Page 24 of Claimed By the Heartless Highlander
He sat down at the desk and was just about to start writing when he glanced down and noticed that his desk drawer was the tiniest bit open. The drawer that held Ailis’s letters.
He let out a curse as he slumped back in his chair. He’d been trying not to think of her, but one glimpse of those letters, or the place he’d stored them, brought her right back to the forefront of his mind.
She wanted love, and he knew he was doing her a disservice by insisting that she stay in a loveless relationship that was more an alliance than anything else. She was right that, if he truly wanted such a marriage, he would do better to find a meek, quiet lass who needed to marry but was more inclined to be a nun.
The problem was that, in spite of his firm conviction that love was a fool’s dream and that any form of affection to anyone other than Jack and Lily was folly, he had come to like her.
She had wit and spirit. He’d known that from the first letter he’d received. She was also kind and generous, and given half a chance, he knew she’d be everything Lily might want in a mother as she grew older. And she was growing older, to the point where she would need a woman’s direction and advice.
Ailis was… Well, in the days when he’d been foolish enough to hope for a loving marriage, she was everything he might have dreamed of. And the ways she could so innocently make his blood sing and make him ache for her was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.
And then, there were the things she’d written in those letters… those deep, intriguing fantasies…
Duncan groaned and shoved away from his desk, then went to the cabinet to grab the strongest scotch he could find. He already knew that any attempt to do some work was a lost cause. His mind was too full of other things.
God above, why had the lass chosen him to write to, of all the men in the Highlands? And why had he felt the need to pursue the matter? She’d never needed to know he’d received the letters, or read them. Life would have been so much simpler if he’d just thrown them in the fire when he got them.
Eventually, she would have stopped writing, and he could have lived in peace, save for the nagging of his council. Now he was here, with a woman in his castle who gave every sign of wanting him, and who was certainly desirable. And all he’d managed to do was upset her and confuse both of them.
Duncan let out an obscenity he’d learned from his father years ago and filled his glass to the brim. He downed it, then refilled it and downed it again.
If he wasn’t going to get any work done, and he wasn’t going to address the object of his frustrations, then he’d be sure to get drunk enough that no dreams of Ailis Anderson managed to haunt his night and disturb his rest.
And if he had to resolutely ignore the fact that he slept better when her fantasies replaced his nightmares… well, what was one more thing to brush aside?
CHAPTER10
Ailis wokeup from a restless sleep, still unhappy with her conversation with Duncan the previous night. As she dressed, she was tempted to simply ask for breakfast to be brought to her rooms.
But that was impossible. Duncan was supposed to be announcing their betrothal to the rest of the clan over breakfast. With a grimace, she finished preparing for the day and then made her way toward the Great Hall, which Kara had given her directions to the night before.
As she walked, she recalled the decision she’d come to before she had fallen asleep. If Duncan Wallace did not want her as part of his life, that did not mean everyone else in the castle shared his feelings. If he truly had no care for her, he would not mind if she sought companionship, friendship, and amusement elsewhere.
And if he happened to object, then he would have to take steps to fill the void in her life. But she would not live a life devoid of affection. By his own sworn word, he only had the right to decide whether he would be a part of it in truth, or as a mere formality.
She arrived at the hall to find Duncan’s brother, Jack, already at the table. The younger Wallace offered her a warm smile and pulled out a chair for her. “Good morn, Lady Ailis. ‘Tis good to see ye’re an early riser.”
“I had to be, with two younger sisters to look after.” She sat down and shook her head at the wine he offered her. “Och, I’m nae for drinking in the mornings. I have a preference for a good, sweet tea.”
“I’ll have the servants prepare some for ye.” He waved a maid over. “And I’ll beg yer pardon in advance. Aside from the maids and Lily, the majority of the residents here are warriors, like meself and Duncan. It’s made us all a bunch of gruff, uncivilized brutes, me braither included.”
She smiled at him. “I understand. Though I’ll confess, ‘tis a wee bit jarrin’, seein’ how I was raised with me two sisters, in a household that was all too aware that there were young ladies in the castle.”
“Well, I’m sure ye’ll have us mindin’ our manners in nay time. Though, I warn ye, Lily’s a little bundle of mischief once she gets to ken ye better, so ye may find her the greatest challenge of all of us.”
“I dinnae doubt that. But it wouldnae be the first time. Me own sister, Grace, is quite a hellion when she’s of a mind.”
“Ailis!” A high, cheery voice made her turn around as Lily came scampering into the room, all wide smiles as she raced forward to cling to the edge of Ailis’s chair. “I was afraid ye have left already.”
“Nae at all, darling lass.” She gave the child a quick one-armed embrace and shooed her toward a chair. “In fact, yer faither and I have an announcement to make after ye’re seated.”
The girl all but plopped into her seat, her eyes alight with curiosity and childish delight.
Ailis turned to Duncan, who’d entered just behind his daughter. Despite the temptation to admire his physique once more, she kept her eyes on his face as she greeted him, unwilling to give any sign of attraction or interest that he might respond to. She’d had enough of being confused by his hot and cold reactions.
“Me Laird, would ye care to make the announcement now?”
Duncan looked faintly disgruntled, but she couldn’t make out why. With a small shrug of her shoulders, she dismissed the concern. He’d made it clear that his personal life was none of her business. Until he indicated otherwise, she would leave him be.
