Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

H annah's heart was beating faster than a racehorse at Alcott's. She had no idea how they had ended up from sitting down opposite each other, to almost kissing.

"Ye seem to have gotten yerselves locked up," the old man spoke, pretending to be completely oblivious to what just happened. He eyed them both, leaning against his cane, as he stood in the doorway. That gaze was teasing, because he knew that neither of them would speak up, out of respect for the man's age.

Both Hannah and Alistair gave him a puzzled look because they knew exactly what had happened. It was he who locked them in there. He and his daughter. Yet, just as expected, no one spoke.

"We've been worried about yer absence, and we ended up searchin' the entire castle!" the old man said, lifting his free hand to accentuate the size of the great castle they were in. "It took us a long time to find ye. And here ye are, in the library of all places, readin' the afternoon away."

Hearing those words made Alistair scoff immediately, a sound which did not escape his grandfather's attention. Instantly, the cane landed on Alistair's foot, with a loud thud, which almost made Hannah chuckle out loud, but she managed to resist the temptation.

"Oh, I do beg yer pardon," the old man apologized with an innocent grin.

"Ye did that on purpose!" Alistair growled, knowing well that apart from stating his opinion, there is little else he could do to the old man, who was obviously used to getting his way.

"An accident, me lad," the old man pretended to surrender, but in fact, the corner of his lip curled into a smile. "I am an old man, clumsy with this thing." He showed Alistair his cane defensively. Hannah wondered how many times Alistair's foot had an accidental encounter with the stick. Probably every time Alistair said something the grandfather didn't like.

"Where is Maither?" Alistair asked, as he passed the old man by, walking out of the library and into the corridor.

"Probably still searchin' for ye," his grandfather explained. "We'd best go and find her."

"Aye, ye go and do that, I have business to tend to," Alistair mumbled under his breath and disappeared down the staircase, without another word said.

Hannah, still feeling slightly flushed regarding what had just happened, looked at Alistair's grandfather, who seemed content about something, but she couldn't tell what.

"Me dear, will ye help me find me daughter?" he asked, offering her his arm.

Hannah wondered if he was truly slightly senile and couldn't remember that it was actually he and his daughter who locked them inside the library. He seemed completely genuine with his question, and she just didn't have the heart to say anything.

"Aye," she nodded, with a smile, resting against his arm and allowing him to take her in the opposite direction from where Alistair had disappeared off to.

They walked slowly, as she tried to do her best to accommodate his pace. They passed through several corridors, only to end up at a beautiful terrace, that seemed to overlook the entire estate.

"There isnae any scenery more beautiful than this," he told her, resting against the balustrade and staring into the distance.

Hannah could see it all. The impressive stone walls, the turrets, the moat of murky water, with a heavy drawbridge over it. The landscape was stunning. Hannah could not remember the last time she was this breathless. She could see the mountains in the distance and wondered how far away from them were they.

"I was born here, me lass," he said a little solemnly. "And this is where I will die."

"One shouldnae speak of dyin'," she reminded him. "Ye have many good years ahead of ye."

He smiled at her, showing a row of surprisingly healthy teeth. "Ye are a sweet lass. Me grandson is a lucky man."

Hannah was caught off guard by that comment, not really certain what she was expected to say. So, she merely smiled back politely. Fortunately, he didn't seem to expect any response, and merely stood there, gazing into the distance. Hannah did the same. Those few precious moments of silence filled her with a soothing sensation, which was cut short by the old man's desire to go back inside, which she of course, immediately agreed to.

"Have ye managed to find a good book?" he wondered as they walked through well illuminated corridors of the McCann Castle, and once again, Hannah thought he was teasing her by referring to what happened in the library. But when she looked at him, he seemed so honest that she could not believe that he would do anything of the sort, at least not on purpose.

"I dinnae have much chance to peruse what was on the shelves," she admitted, as they slowly descended the opposite stairs. "But it seems that ye have some fine specimens."

"Oh, the finest!" he was quick to assure her. "Ye ken, me grandad, God rest his soul, traveled all across the world, always bringing us lads gifts of all sorts. Me brother, who has also passed on, loved books the most. So, many of the books ye see in that library belonged to him. Many of those ye cannae find anywhere in Scotland."

"That is quite impressive," Hannah smiled.

"We been tryin' to do that old library justice by addin' more books, but with this devil foot of mine, I cannae travel any longer." He suddenly turned to her, as if he remembered something crucial. "Perhaps when Alistair and ye go on yer weddin' trip, ye can bring back some books with fine leather bindin', to add to the collection. I know both me brother and me grandad would love that."

Hannah felt such tenderness for the old man that she had a sudden need to embrace him, but she fought off the desire. She had no idea where they stood on hugs in this house, and the last thing she wanted to do was show disrespect to the oldest member of the household.

