Highlander's Burning Desire (Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance)

by Alisa Adams

  Allana, too, had been puzzled by the seating arrangement, but not unduly so. Perhaps Gwenda had been unaware of its awkward placement. Then she noticed something strange; she realized that Bettina and Nevin were not just talking, but flirting! Oh, well, she thought. Let Bettie have her fun. If my sister wants to flirt a bit, let her enjoy it while she can. It looked as though she had been enjoying her wine a little too much as well. Hmmm, Allana thought, laughing inwardly. She will regret that in the morning!

  Further down the table, Gwenda smiled inwardly. She hoped that her plan was working, but what she had seen so far may just have been a joke exchanged between two handsome young people. She watched the two fair heads, now close together and talking in an animated fashion. Early days, Gwenda, she thought. You must be very subtle from now on.

  9

  After Dinner

  After the meal was finished, Nevin smiled at Bettina and then kissed her hand. The touch of his lips sent shivers through her whole body and she gazed up at him, imagining what it would be like to be held close to him. She felt slightly woozy but very, very happy.

  "You have been wonderful company, Bettina," he said warmly. "Thank you for being such an entertaining dinner guest."

  Bettina got to her feet unsteadily. Nevin's face was wavering and changing shape in front of her, but he looked absolutely delicious and suddenly, it all seemed so easy. Why had she been worried? She swayed forward and into his arms, then pulled his head down for a kiss. She felt dizzy, but it was not just with the wine. In those few precious seconds while he filled every one of her senses, she was in heaven. She could never have imagined such bliss.

  For a moment, Nevin froze and then he leaned into the kiss and gave Bettina his full, enthusiastic participation. He himself was suffering a little from over-consumption of wine and his inhibitions had lessened somewhat. There was a beautiful woman in his arms and she was offering herself to him. All he had to do was accept.

  Everyone else stopped and looked over in amazement, but then, out of the blue, Bettina became a little too passionate and tripped over the edge of the carpet. She staggered backward and landed on the floor on her backside, then hit her head on it with an audible thump.

  With a cry of alarm, Nevin kneeled down beside her at once and cradled her head in his lap. Her eyelids were half-closed, but presently, she came to a little and began to moan in pain. Tears of pain started to roll down her cheeks.

  By this time Malcolm, Edme, and Allana had gathered around. Edme kneeled down anxiously by the side of her youngest daughter, completely ignoring Allana who was standing immobile and white with shock. Malcolm poured a little whiskey in a glass and Nevin held it to Bettina's lips. She sipped it, coughed a little and tried to sit up.

  "Wait a little, Bettina," Nevin said anxiously. "You had quite a fall. Be still for a moment."

  Allana kneeled down by her sister and stroked her forehead with a soft touch. "Bettie, Bettie, are you all right?" she asked anxiously.

  Bettina struggled and sat up, then looked at Allana with unfocused eyes. She nodded. “I have made a fool of myself,” she said, her voice pathetically faint.

  "Can you stand, sweetheart?" Malcolm asked, his face creased into a worried frown. He looked very shaken as did Edme who had tears streaming down her cheeks.

  "Fine, but—" Bettina felt the back of her head and winced. "My head... May I lie down?" She tried to stand up, but Nevin stopped her by sweeping her up into his arms.

  "I will carry you upstairs," he announced. "You are certainly not going home tonight."

  Nevin laid Bettina gently on the bed. He was shocked, worried, and very mixed up. He looked down into Bettina's unfocused eyes and experienced a surprising tenderness, but as he straightened up, he had a sudden desire to run away. If he had not encouraged Bettie this accident would not have happened. He groaned inwardly. It had been a stressful and upsetting evening - in fact, it had been a disaster - and he just wanted it to be over.

  Downstairs, Edme and Malcolm stood, shaken, for a moment and Allana put her arms around her mother’s shoulders. “She will be fine,” she whispered, hoping that it was true.

  “Of course, she will,” Malcolm said, a little too heartily. They went upstairs where Bettina was lying on a big bed with fluffy pillows around her head.

