Resisting the Highlander: A Scottish Romance Page 7

  “That’s a mighty fine thought, lassie, but if I know your father, he is not expecting you to pay anything back. I’m right proud of you for even thinking such a thing. Now will you make us a cup of tea before Kevin goes home? Besse said she left fresh crumpets in the bread box, so let’s have those also.”

  As she went to do his bidding, she noticed that Kevin and Aidan were deep in conversation. Kevin was apparently very interested in Aidan’s work with the animals and was asking innumerable questions. He didn’t notice her leave.

  A short time later when Kevin had taken his leave, Bridget carried the dishes to the kitchen for washing up. Aidan was right behind her.

  “I’ll give you a hand, lassie. You must be tired after your big day.”

  She looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he was really trying to be nice, or just making fun of her. As their eyes met, he said, “You didn’t tell me you had a lad, Bridget.”

  “Am I supposed to tell you everything about myself? Besides Kevin is just a good friend whose company I happen to enjoy, but I don’t think it’s any of your business what our relationship is.”

  “Perhaps not, but I mean to make it my business. I don’t intend to let you go that easily.”

  “Ach, Aidan, yer daft, and I’m too tired to fight with you now. So goodnight, I’m off to bed.”

  Walking away from him, she went to where Robert was seated by the fire. Putting her arms around him for a moment and kissing him on the cheek, she said, “Goodnight Robert, you better get to bed too, it’s getting late.”

  “Aye, lassie, I think I’d better.”

  Then as she turned to go upstairs, she was confronted by Aidan. He grabbed her by the shoulders and said “What! No goodnight kiss for me?” He boldly pressed his mouth against hers.

  She pulled away from him, face red with embarrassment because her grandfather had witnessed the kiss, and ran upstairs.

  “Do you see what I mean, sir?” said Aidan bitterly, turning towards Robert. “I think she hates the sight of me, and if you hadn’t been here just now, I’m sure I would have got a terrible tongue lashing, and possibly a good slap into the bargain. It’s funny, though. I never had such trouble getting a girl before,” he mused.

  “Laddie,” laughed Robert, “maybe you don’t know as much about girls as you think you do. Sometimes they take great pleasure in repulsing a suitor if he is too attentive. Why don’t you try a different tack and see what happens? But first tell me, are you ready to settle down, and is Bridget the one you want for good?”

  “Aye sir, to both questions,” he said, running her fingers through his black hair. “She is driving me wild.”

  “All right, son, try a little indifference towards her and see what happens.”

  Aidan looked questioningly at Robert. “That’s right lad, I’ll wager then she will see things differently.”

  After a moment’s reflection, the younger man mused, “It might be worth a try at that, I’ll do it!

  Robert slapped him on the back. “That’s a good lad, sometimes indifference can work wonders.”

  When Bridget got to her room, she threw the latch shut to lock her door and then threw herself upon her bed. Anger and embarrassment warred inside her, one demanding she go back downstairs and tell Aidan MacLeod off once and for all, and the other wanting to crawl under her covers and stay there forever. She thought that if she had a piano in her room she might never leave. Life would be simpler.

  The impulse to crawl into bed won out and quickly made herself ready. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

  Sometime that night, when the moon was high and the house should have been quiet, Bridget awoke to loud noises outside her window. To her half-awake brain, it sounded like something was trying to get in. She shook her head to clear it and listened intently. Noises came from outside, but farther away this time. She couldn’t make out what they were and hated to admit to herself that she was frightened. Suddenly Aidan’s arms around her didn’t seem so unwelcome. She chided herself for such a foolish thought. It was just the wind, she told herself, or perhaps some owls flying close to the castle.

  Or what if it were Aidan, she wondered, seeking to play some sort of trick on her for refusing him. Maybe he thought she’d come looking for him if she were frightened enough. She decided to address the matter first thing in the morning.