"I shall have to remind Alistair of that when we go… on our weddin' trip," she managed to muster the words, although it was difficult.

The idea of traveling somewhere with him had not even crossed her mind. A journey where she would be alone with him? She didn't know what to think about that. It was something that young newlyweds sometimes did. The idea was thrilling mostly because no matter how hard she tried, she could not understand the laird. He wanted for them to keep their distance, but at the same time, he almost kissed her. Those two things simply did not go together. So, which one was it?

"Have ye discussed a destination?" he wondered.

"Nae yet," she shook her head. The topic had not been raised yet.

"I see," he nodded a bit absent-mindedly as they descended the stairs, and he led her into the first chamber to their left. Immediately upon entering it, Hannah realized that Alistair's mother was not worried about her son and his betrothed at all. She was enjoying a cup of tea, with an embroidery hoop in her hands, busily working. She seemed quite content with life, and nothing concerned her. Yet another little trick on the part of the grandfather.

"Oh!" she smiled upon seeing them. "There ye are!"

Hannah smiled back, not really certain who she was referring to.

"Why daenae ye join me for some tea?" the lady suggested.

She was dressed immaculately in a muslin gown, that consisted of a fitted bodice, the color of peaches in the summer, adorned with lace of a slightly darker hue and long sleeves. Her skirt was gathered at the waist, making Lady McCann appear slightly slimmer than she actually was, as the wide ribbon around her waist stood in contrast to the pale colored dress. The ribbon was made of tartan, which of course, Hannah instantly recognized as the woolen cloth traditionally associated with their native country, Scotland. Just like Lady McCann, Hannah always made sure to have something on her that proudly revealed her heritage. Whether it was a plaid shawl or a ribbon around her waist, or even a tam o'shanter hat, something had to be worn with a plaid marking.

"I shall leave Hannah to keep ye company," the old man suddenly said. "I need to go over me correspondence for the day, I just remembered." And with those words, he left Hannah with Alistair's mother, who immediately called for more tea to be served.

"I do hope ye dinnae hold it against us, me dear," she told Hannah, putting down her embroidery hoop, which signaled that she was now fully immersed in this conversation.

"Oh, the library," Hannah emphasized, just to assure that they were thinking of the same thing. "Well, I—"

"Ye see, Alistair is… a wee bit odd," she confessed to Hannah, but there was nothing scolding in this characterization of her son. "We feared he wouldnae be accommodating enough to ye, and we wanted to put him in a situation where ye two would become more… familiar with each other."

Familiar? That is a nice way of putting it, Hannah thought to herself, remembering how Alistair almost kissed her. Then again, she dared him to do it. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she kept on pushing it.

"I thought he would think to show ye some of his favorite books, and that might bring ye closer," she continued, and Hannah could tell how much motherly love and desire for her son's happiness was in those very words. All she wanted was to see her son happy in life. After all, that was all any mother wanted. Of course, Hannah could not blame her for resorting to some minor trickery, especially seeing it was all for a good cause.

"We played cards," Hannah revealed, much to the woman's satisfaction.

"Oh, that is lovely!" she gushed at Hannah. "Ye are such a beautiful couple. I couldnae ask for a more beautiful daughter in law."

"Thank ye for sayin' that," Hannah beamed. "Ye are most kind."

Alistair's mother adjusted herself more closely to Hannah, taking her by the hand. "I ken this is a big change for ye, me dear, to be away from everyone ye ken. But ye are more than welcome here. We want ye to be happy here, even though it might not always seem that way."

"Thank ye, truly," Hannah said, fighting hard to prevent herself from crying at this woman's kindness, regardless of everything that had happened.

At that moment, the tea arrived, and the two ladies remained quiet while it was being served. Hannah could not get Alistair out of her mind. Him being so close to her… it did something to her. It awakened senses inside of her that she wasn't even aware of. It was as if he was able to awaken the side of her being that had been slumbering all this while, but now, it was desperate to come out. She wondered if that was a good idea, to succumb to that temptation and allow herself to get to know this man, to perhaps even care about him.

Care about him? Her mind screamed at the idea. It seemed so preposterous, and at the same time, so natural, so easy, so desirable.

"And… who won?" Alistair's mother asked, bringing Hannah back to the present moment.

Hannah thought about it for a moment. Then, without a doubt, she smiled. "He did."

"They did?" Felix couldn't believe Alistair's story.

He stopped tending to his horse, unable to resist laughing at what he just heard. The two young men had turned it into a habit to tend to their horses together, as they knew that the stable horses should always be tended with strict regularity. Just like humans, animals had their own inner clock, noticing when others failed to adhere to it. They had in fact, witnessed a distressed horse many a time, when their stable boy had forgotten to feed or water the horses at the designated hour. An animal would then even call out for its food.

