Highlander's Trials of Fire

“I ken ye will, Henry,” she responded. Though she knew he only said that last bit to boast his prowess at hunting, it did not dim his nice gesture. He was always doing such well-intentioned things for her during his visits to the castle. More and more, Jonet was beginning to see that being married to him would not be entirely bad, even if she did not love him.

“Of course, ye do,” Henry went on. “But I will prove it to ye, Miss Jonet. Ye only need to wait.”

“All right, all right,” her father jumped. “It’s clear that ye like her but ye daenae need to go off blubbering about everything ye can do.”

Jonet looked expectantly at Henry. She knew her father was only joking, in his blunt and harsh way, but she did not know if Henry was used to it yet.

He took it in stride, however, his confidence not wavering for a moment.

“A little reminder wouldnae hurt a soul, Laird MacLagain.”

“Aye, aye,” Laird MacLagain said in an idle tone. “Wait till she gets angry and ye’ll be seeing the dark side of Jonet ye never wish he did.”

Henry looked at Jonet, his deep blue eyes sparkling with surprise. “Truly?”

Jonet only shrugged one shoulder and finally took a sip of her ale. “I daenae ken what me faither is talking about.”

Larid MacLagain barked a laugh at that and so did Henry, though he looked a bit thrown by the odd information. Then, he said, “Well, I should be leaving. If I want to catch ye yer venison before dinner, then there’s nay reason standin’ around here.”

“Do ye want me to escort ye?” Jonet asked politely.

In truth, she was feeling a little guilty for not spending as much time with him today as she should have, even though he came all the way to the castle to visit.

“It would do me heart good to have ye see me off, Miss Jonet,” Henry declared with a broad smile. Laird MacLagain hankered down into a seat and waved them off, taking a large gulp of his ale.

Jonet left the room, feeling Henry right over her shoulder. He was a tall man, capable of making her feel small and fragile, and she knew he would do whatever he could to protect her. Despite his conceitedness, he was such a good man that she could not think of a single reason why they should not be married. After all, their marriage would build relations between her father and his. It would benefit everyone.

“Are ye truly all right, Miss Jonet?” he asked after a few moments of walking in silence.

Jonet clung to the scarf around her shoulders as she said, “I’m still feeling a wee bit unwell, unfortunately. I hope ye daenae mind.”

“Of course nae, Miss Jonet. I only wish to see a smile on ye face once more. When me huntin’ goes well today, ye will be as happy as a lark, I tell ye.”

“I look forward to it.” Jonet giggled. She could admit; she did find him funny sometimes.

That served to put him in a good mood and he whistled a tune as they continued along out to the stables where both their horses stood in wait. Henry’s horse stood idly outside in waiting and he jumped atop his mighty steed with a flourish, no doubt to impress Jonet. She gave him what he wanted with a broad, amazed smile. He was even more pleased by that and with a tip of his head, he raced off.

Jonet watched him go. He did appear very dashing ridi

ng off like that, the beat of his horses’ hooves echoing in the air around them. She found herself falling into the sight, taken so much by his bronze skin dazzling with a new sheen of sweat that she didn’t hear Freya’s approach.

“Miss Jonet,” Freya called. “Would ye like to leave now?”

“Oh, Freya,” Jonet gasped, her hand flying to her chest. “Ye frightened me. Ye must really say somethin’ before ye sneak up on someone like that.”

“That was me sayin’ somethin’, Miss Jonet,” Freya stated matter-of-factly.

“Aye, I suppose it is.” Jonet sighed. “Then, does that mean ye wish to accompany me now? When I first asked, ye seemed very opposed to the idea.”

“I…” Freya’s eyes darted away. “I thought about it and, well…the walk would do me good.”

“I’m glad ye think so.” Jonet frowned at her slightly odd behavior. “Are ye feeling unwell? Maybe me lies to me Faither and Henry resulted in getting ye sick in the process? Me sins might be catching up to me.”

Freya stared at Jonet for a moment before her serious countenance cracked into a smile. Jonet considered it a victory. Freya was always trying her best to appear the focused maid but, now and again, Jonet would succeed in bringing out the fun side of her. “Instead of ye but me, ye mean, Miss Jonet,” Freya said, sobering up quickly. “But, nay, I’m nae feelin’ unwell. I just want to get out of the castle.”

“If that’s the case then, let’s go. Would ye like to walk?”

Freya’s eyes went a tad wide, her cheeks growing pink. “M-Miss Jonet, ye should be the one to tell me that! Sometimes, ye make me wonder if I’m even yer maid.”