  Gwenda's plan was succeeding beyond her expectations, although not quite in the way she had wanted or expected it to. She had never desired any injury to Bettina, but it had brought out the tender and protective side of her son. Still, she was anxious. What if the girl had fractured her skull and died under Gwenda's roof?

  Gwenda decided to call in the local wise woman, a tall, sturdy, middle-aged woman called Kristie whose thick blonde hair and light blue eyes betrayed her Viking ancestry. Kristie bent over Bettina and passed her first two fingers in front of the girl's eyes several times.

  "Follow my fingers, mo nighean, my girl," she said, and Bettina did so. "How many dae ye see?"

  "Two," Bettina replied, rubbing her forehead. The ache at the back of her head had spread to the front and her whole head was throbbing with pain.

  "Now?" Kristie asked, extending another finger.

  "Three," Bettina replied, sighing. Kristie felt gently around the lump on the back of Bettina's head and she cried out in distress.

  "Ye will be fine, lass," Kristie assured her, smiling. "I will gie ye some poppy milk an' ye will sleep like a babby till mornin'."

  Bettina nodded and sipped the bitter liquid from the cup that had been tilted to her lips. Soon, her eyes fluttered closed again and she slept. Kristie left after Gwenda had dropped a coin into her hand, then she and Nevin joined the Dundas family at Bettina's bedside and watched her slowly close her eyes until she was fast asleep.

  Outside in the corridor, Nevin faced Allana. He shook his head and passed his hand back through his hair. “Allana, I feel like such a fool.”

  Allana sighed. She did not know whether to laugh or be angry. Eventually, she said, “Bettie is not the first, nor will she be the last, to lose her dignity to wine. She will severely regret this in the morning.”

  “Thank you, Allana,” Nevin replied, smiling faintly. “I will ask the maids to prepare you a room. Goodnight." He dropped a swift kiss on her cheek and left to return to where Edme and Malcolm were sitting.

  “I would like to apologize,” he said flatly, “I acted like an idiot.”

  “Yes, you did,” Malcolm replied. “But so did Bettie. However, she is young and simple still. I am also to blame. I did not realize how drunk she was.”

  Nevin nodded slowly. “Can you come with me to my office?” he asked at last.

  "I must stay with Bettina, Nevin," Edme replied quickly. "Malcolm will tell me of your conversation if it concerns me."

  Nevin bowed and smiled. "Of course, milady. I understand," he said and put an arm around her shoulder to give her a little squeeze. "I am sure there is nothing to worry about."

  Edme looked up at him with a grateful smile. "I am sure you are right, Nevin. Goodnight."

  Allana, however, felt wretched. She sat down by Bettina's bed and looked at her pale face. "Bettie, Bettie. I hate seeing you hurt. I wish I could take the pain away."

  Bettina laughed wearily. “Believe me, sister, so do I!” It was the first time she had laughed since the fall. “But apparently you learn through experience and I have learned that six goblets of wine are at least five too much!”

  They all laughed together and the anxious expression left Edme’s face.

  “Are you angry with me, Allie?” Bettina asked, her expression worried.

  Allana shook her head in confusion. “Nevin and I are not yet betrothed, Bettie. I have no idea how to feel except to be glad that you are well and nothing serious has happened to you for I love you too much to want any harm to come to you."

  Edme came around the bed to embrace her older daughter. “I remember when I was your age.” She looked from one to the other. “Believe me, you are not feeling anything u
nusual. These years between childhood and womanhood are a battlefield! Now, Bettie, I think you should sleep.”

  Allana and Edme kissed her then they left quietly.

  From the window in Nevin’s office, there could be seen a purple blaze of heather across the hillside, striped with lemon-yellow hedges of gorse. There were majestic trees each showing its own shade of green and brown, from emerald to rust to tawny. No two were alike and Nevin thought that it must be the finest sight anywhere in the world. On the other side was the deep blue-gray of the sea, flecked with white horses galloping into the shore atop the waves.