Over the course of time, tending to their horses had become a time for the two men to talk freely about their lives, their hopes and dreams, their predicaments and hardships. This time was no different. Alistair had a keen desire to share with his brother what had just happened.

"It isnae funny," Alistair scoffed. "To be locked up in a chamber with yer betrothed."

Felix turned to take a closer look at him, pressed his hands on his belly, then laughed even harder, making his horse slightly nervous. "But it is!" Once the onslaught of laughter subsided, Felix was able to continue, not forgetting to pat the horse softly on the back. "To be quite honest, many men would prefer to be locked up in a chamber with their betrotheds. It is only ye who are negative about it."

"Ye are bein' ridiculous," Alistair pointed out, with a frown, continuing to brush his horse tenderly, each stroke resembling a caress. "I am no child."

"Then stop actin' like one," Felix said calmly. "Ye've been treatin' the poor girl as if she were yer enemy. We all noticed it."

Alistair sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. His brother was right. He had been treating her like an enemy, simply because her brother was that, and by default, she became the same thing in his eyes. Only, she wasn't the enemy. Not if she were in his own home, bearing his own name, becoming his own family. That made her the opposite of an enemy.

"Ye ken that this marriage was not entirely… planned," Alistair said as much as he could say, without revealing the actual truth. He actually wanted to say voluntary, but that would cause questions, which he was not willing to answer. However, he still felt a great desire to get this burden off of his back and share it with someone.

Felix shrugged at his brother's words. "Why would that matter?"

"A marriage should be well planned," Alistair pointed out, inspecting his horse's mane. It was shiny and silky to the touch, which Alistair took particular pride of. "It is, after all, a uniting of two people for the rest of their lives. They should respect each other, love each other, they should—"

"But she does all that," Felix cut him off.

"All of what?" Alistair raised an eyebrow. Even his horse did a little apprehensive dance with its hind legs, as if questioning the statement, just like his master.

"She hasnae shown any disrespect, at least not that I've seen it," Felix continued. "And she seems to care about ye."

Alistair's air got trapped somewhere in his throat, taking a wrong turn on the way in, which made him burst out into a violent cough, which bent him forward. It took a few moments for him to regain composure, and for his brother's words to truly sink in. The horse neighed, feeling his master's predicament.

"Care about me?" Alistair repeated. The words didn't seem to make any sense. Why would she care about him? He hadn't given her any reason to. If anything, he had been pushing her away from himself all this time, blaming her for all the actions of her brother.

"Aye," Felix nodded. "I've seen the way she looks at ye."

"Looks at me?" Alistair couldn't find the words to say anything else. All he was able to do was merely throw his brother's words back at him, nothing else. He kept squeezing the brush in his hand, until he could barely feel it was there. His horse was patient, despite the fact that it wasn't used to such breaks in the usual evening care.

"Aye," Felix chuckled. "Ye mean to say ye havenae noticed?"

"Well, I…" Alistair turned away from his brother, raking his fingers through his curls.

"Where have yer eyes been, brother, if nae on the lass?" Felix teased.

Alistair had to admit that he was keeping himself desperately busy to spend as little time with her as possible. Obviously, everyone else had noticed it, which wasn't a good thing.

"I've been busy, that's all," Alistair tried not to bury himself with a more detailed excuse, and instead, decided on the simplest of explanations.

"A man shouldnae be busy for his fiancée," Felix advised. "Especially not such a lovely and pretty lass like herself."

"She is pretty," Alistair admitted. That was as much as he was willing to say aloud. Everything else he was keeping silent, locked inside of himself. "I suppose ye are right. I ought to be more… welcoming with the lass."

"At least," Felix agreed. "Why did ye think Grandfaither and Maither locked ye in the library with her?" Once again, he chuckled at this infamous episode that had been shared with him. "Because ye have been treatin' her like a stranger and not yer betrothed."

Alistair sighed. It seemed that his plan was failing. He had every intention of keeping himself distracted and busy, but his family was adamant on keeping him close to Hannah. If only he could tell them the truth of why he wouldn't do that. But that wasn't an option.

"I had a lot on me mind," Alistair added.

"I ken," Felix nodded sympathetically. "Since Faither's death, ye have taken on the responsibility of the lairdship, and I ken it couldnae have been easy on ye. But remember that ye need to live yer own life as well, not merely the life of a laird."

"But that is who I am," Alistair reminded him.

"Nay," Felix shook his head. "Ye are more than a mere title. Ye are Alistair Peterson, the Laird of the McCann Clan, but ye are also merely Alistair Peterson, a man. Daenae forget that, brother."

Alistair immediately understood what his brother was referring to. Only, it was difficult to separate those two aspects of his personality. They had already merged into one. Hannah's brother had not only threatened Alistair Peterson, but also the Laird of the McCann Clan. That made him a dangerous enemy, and Alistair knew he had to play by Hunter's rules, in the meantime hoping that the game would change to his advantage.