Highlander's Trials of Fire

Georgie was standing by the entrance with his hands on his hips when they arrived. “Miss Jonet! Mr. McDulaigh! How was the race?”

“Unfortunately, Georgie,” Jonet said while Georgie followed beside her horse. “I lost.”

“Ye did?” Georgie seemed genuinely shocked at that. He looked at Matthew with wide eyes. “Ye must be very good at riding, Mr. McDulaigh.”

“Call me Matthew.” He jumped down off Temper and patted the horse lightly in the rump. “And it wasnae all me. This horse truly is quite a beast.”

“I’m glad ye think so, Matthew,” Georgie said. “I think Laird MacLagain will be happy to hear that the troublemaker horse took such a likin’ to ye.”

At that, Temper lifted his head and snorted in what appeared annoyance. They all laughed, even Jonet, though her’s died quickly. Matthew watched her from the corner of his eye.

As if she noticed him, she turned stiffly, in a much more formal manner than before. “Today was fun, Matthew,” she kept her formal countenance. “Thank ye for that.”

“May I come see ye tomorrow?”

She blinked, surprised. He had already planned to see her, but he thought it might do him some good to ask first. “I…” She did not seem to know what to say. “I suppose that wouldnae be too bad.”’

Ah, victory!

Matthew grinned. “Then I will be by tomorrow. Thank ye for takin’ yer time out to see me, Jonet.”

A smile flitted across her face, uncertainty in her eyes. She seemed to be battling with something, so Matthew left it at that, watching her nod and walk away without another word. Tomorrow, he hoped she would be more open to his advances.

“Ye two look good together, Matthew,” Georgie spoke up from behind once Jonet was gone.

“Ye think so?”

“Aye, better than the first two, I can say.”

Matthew looked at him. It occurred to him suddenly that he knew nothing of the first two men she had been betrothed to, other than the fact that one had died suddenly, and the other had mysteriously disappeared. “Did ye ken them?”

Georgie nodded eagerly, though his eyes were sad. “I dinnae ken the first one well. I only met him once or twice six years ago when I had come to visit me faither at the stables. Me faither used to work here,” Georgie clarified. “But he hurt his leg, so I take care of him now.”

“I see. What was his name?”

“Me faither? Ethan Milligan. Miss Jonet’s first betrothed? Murdock Anderson,” Georgie spoke confidently. “I ken that much. He was a nice man. Very friendly to everyone who worked here. He used to rub me hair whenever he saw me, but that wasnae often. It was a sad day when he was found dead in his bed. It was a mystery, that one.”

“I heard her second betrothed’s death was a mystery too.”

“Aye, it was. I remember him. His name was Henry Luther and he was a lot different from how Mr. Anderson had been. He could have been a war chieftain if he wasnae goin’ to be the next Laird. But he disappeared one day when he went out to hunt Miss Jonet’s favorite meat. They say he’s dead.” Georgie sighed sadly. “It was almost as sad as the day Mr. Anderson had died. She’d seen him off that day, ye ken. Watched him ride off into the distance and he never came back.”

Matthew did not expect himself to feel anything at those words. He never expected his chest to pang with pain at the things Georgie was saying. He pictured Jonet’s face the moment she heard of Murdock’s death, and the pain she must have felt when she had to relive that again after Henry disappeared.

Will the same happen to me?

He dismissed the thought as soon as it came. It was mere coincidence that had bred into superstition. It would not affect him at all. The only person it afflicted was Jonet, who was clearly so afraid to open up again that she was determined to keep him at arm’s length.

Matthew looked into the direction of the stable’s entrance; his mind lingered on the way Jonet had walked away, how confused she had seemed. He wished he could have embraced her at the very least. A hug might have been able to make her feel a little better.

It took him a moment to realize what that meant. He had come to the Castle in order to secure a better life for himself, but now… he wondered if he was beginning to develop true feelings for her.

Chapter 9

Jonet went to bed with a troubled mind. Since the moment she had left Matthew’s side, she could not remove him from her mind. She could not stop thinking about the things he had said to her, how he had told her that he wanted to be the one by her side so that she was no longer alone.

Never in a thousand years did Jonet believe she would have heard such things from his mouth and if so, her heart softening in response to it was even less likely. Yet here she was, bothered by the words to the point that she kept tossing and turning, with sleep evading her.

She did not know when she fell asleep, but when she awoke, the sun was already high in the sky and Freya was poking around her bedroom, cleaning up areas that appeared not to need cleaning. Freya had not realized she was awake yet, so Jonet simply watched her, listening to her mumble under her breath.