia. And today, it’s likewise the same news; nothing that is of interest to Oliver.

  Of course, the lad has mentioned Thomas going to the market and a few other places with a lady. From the boy’s description, Thomas suspects it to be Amelia. He did say the lady has dark golden hair and alluring eyes. Oliver can make all his bets that it is Amelia, but the question is, where does she live?

  He is beginning to hold onto his first credence that they live together. Feck! He hopes this isn’t true. The thought of Amelia in Thomas's arms is aggravating, and more disturbing the more he thinks about it.

  “I was thinkin’ the lassie may bide in a wee cottage near Marlowe’s land,” the lad says diligently. It seems he had sensed the disappointment in Oliver’s voice when he gave the same report again this evening.

  “A wee cottage?” Oliver asks interest. This seems like the most exciting thing he has said this evening.

  “Aye. Ah do see that lassie around there. She once had a wee farm behind her cottage, where she’d grow crops. Now she has a big’un.”

  Amelia, a farmer? Oliver had never thought of that. However, looking at it now, she was the daughter of a farmer. So, she may have been farming here. But why would she leave Arbroath for Dunfermline? Anyway, whatever it is, he wants to check out this cottage.

  Oliver reaches the front porch of the cottage the lad had spoken about. He contemplates on whether or not to proceed in knocking on the door, but after a minute’s hesitation, he knocks anyway. If anyone but Amelia opens the door, he will apologize and leave. But it would be so braw if it turns out to be Amelia.

  After knocking twice on the door, the door opens, and Amelia comes out.

  Chapter 5

  “Oliver,” Amelia inaudibly mouths.

  From the look on her face, anyone can tell that she is not expecting the visitor standing on her porch. How did Oliver find her cottage? What on earth is he doing here? Indeed, the last person she is expecting at her door this evening is Oliver.

&nb
sp; “Ye deh seems happy to see me,” Oliver says with a smile.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see ye,” Amelia says in a low tone.

  “Aye. I understand. I equally have ma doubt of finding ye,” Oliver states with his eyes still sparkling from smiles, which makes Amelia silently question what amuses him.

  “Ah'm thinking ye would let me in,” he gently suggests, almost a question.

  “Aye.” Amelia startles like she is drawn out of a thought, then she steps aside to let him walk in.

  With a cautious smile, Oliver strides into the cottage and looks around it with an interested expression on his face.

  “Yer place is very braw,” he compliments her as he moves around the place, slowly looking around it with his hands behind his back as if he is a home buyer inspecting a home.

  Amelia is behind him as he moves around. From behind, Amelia admires his broad shoulders; it’s been long since she saw how masculine they are. Those shoulders had given her wonderful comfort when she was down and sombre.

  “I never ken ye are in Dunfermline. I wouldnae ever imagined it. Fer how long have ye been here?”

  “Three years. Wit are ye doing here? How did ye find me?” Amelia throws the questions after each other. Her sense of reason is brought back to reality by his question. However, he has no right to be throwing questions at her. She should be the one doing the interrogation and not him!

  “Ye deh seems happy that I found ye,” Oliver says as he turns to fully face her. “I have been looking fer ye these past three years. It was like a miracle seeing ye that night in the art room,” Oliver adds calmly with a gentle smile dancing in his mouth and eyes.

  “So? I deh ask ye to look fer me!” Amelia snaps.

  Oliver is surprised.

  “Ye should leave, and now!” she says as she walks towards the door, assuming he will follow her.

  Oliver walks closer to her, closing the distance between them.