  SEVEN

  At breakfast, Bridget asked Robert a question just as he was raising his first spoonful of porridge to his mouth.

  “Grandfather, when your ancestors had this castle built, did they order a ghost to go with it?”

  Robert almost chocked. He dropped his spoon to the bowl in front of him with a loud clatter. Wiping his mouth on the serviette, he looked at her in disbelief. “What did you say, lassie?”

  She looked at him directly but was observing Aidan out of the corner of her eye. Keeping an innocent expression on her face, she replied, “I said, when this house was built, was there a ghost ordered to go with it?”

  She had certainly shocked the lot. Besse got all flustered as she was pouring Aidan’s tea and ran the cup over. She exclaimed, “Oh drat.”

  Aidan looked as if he didn’t believe what he had just heard and started to say something, but Robert held up his hand for silence. “Now, Bridget, lassie, what kind of a thing is that to say so early in the morning?”

  “Well, Grandfather, something funny has been going on ever since I moved in with you. I don’t like telling tales and have kept it to myself up to now but have decided you ought to know about it. The first time it happened was the night of your party. I heard someone trying to open my door. On nights following, there have been soft footsteps in the hallway just outside my bedroom. I thought perhaps it might be Sarge, but smart as he is, he cannot turn doorknobs, and someone definitely did that at least the one time. Fortunately, I always keep the door bolt in place, so whoever, or whatever it was, didn’t gain entrance.”

  She wasn’t seeing a reaction from Aidan, and began to wonder if he truly weren’t involved. Nevertheless, she continued, “Last night, I was awakened by a sound of something being thrown at my window. Sounded like coarse sand or small stones. There was quite a breeze, so I didn’t pay too much attention to it and went back to sleep, but other nights I’ve heard some kind of noises, like scratching at my door. I thought at first it might be my imagination since I have never been alone at night, yet now it seems a pattern is emerging. Last night, it sounded like someone walking on the battlements. It was very scary.”

  Besse said in agitation, “Oh, that was just some cat. There’s always one or two of them up there.”

  “How do they manage to get there, Besse?” Bridget asked.

  Besse almost snapped at her, “By climbing the big tree at the south side of the house. I’m surprised a big girl like you is afraid of noises in the night.”

  Bridget frowned at the woman and said, “Maybe a cat would explain the sound from the battlements but not the rest.” She then looked at her grandfather. “I thought this was going a bit too far and decided to tell you about it, Robert.”

  With a frown on his face, he looked first at Besse, then Aidan, asking, “Do either of you know anything about this? I don’t think these kind of jokes are funny at all, and since Bridget is here at my request, I don’t want her frightened like this.”

  Before either of them had a chance to answer, she broke in, “Oh, let’s forget it Robert. In the light of day it does seem silly. But if there is something going on and I have to put up with more of such foolishness, I’ll just move back home, and then everyone will be happy again.”

  She looked around at the three faces to judge their reaction. All seemed at a loss for something to say until Aidan, looking straight at her with his brows drawn, said, “If I wanted to scare the lassie, sir, I wouldn’t be walking around on the roof, I’d be right in her bedroom with her. I have no idea what she’s thinking about, and I’ve had nothing to do with it.”

  “N
or I, sir,” stammered Besse, a bit red in the face, “I have too much to do to play pranks like that.”

  Robert muttered, “Well, I know my granddaughter well enough to know she didn’t make this up and I mean to get to the bottom of it. For now, let’s finish our breakfast.”

  They got through with the meal in an awkward silence, Robert’s face like a thunder cloud. Bridget whispered to him, “Grandfather, will you go for a walk with me, down by the shore? There is something I want to talk to you about privately.” He squeezed her hand, nodding his head.

  Breakfast over at last, she helped clear the table and carry the dishes to the kitchen but Besse, greatly upset, wouldn’t let her help with the washing up.

  “Hmph,” she snorted, “what a story to be telling us. Ye ken fine there are no ghosts. Ach, away wi ye, girl, an let me get my work done.”

