“Nay, lad,” Ewan said, grinning like the cat who’d caught the canary. “But ye’re stuck wi’ me, ye are.”
“And how long,” I ground out, “will that be?”
He took a slow, deliberate sip of his whisky. “Could be forever. Could be a few days. Depends, doesnae?”
“On what?” I snapped, desperate for anything to cling to. “And how on earth are you able to drink that? Aren’t you dead?” I strode forward and snatched the bottle out of his hand, then sniffed it. It was real—the bottle had weight and shape, it was cold to the touch and still half full of some awful-smelling foulness.
Ewan’s eyes darkened. He moved faster than I expected, lunging forward and yanking it back with a grip like iron.
“Are ye mad, lad?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous, far more threatening than I’d ever heard it. “There’s nae a more foolish thing in this world than layin’ yer hands on a man’s whisky. Ye want trouble, eh? Because that’s how ye get it.”
I just stood there, my fingers slack, and my hand open limply as he took another drink. “You…you’re dead!”I cried. “Howare you drinking?”
Ewan shrugged. “Ach, who’s tae say? Nae rules set down, ye ken, but I’m right glad o’ a bit o’ drink just now. Ye’re enough to drive a man tae it.”
I groaned, throwing myself into the nearest chair and staring up at the ceiling, my heart still thudding like it was trying to dig its way out through my ribs. Every rational bone in my body screamed that this wasn’t possible—that none of this was possible—but the ghost lounging in my chair with a whisky bottle said otherwise.
“Why…” I started, my voice tight, “…can nobody else see you?”
Ewan grinned, the kind of grin that made me want to throttle him. “Ach, now there’s a question, eh?”
“Yes!” I snapped, my temper fraying. “That’s exactly the question.”
He swirled the whisky around in the bottle, leaning back in my chair like he owned the bloody thing. “Well, lad, I reckon it’s ‘cause ye called me up wi’ yer blood. It’s yer doin’, after all. No’ like I’m hangin’ aboot fer a bit o’ fun.”
“That’s not an answer! I need to know this. Why,” I asked, forcing my voice to remain steady, “can’t anyone else see you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe ‘cause they didnae go jabbin’ their fingers on some auld bit o’ metal.” His eyes sparkled with amusement as he took another swig. “Or maybe I just like tormentin’yemore. Gad’s teeth, but ye’re a toffee-nosed heid bummer.”
My fists clenched. “So, I’m the only one cursed to deal with you?”
He just shrugged and took another pull from his bottle.
I groaned, rubbing my face with both hands. This was utterly insane. I was losing my mind, that was the only explanation.
Before I could spiral any further into my own misery, Ewan’s voice cut through my thoughts. “But I’ve a wee question fer ye, lad.”
I didn’t look up. “I’m not interested.”
“Ah, but ye might want tae be, ye ken. An' who was that bonnie lass ye near knocked o’er on the lawn?”
I froze. Slowly, I raised my head to find Ewan staring at me, an eyebrow arched with far too much interest.
“Who?” I asked, though I knew exactly who he meant.
“The lass,” he said, waving the bottle like a man giving orders. “Dark hair, sharp tongue on her, aye? Looks like she can handle hersel’, that yin. Ye ken the lass I mean.”
“Miss Bennet?” I replied, trying to keep my voice neutral. “What of her?”
He grinned, leaning forward. “Och, she’s a bonny one, isnae she? Caught me eye, she did. Bold lass, by the looks o’ her. Not one o’ those simperin’ flowers ye see around here, but wi’…” He gestured with his bottle, pantomiming a woman’s… er… shape. “That’s a pair of sweet—”
My stomach dropped, and I moved to cut him off before he could blurt out whatever Scottish obscenity he was about to utter. “That is entirely inappropriate!”
He let out a bark of laughter. “Aye, well, what care I aboot yer Sassenach manners, eh? A Highland man kens fine how tae admire a bonnie lass when he claps eyes on one.”
My hands clenched into fists at my sides, the color rising in my face. “You willnotspeak of Miss Bennet that way.”
Ewan raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. “Och, have I struck a nerve, have I? So, she beyerlass, then?”
