Page 10 of The Highlander's Alluring Spy
Then Magnolia showed her the ball in her left hand. “I switched it!”
“Let me try!”
They played with the marble for a while, and Elaine knew her Dadaidh was watching. She hoped he was pleased. She wouldn’t mind if someone fun like Magnolia stayed for a wee while.
* * *
He hired her almost immediately, promising at least a month of employment before they reviewed her staying more permanently. She’d been surprised at that, but when she asked why he hired so quickly, he shrugged and told her that if she was good enough for Elaine, she was good enough for him. Magnolia couldn’t quite believe it had gone so well and that she’d been hired immediately. Still, she thanked him as graciously as she knew how, over and over again.
As Magnolia was shown through the stone-walled hallways towards what would be her rooms by a young maid, though, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
Yes, she’s a sweet child, and the Laird seems to care for her deeply, but he wouldn’t hesitate to have me hanged.
She could feel a phantom pain around her neck already. It was as though the rope was measured and tightening around her neck. She was more than aware of the danger ahead of her. It felt strange to her that she should be hired so quickly. It felt like he was plotting something. It was almost as if he’d known the whole time what game she was playing.
Does he suspect something? If so, then surely he would not have involved his daughter?
She frowned to herself. She didn’t know anything about this man. But the way he interacted with Elaine…thinking about it made her smile.
My Father looks at me in the same way as he gazes at that little girl. Whatever else he is, whatever else he’s plotting, he loves her. Just like my Father loves me. And Elaine adores him, too.
The little girl looked remarkably like him. She had his bright red hair and freckled features, though her eyes were a deep gray that sparkled like silver in her excitement. She wore her hair neatly in braids, and she had dimples on both cheeks.
Her father was like a wild version of her. Nathair’s hair really was a flame, wild without being messy as it bounced around his head and down to his shoulders, with a matching fiery beard. His eyes were a brilliant green she had never seen in a person.
They look like they belong to a ginger cat. Intelligent, shrewd. As though he is a half-wild tom who has seen much, and he’s prepared for anything.
He was tall, at least a head-and-a-half taller than she if her estimates from the floor were correct, and though he dressed modestly, it was clear he had hard, toned arms and legs under his lordly clothing.
And he is rather handsome, I suppose. In a barbarian sort of way.
He was the kind of attractive that screameddangerandwarningbut intrigued sillier girls than Magnolia, nonetheless. His freckles, noticeable and thick all over every visible part of his sun-darkened skin, added a layer of the unexpected. Especially those dotted on his cheeks and over his nose. When she thought of how they looked…
Well, they’re rather adorable.
The second the thought came to her mind, she shooed it away. That was absurd! The Scottish air must be getting to her mind.
She shook her head, alarmed by the turns of her daydreams. No. She could not become caught up in such sentiment now! She must remember that everyone here–the maid, the cook, even her four-year-old charge and especially her charge’s handsome father–was a potential threat.
If she was caught, she could be hanged, and Nathair would be the one to give the order. Even now, he could be planning an assault against the Crown and Country she and her father loved so much. No number of freckles could soften her against such as that. No soft beard, no muscles, could make a monster less of a beast.
“This is yer room while ye’re here,” the maid told her. “It’s a’ made up. His Lairdship hasnae changed it since the last…well, it’s a’ yers, now.”
Magnolia gave her a small smile. “Thank you,” she said. She opened the door, and the maid turned to go. Magnolia reached out and touched her shoulder. “Wait. What’s your name? I never asked you before, which was very rude of me. I apologize.”
The maid’s cheeks blushed bright red, and she nervously brushed some of her dark curls from her face. “Ye dinnae need to apologize tae the likes of me, Miss.”
“I insist,” Magnolia pressed. “We shall be working together, shall we not? Please give me your name so that I may thank you better.”
The color in the maid’s cheeks blossomed into something gentler and more pleasant. “Well, if ye insist. Me name is Betty, Miss.”
“Betty is short for Elizabeth?”
“Aye. Me Maither is an Elizabeth, too, but she’s Eliza.”
Magnolia gave her a genuine smile. This young woman, at least, seemed harmless. “My best friend at home is also Elizabeth. We call her Lizzy,” she said. “I hope this is a good sign that you and I will get along well together.”
Betty returned the smile a little awkwardly. “Well, that’d be fair pleasant, Miss.” She shrugged. “There arenae many young folk aroun’ here. It’d be nice to have someone for talkin’ to, Miss.”