  When Nevin and Malcolm arrived in the younger man's office, Nevin poured them both a stiff whiskey. He walked over to the window where during daytime he had a fine view of the patchwork of mountains, streams, and cottages. Now, however, it was a mesh of twinkling lights from the croft cottages, the only illumination in the inky blackness of the wild night. Nevin was silent for a long while before turning to Malcolm. His face wore a carefully neutral expression, but as the young Laird moved toward him, Malcolm had a sudden sense of dread.

  "My mother invited you tonight to celebrate the end of our mourning period," he said heavily, walking back from the window. He tossed back his whiskey but seemed soberer than he had been earlier on when he had been under the influence of half a bottle of wine. "But I also wanted to speak to you about Allana and our possible betrothal. Now, I am not so sure. She seems different and I am not sure that her heart is entirely in it.

  “Something about her has changed, almost as if she is drawing back from me. Malcolm, I would hate to take Allana as my bride if she is not completely committed. It would not be fair on either of us. She has begun a new trade, I believe, which is progressing well, so if it is her will, let her go away for a while to see all those who are participating in the new venture. It is a good idea to oversee your business from time to time at any rate. Let us both see how we feel when she gets back."

  Malcolm considered this for a moment, then probed in a speculative tone, "You were getting on very well with Bettina tonight until the incident happened."

  Nevin laughed. "Surely you are not suggesting what I think you are?" he replied in disbelief, though the elder Laird was correct and that kiss had sparked a revolution within Nevin whether he knew it or not. "Bettina is a girl. She is pleasant company and she is pretty, but she is not Allana.” He paused for a moment. "I love her. However, Allana needs to be certain or we cannot marry.”

  Malcolm nodded and stood up, then looked steadily at Nevin. "I share your concern, and I will put the idea to her.”

  Nevin smiled and extended his hand to Malcolm who took it. “Thank you,” he said, smiling.

  10

  A Decision about Allana

  Bettina's head was aching when she woke up, and she could hardly open her eyes to look at the glimmer of daylight coming through the curtains. For a moment, she could not remember what had happened and then it came rushing back to her in a torrent of memories. She felt again the giddy sensation of losing her balance, the pain of her backside hitting the floor, and finally the lightning bolt of agony as her head came in contact with its hard, stone surface.

  But then she remembered that someone had carried her up to the bed she was lying in now and she recalled in a moment of clarity that she had looked up and seen Nevin's blue eyes above her. At that moment, a dart of pure joy pierced through her and she laughed out loud, regardless of her pain. She had been in Nevin's arms at last, maybe not in the way she had hoped, but she had been close to him nonetheless.

  The young maidservant who had been sitting with her rose from her chair and came over to the bed. Her face was strained and anxious. She accompanied Bettina almost everywhere to see to her needs. "Mistress, I'm that glad ye're awake," she said with deep relief in her voice. "Ye gied us a' sich a fright!"

  "I think I will be fine, Mary." Bettina reached out and touched the girl's cheek and smiled. "Thank you for your concern." She was very fond of her ladies' maid and the feeling was mutual. "Just a bump on the head, but a sore one."

  Mary went to pour her a glass of water and she tilted it to Bettina's lips. "Yer poor mither has only jist gone tae bed," Mary informed her. "She stayed up a' night an' couldnae stay up a minute longer, the poor sowel."All the while she was saying this, Mary was bustling around fluffing Bettina's pillows and straightening her sheets.

  "I will get ye some milk, mistress," she said then paused. “I dinnae knaw whit I would hae done if onythin’ had happened tae ye.” She was practically weeping.

  “Nothing did, Mary,” Bettina smiled at her. “Give yourself peace.”

  Just then, Allana came in, bringing with her the smell of fresh air and a big bunch of heather. “How is my dear sister this morning?” she asked, giving the heather to Mary to put in water.

  “Apart from a big dent in my dignity and a bump on the head, I am fine,” Bettina replied, laughing and wincing at the same time. “I should not have been flirting with Nevin, but I was a little drunk and he is an attractive man."

  "You know he and I are not betrothed," Allana pointed out.

  "But you have an understanding," Bettina replied.

