Page 70 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
“Thank you, Da.” She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug, careful not to make it too tight so that another fit of coughing would start. “I will not disappoint you, and you never know… Perhaps whoever becomes laird will take an interest and surprise us all.”
The laird gave her anI’ll believe it when I see itlook.
“I want you to promise me that if the work ever becomes too much, you will take on an assistant.”
“I promise.” She stood up. “Are you coming to dinner, Da?”
The laird nodded wearily and stood up. Janice felt infinitely sorry for him and hoped that her brothers appreciated the effort he was making. She took her father’s hand and led him into the great hall, where a loud cheer welcomed them inside.
This time, as they went toward the head table, no one stopped Janice from taking her place at it. She was surprised when her brother Andrew pulled a seat out for her so that she could sit, and she thought hopefully that they might behave with a little more decorum that night. However, it was not to be. They behaved like children, spraying each other with wine, pretending to be drunk and falling asleep on the table, all the while making the most risqué jokes and roaring with exaggerated laughter.
Janice felt like crawling under the table with mortification and knew that it must be even worse for her father. Fortunately, just as she was about to lose control and scream at them, the musicians began to play a country dance and the melody drowned out the noise of the twins’ antics.
“Would you like to dance, Da?” she asked, raising her voice over the music.
She stood up, glaring at her brothers as she followed her father onto the dance floor. Fortunately, the dance was a slow one, and they were able to move at a sedate pace through it, changing partners every few steps. But even so, at the end of it, Laird Stewart was breathless.
As they moved back to the table, Janice was glad to see that the twins had moved away to sit beside some young ladies who would hopefully tolerate their infantile behavior. She looked worriedly at her father.
“Have you not done enough for this evening, Da?” she asked. “Surely you can find an excuse to slip away? I can take your place for a little while.”
The laird shook his head firmly. “I have an announcement to make, and I must do it tonight, Janice. This whole circus will soon end, and I will be very glad. I do not know why I never thought of it in the first place.”
“Your voice is too weak, Da,” she said firmly. “I can make the announcement for you.”
The laird thought for a moment, then nodded. “You are right, Daughter,” he conceded, then he proceeded to tell her what to say.
A moment later, Janice stood up and tapped her spoon against her glass for silence. She smiled at everyone and said warmly, “First of all, thank you all for coming to our celebration. We are honored to have you all here, and we hope you have enjoyed your stay and will take home many happy memories.” She held up her glass in a toast. “Sláinte Mhath!”
“Sláinte Mhath!” came the loud reply.
“My father, my brothers, and I would like to let you all know that the lairdship will be handed over before the end of the month; that is in two weeks’ time. Since we have had four events in our competition and the result is a two-two tie, my family would like you all to help us by voting anonymously for whoever you think will do a better job of running the estate.
“This does not mean that you will be deciding the outcome, of course. It merely means that you will be assisting us with your opinion. We will let you know the details at breakfast. Thank you all once more.”
She looked around again and raised her glass, smiling at everyone and hoping that she was building up as much goodwill as she could.
She looked over to see her brothers clowning around at the other side of the table, and her spirits plummeted. She needed fresh air.
Laird Stewart leaned over and tapped his daughter’s hand. “Thank you, Janice.”
He smiled sweetly at her, and she kissed him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the youngest son of Laird Angus Devine approaching. Of all the young men who had been hanging around her during the last few days, he was the one she liked the least. He was fairly handsome, with a tall, lean frame, chestnut hair, and deep blue eyes. But he was vain and self-important, and Janice could not stand the sight of him.
“Excuse me, Da,” she said to Laird Stewart. “I have to go. Angus Devine is coming to see me, and he makes my skin crawl.”
Then she stood up and fled before the odious man reached her.
CHAPTER 12
The full moon was beginning to wane, its clear disc fading into the sky as if it were a knife that was losing its sharpness. The clear air was cool and welcoming against her cheeks after the stuffiness of the great hall. There, too many people had been crowded together, their bodies rendering the air hot and humid. As well as that, she had been too busy to pay much attention to any of the young men, so now, after a late start, they had all come to pay court to her. She could see them circling like a crowd of vultures, and though she welcomed the attentions of a couple of her genuine admirers, she could see the naked greed in the eyes of many of the others.
Janice mounted the stairs to the battlements and stood at one of the parapets, looking into the darkness and trying to lose herself in it. Below, she could see the gilded forms of trees and the gleam of the Bonnie Loch in the distance, but for once, its beauty did not soothe her troubled spirits.
She was trying not to think of Bernard, but the harder she tried to think of another subject, the more impossible it became until eventually she gave up and abandoned herself to images of him, remembering the taste of his lips during that single delicious kiss they had shared.
He had tasted of salt and ale, not a refined taste like that of brandy or fine wine, which was probably what her brothers and Bernard’s friend, William, had been drinking. And that was what she liked—yes,liked—about him. She thought for a moment. Of course she liked him. That was all since she hardly knew him. However, judging by the assessing and admiring looks many other young ladies had been giving him, she was not the only one.
Even though he was lower on the social ladder than they were, there was something about him that made them look at him in admiration and whisper about him behind their hands. Perhaps it was his potent masculinity, Janice thought. She chastised herself for feeling so unreasonably jealous of all the other young ladies. He did not belong to her, after all, and she had no claim on him, but she knew she would miss him. He would be going home in a few days and then she would make herself forget him. She was determined to. She absolutely had to.
