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She scoffed angrily and pushed his chest to move him out of the way. She trudged with angry steps away from him towards the castle door, and Jamie thought, “Aye, she’s turning into quite the Scottish lass with all her fire.” He chuckled, and then grabbed Faolan’s reins to take him to the stables.
* * *
Christmas came and went, with Amelia spending time with her mother, and avoiding Jamie at any chance she could. William would walk her to her mother’s and sometimes back, and if he was in the castle, they might play cards in the evening. She was teaching him the rules of whist. She was very grateful that he never mentioned the episode in the library, but he often spoke of Jamie, watching her face closely.
One evening, they were playing in the main hall by the fireside, and Amelia wore a brown gown with a Kinnaird color plaid around her, for this was the coldest evening she’d experienced in Scotland thus far. William wore only a shirt and open waistcoast, his hand on a pint of ale. Prince Charlie lay asleep at the hearth. William was explaining Hogmanay to her. “It’s simply a celebration for the end of the year, which ye English also celebrate. But, insteada Christmas, we give gifts for Hogmanay.”
Amelia turned over a 6 of clubs, and said, “Now you must play clubs to see if you can beat me. And about Hogmanay, that sounds lovely. Gifts to warm your souls at the close of a year. I always love new traditions.” She smiled in William’s direction. She was grateful for his friendship. There was no seduction and no fear in their relationship, and he never tried to anger her. He only made her laugh and would comfort her if need be.
William studied his cards for a moment before laying a 10 of clubs.
“So, you win the trick,” Amelia stated with a smile, and they continued playing for a while.
Later, they sat before the fire, and William poured her a cup of wine. Amelia hesitated before taking it, but realized that it was William she was with, not Jamie.
They stared into the flames before Amelia asked, “So, Fiona tells me you have a house nearby but often stay here.”
“Aye, ‘tis a bit lonely for me in the winter time in that drafty place. Me da and ma are gone along with me brother, so it’s not a place I go tae spend a lot of time in.”
“I’m sorry, William. I understand. It’s nice to be with people if you can.”
“Aye.”
Amelia paused for a moment and took a sip of wine to bolster her courage. “Will you tell me about the battles? And what happened to Jamie?”
William smiled. “Curious about our laird, are ye?”
Amelia stiffened. “I just feel like it would be helpful to know all I can about Scottish history and the Kinnaird family, so that I can do my job properly.”
William chuckled and winked. “Of course. Well, I wasn’t at the Battle of Culloden, but the other battles were fierce and bloody ones. All we Jacobites had were our swords and our hearts out on the battle lines. The English had muskets of course, and they shot us down in droves, me da and me brother included.”
William’s face hardened slightly. “I was injured at Falkirk and knocked unconscious, but me brother saved me by pulling me out from the piles of dead. And I was kept in hiding until after all the battles and the “cleansing” by the English was done.” William looked down at his wine. “‘Twas a beautiful thing tae fight for my land, but I can’t say that I’d be willing tae see all that bloodshed again. And it only brought the English down upon us more firmly. We’ve lost the clan control of our lands along with many of our people and traditions.”
Silence followed and Amelia worried that Wiliam would turn an angry face to her, since she was a Sassenach, part of the problem. But instead he turned to her and smiled. “And Jamie? As I said before, he was taken by the English and tortured after Culloden, each o’ the prisoners starved and whipped within an inch o’ their lives. Jamie’s got the scars to prove it.”
“Yes, I know.” Amelia replied somberly, thinking of happy, brazen, green-eyed Jamie being subjected to such treatment.
William’s grin widened into his wicked, boyish smile. “Och, do ye now?”