  Allana did not deny it. "I have no idea why Nevin's mother seated us that way," Allana commented, frowning. "It was almost as if she did it on purpose.”

  Before Allana could continue with that thought, Kristie came back and examined Bettina's head again. "Ye look better this day, mistress. I think there is nae lastin' harm, but we will rub a wee bit o' salve ontae that lump tae ease the pain.”

  Kristie took a paste made from lard and poppy milk and rubbed it copiously onto the large lump then applied a linen bandage to it. Edme had expressly forbidden the clipping of her daughter's hair, so it was a messy business, but when it was over, Bettina sighed with relief as the pain gradually dissipated.

  The two sisters sat in silence for a while until eventually, Bettina drifted off to sleep again. Allana stood up and kissed her sister's forehead then turned to leave, but at that moment Nevin came in. Allana put her finger to her lips and he nodded. He smiled at Allana then stood aside to let her out, bowing as she brushed past.

  “She looks much better today,” he commented. “Thank God.”

  “She says her dignity is dented,” Allana replied. “But her sense of humor is still intact, so I think she will recover.”

  Then he went over and looked at Bettina for a long moment.

  Later that day, Allana sighed and then braced herself. The best time to do something dreadful is right now and then, she told herself before she had a chance to think too hard about it. Accordingly, she went into the little parlor where she expected her father to be sitting, a glass of wine in his hand, talking to her mother.

  She was wrong. The inhabitant of the parlor was not her father but Nevin. He was stood with one arm on the mantelpiece looking into the fire. He looked at her when she came in then turned to resume his scrutiny of the flames.

  "Nevin," she said quietly, "I expected my father."

  "I need to talk to you, Allana," he replied soberly, his father’s dying words reverberating in his mind once more. “There may be an expectation between our families, but nothing is settled by any means. I spoke to your father yesterday because for a while now, I have had the impression that you are not quite sure of what you want. It is important to me that you are happy with such a big decision. I think you need more time, so I suggested that we spend some weeks apart. Perhaps you can see to your knitting in the meantime. Speaking to those who work for you is very encouraging to them."

  For a moment, Allana gazed at him. She gave him a faint smile. "Perhaps that would be the best thing for both of us, Nevin. I really have confidence in my project and I feel that it can benefit many people. Once I am married, there may be little time to pursue it. Thank you." She curtsied. He bowed in return and watched her as she went out, feeling both sad and relieved at the same time.

  11

  Bettina and Ne
vin

  Bettina recovered in a few days and was soon back to her old self again. She was a little disappointed that Nevin had neither put in an appearance or even sent her a bunch of flowers, however. She said as much to Mary, her maidservant, as she lay in the bath.

  “I think he could have shown just a wee bit more contrition, Mary,” she grumbled. “It was half his fault after all!”

  Mary had her own thoughts on the matter but agreed for the sake of peace and quiet. “Aye, mistress, it’s a shame,” she agreed as she dried Bettina’s hair. Just then, one of the housemaids brought a note which Bettina read eagerly:

  Dear Bettie,

  Please excuse me for not coming to visit you to enquire after your welfare. I am waiting downstairs and eager to make my apologies when you are ready.

  Nevin

  Bettina had never moved so fast. She threw on her clothes and made Mary brush her hair so quickly that it was almost torn out by the roots. Trying to look as if she had been quietly doing her embroidery for the last half hour, she went demurely into the parlor where Nevin was sitting. He stood up and bowed when he saw her, smiling broadly, and kissed her hand.

  “Bettie, I feel dreadful,” he apologized. “It has been dreadfully busy with markets and—”

  She stopped him with a raised hand. “About what happened,” she said, her voice quiet and soothing. “We will never speak of it again. We were both a little drunk and silly, so let us pretend it never happened.”

  “Thank you,” he let out a sigh of relief. He handed her a little package and when she opened it, she found a basket of sugared plums. It was a fine gift since sugar was very expensive.

  “Thank you!” She was wide-eyed with wonder.

  “I cannot stay, I just needed to see that you were well. I was terribly worried.” He stood up. “And I am glad to see that you are back to being the old Bettie again.”