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wanting tae be friends wi’ Linc. Hetook tae him right off, ye ken. They were the same age. And we all o’ us liked him well enough eventually, though he was still closest tae Dougi.”
    “But what’d he do tae change that?”
    “He picked a fight wi’ Dougi that Dougi couldna hope tae win. He’d grown much bigger than Dougi in the two years they were close friends, ye see. One punch and he broke Dougi’s nose. There was nae contest. He knew there wouldna be. He shouldna hae started that, but doing so, he shouldna hae been surprised when several o’ m’brothers who were present stepped in tae finish it for him. He’d known us all long enough tae ken that we dinna let one o’ ours get hurt wi’out the hurter paying a goodly price for it.”
    “And he came back for more?”
    “Aye, he was feeling wronged by then and wanting revenge. He was bloody well determined tae take us all on, everyone o’ us, and he didna care if ’twas all at the same time. You canna get much more stupid than that—or crazy.”
    “They’re no’ the same person, Uncle,” Melissa said now, emphatically. “Lincoln Burnett is no’ like that a’tall. Really he isna.”
    Ian chuckled at her. “Ye dinna hae tae convince me o’ that, hinny. I didna think it was him. If I ne’er heard o’ your Mr. Burnett when he lived here, there can be any number o’ reasons why, the simplest being he mun no’ hae lived here for verra long. Come and gone, as it were, afore anyone knew he was here. It wouldna be the firsttime the queen’s English subjects hae come tae Scotland tae find oot for themselves why she likes it so well here.”
    Yes, a perfectly logical reason and most likely exactly why Ian had never heard of Lincoln Burnett. Besides, that foolish young Lincoln had been Scottish. Her Lincoln most assuredly was not. She didn’t give it another thought and went back to dreamily counting the minutes until she would again meet Mr. Burnett.

Six
    L INCOLN knew that it wouldn’t be easy, sitting down to eat with his mother. He had avoided dinner last night with the flimsy excuse of exhaustion, and he rarely sat down to breakfast, since he wasn’t an early riser. But luncheon couldn’t be avoided and was as uncomfortable as he’d known it would be. Even with his aunt and cousin there to keep the conversation flowing, his own lack of participation in it was glaringly noticeable. Though he hadn’t counted on being so distracted that he wasn’t even listening to them.
    That was brought to his attention when his cousin Edith, who rarely raised her voice, practically shouted at him, “Lincoln! Whatever has gotten into you?”
    “Beg pardon?”
    “You’ve only been asked three times,” she stressed. “If you’d take me for a ride this afternoon. This is my first time to Scotland, after all.I’d like to see a bit more of it than what the road up here offered in view.”
    “I’m sorry, Edi. I just met someone yesterday that has been occupying my mind ever since.”
    “A girl, I hope,” Henriette put in.
    “Actually, yes.”
    His aunt smiled brilliantly, drawing her own conclusions. “Wonderful! It’s perfectly all right if you find your bride before the season starts. Yes indeed, no reason to wait, and easy enough for us to plan a wedding while you’re escorting Edith about to all the parties.”
    He nearly rolled his eyes. “I know absolutely nothing about her yet, other than her name. I only just made her acquaintance, Aunt.”
    “When a man gets so distracted that his hearing becomes as impaired as yours just was, he’s already thinking of marriage,” Henriette insisted.
    Lincoln blushed, not because marriage was mentioned and that hadn’t been on his mind, but because he hadn’t thought of it to begin with. He knew he wanted Melissa MacGregor in his life and not for only a brief time. Every time he considered a short affair while he was here, his instincts balked. “Short” just wasn’t going to do it for as much as