  Bridget wondered at her attitude, thinking perhaps Besse truly believed that Bridget had been making up stories to make her look bad, maybe drive a wedge between the housekeeper and her grandfather. Not appreciating the affront on her honesty, Bridget changed her mind about wanting to help and went out to join to her grandfather.

  An early spring sun was trying desperately to break through the gray clouds as Robert and Bridget began their walk. Up above them on the rocks fishermen’s wives were already gathering with their creels of heavily salted fish and were spreading them on the flattest rocks they could find.

  Huge cod split down the center and pressed open, looking like butterflies on the rocks, would be brought back every day to be sun dried until they were hard as a board. These would then be hung in storage sheds and used as food in the leaner winter months. Some of them would also be taken to neighboring farms and traded for fresh butter and eggs.

  The sea was sparkling as Robert and Bridget reached the shore. She cried out, “Oh, Robert, this is a beautiful spot. Look at the water today, it’s just as calm as a loch.”

  “Aye, lassie, it is that, but we didn’t come here to admire the sea. Let’s get down to this business that has been going on at the castle. Why didn’t you tell me before? I don’t like it.”

  Bridget’s green eyes looked worried. She pulled her shawl closer about her shoulders, looking at Robert with anxiety plain on her face. She hesitated for a moment before she started to talk. “Grandfather, I don’t like telling you anything that might hurt someone else, but I have put up with these strange happenings long enough. Since they are getting worse instead of better, I just simply had to tell you.” She took a deep breath. “I thought Aidan was at the bottom of it. That’s why I mentioned it in front of him at breakfast. Remember when you asked me to come and live with you at the castle? I said then that Aidan or Besse might resent it, and I think that is exactly what has happened.” She left out the part about her rejecting Aidan’s romantic advances.

  She then relayed to him the conversation she had accidentally overheard in the kitchen between Besse and her two helpers the day she had moved in, and how Elizabeth MacPherson had said, “I’d see to it the lassie doesn’t stay here too long, and here’s what I would do” after the talk of it being dangerous to have Aidan in the house with her.

  Bridget added, “Perhaps Aidan or Besse took some of the things they said to heart.”

  Robert’s face was dark with anger as he cried out, “Those gossipy women, just wait till I see them, I’ll find out what this is all about.”

  Afraid of his rising anger, she put her hand on his arm, saying quietly, “No, Robert, I don’t want you to say anything yet. Aidan seemed genuinely surprised this morning, and Besse too. Maybe I am hearing things being unused to living in such a large house. But if those two had anything to do with the goings on, they’ll likely stop it now.”

  She was pleased to see that Robert was considering her words. She continued, “Grandfather, please don’t say anything to my parents about this. Father would take me home right away if he knew.”

  “All right, lassie, but tell me, are you afraid upstairs by yourself?”

  “No, not really. It’s just the uncertainty of what’s going to happen next that keeps me waking up at different times in the night, and I thought you ought to know about it.”

  Robert looked at her fondly, saying, “I’m glad you told me, lassie, and also right glad that these annoyances haven’t made you want to leave Ty-Runach.”

  “Oh no, Robert. I hope I never have to leave this place. I love it dearly.”

  He smiled broadly at her words, and said, “It makes me very happy to hear that. And now, there is something that has been bothering me too, lass, and I would like to talk to you about it.”

  She looked at him enquiringly, not having expected her had a reason of his own for agreeing to their private talk. “Tell me, Bridget, why aren’t you and Aidan getting along better? I thought you would be great friends by now, but seems I am wrong?”

  Her face reddened and she didn’t answer for a moment. “Grandfather, I like Aidan well enough, he is most attractive, but...”

  “Aye, lassie, but what?”

  She hesitated, not wanting to hurt his feelings, knowing how much he thought of the young man. “I have too many things on my mind at the present time, too many things I want to accomplish before settling down with any man. Besides, I have heard he is quite a one for the ladies and has many of them on the string.”

  “Now why would you think anything like that?” he asked with some annoyance.

  She looked at him apprehensively, wondering for a moment if she should reveal the source of her information, and then decided since she had already briefly alluded to some of the things she overheard, so everything might as well come out into the open. She poured out all she had heard Elizabeth MacPherson say about Aidan’s reputation with women and how Robert was making a mistake having his granddaughter in the same house as Aidan. She told him that she’d heard whispers before she’d even met him, not about his reputation with women exactly but just a general consensus that he might not be trustworthy.

  “So,” finished Bridget, “in spite of his apparent attraction to me, I decided I was not going to be just another conquest for him and have rebuffed his advances at every opportunity.”

  Robert looked grim, and Bridget was very thankful she was not the one he was angry with. “But you do like him, lass?”

  “Aye, well enough, Robert, but I don’t want him to know it. Promise you won’t tell him?”

  He patted her hand, which was still resting on his arm, and said with a slow smile, “All right, I promise.” Then he added heavily, “I never quite realized the mischief that gossip and jealousy could do, but I’m right glad we have had this talk and got everything out in the open.”

  As they retraced their steps back towards the house, Bridget said, “By the way, Robert, my cousin Margaret is having a birthday next week, and I would like to have a little party for her.”

  “But, Bridget, your birthday is soon after. Wouldn’t you rather wait and have a party of your own or one for you both?”

  Bridget anticipated that Robert would suggest this, but she’d felt her accomplishment at passing her music exam and all that had followed was more than enough recognition and joy for one person.

  “I’ve been given so much, Grandfather, more than I am comfortable with. Margaret has nothing, and she is family. Would you mind if I have her over to stay a few days? I had promised her she could come during the summer, but now that I am going to be so busy, it will have to be now or never. I saw her in town the other day, and she was a bit put out that I haven’t invited her like I said I would. Of course, I will do all the work for the party myself so Besse won’t have any extra to do.”

  Robert smiled at her, “Yes, my dear, have your cousin over any time you want. This is your home, and I want you to feel free to do anything you want in it. If ever anyone is asked to leave, it won’t be you.”

  Looking at him soberly, she said, “I hope no one has to leave on my account, Grandfather, and thank you again for bei
ng so good to me.”

  She smiled and reached up to kiss his lined face.

  For a few nights after her talk with Robert, Bridget lay awake listening for the sounds that had been so disturbing to her. When there were none, she decided that it didn’t matter what they were as long as they were gone. She could even understand if jealousy or fear had led someone to try and frighten her away. She had never been worried that would farther than a childish prank.

  The day before Margaret was due to come and visit, Bridget came downstairs, dressed to go into town to get a few of the things she would need for a get together with her young friends: some kind of small gift for Margaret, maybe a piece of jewelry or a bottle of scent, favors for the table, and a fancy cake from the bakery. She had planned to keep the occasion simple, but her grandfather had insisted on giving her some money, so she was able to be a little more lavish than she had intended.

  Walking across the lawn to the gate in the low stone wall, she spied Aidan walking two handsome Clydesdales and stopped for a moment to admire them.

  “What beautiful animals, Aidan,” she said. “How strong and healthy they look. Are you taking them someplace?”

  “Yes, I’m taking them over to the town square,” he answered, barely looking at her. “There is a horse show today and I might be able to sell them. They should bring a good price.”

  “I don’t think I would like your job, Aidan.”

  His eyes met hers, surprise on his face. “No? And why not, might I ask?”

  She smiled. “I’m afraid I would get so attached to the animals I raised, I wouldn’t be able to part with them.” She came closer as she spoke and reached out to caress the thick neck of one of the horses.

  Aidan laughed. “It’s just a job to me, lassie, but I think I know what you mean. I feel that way more about some of the riding horses I raise.”