========================================================================= Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 11:33:00 -0500 Reply-To: JJSWBT@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Wendy Tillis Subject: Hidden Potential 10/22 Hidden Potential by: Wendy Tillis March, 1996 All standard disclaimers apply. Chapter 10 "Duncan." No response. "Duncan!!" Duncan jumped and turned on his stool to find Methos standing at his elbow. He hadn't even felt him approach. "Methos! When did you get into town? Joe said you were in Singapore for another week or two." " I was supposed to be - but I got bored. Really, Singapore isn't any fun anymore - not like it was in . . . ." "Hmmm." Duncan had turned away from Methos to look across the room to a table near the stage where Richie and Margaret were sitting. They had their backs to the bar and so were unaware of Duncan's scrutiny - though Richie could undoubtedly sense their presence. " Does she know you're in love with her?" That spun Duncan back around to face Methos. "What do you mean." " I mean - does she know you're in love with her. Simple question." " I don't know what you're talking about." "No? Joe tells me you always manage to be wherever she is. You've been sitting here staring at her all night - you didn't even feel me come in. You flinch every time he puts his hand on her. If looks could kill. . . ." " Methos - I think your romantic streak is getting the best of you." " Really? I think not. Look at me and tell me it isn't eating you alive to see her with him." Across the room, a man knocked his glass off onto the floor. As the glass shattered, the others at the table cheered. . . . . ******************************************** New York City 1905 Cheered. . . Duncan turned away from the bar to survey the damage. Tony's was crowded tonight. He watched as Antonio Amalfi, the owner , went over to the table of rowdies and settled them down. Tony ran a generally quiet establishment. Tony. He had come over from Naples with his family as a boy. His parents had started a restaurant which had flourished based on Mrs. Amalfi's carefully guarded recipes and good word-of-mouth. They had moved the restaurant several times until they settles on its present location, in the heart of Little Italy. The restaurant was beautifully decorated - dark paneled walls, beveled mirrors, crystal chandeliers, brass fixtures, fine linen tablecloths, good silver. Tony had taken over the management of the restaurant 5 years ago when his father had had a stroke. Duncan had met him two years later. Now they were good friends and Duncan made a point of stopping in whenever he was in the neighborhood. Tonight he was meeting an "old" friend, Kurt Mannheim, before a night at the theatre. Jenny, the new waitress, moved over to the table of now quiet diners and bent to pick up the broken glass. She finished cleaning up, then moved off to take another table's order. Duncan followed her with his eyes. He had met her a week ago - she had been standing in the rain looking utterly lost. She was new in the City and had taken the wrong trolley. He had given her directions - and then offered her a ride in his carriage. She had refused - so he had gotten out and stood waiting for the trolley with her. That had made her laugh - the sight of him in his fancy clothes - getting soaked while his carriage sat at the curb. Finally she had agreed to a ride. He had discovered that she had arrived from Ohio only the day before. She had no job and no place to stay. He had fallen for her before they had gone 10 blocks. Duncan had gotten her this job at Tony's and a room at a respectable rooming house. Jenny finished up with the tables and returned to the bar. "Duncan! I didn't see you come in" "Just got here. I'm waiting for a friend. How is the job working out?" " Oh it's great, Duncan. Tony is so nice - he invited me to dinner at his house . I met his wife and all his children. Did you know he has eight? Oh ! Of course you did. Sorry. I'm babbling again. My father always said it was my most unattractive quality." " You father was wrong." Duncan smiled at her. Just then he felt the approach of another Immortal and Kurt came through the heavy wooden doors. He stood there for a moment, making his grand entrance. He did look quite fine. Dressed in top hat and tails, his black opera cape flung back over his shoulders. He waited another second to be sure that everyone in the restaurant had noticed him, then walked across the room to Duncan. Duncan couldn't deny that he moved with real grace - like the dance master he had once been. "MacLeod.! What a quaint establishment! " Kurt then looked Jenny up and down in what Duncan considered a most inappropriate manner, and said: " Ah, now I understand what you see in this place. Please Duncan, introduce me to this fair creature." Duncan shot Kurt a warning frown but went ahead with the introductions. "Miss Jenny Taylor, Mr. Kurt Mannheim. Kurt, Miss Jenny Taylor." Kurt bent and kissed her hand in the finest European tradition. Jenny blushed and restrained a giggle. "Tell me, my dear, have you been in our fair city for long?" Duncan rolled his eyes as Kurt laid the charm on with a trowel. " No, I've just arrived this week. From Ohio." "Ohio! Lovely countryside there. And have you had a chance to see much of New York yet?" "No, I've been working - Duncan was kind enough to find me this job and. . ." "He hasn't shown you the sights? Duncan? What *were* you thinking." Duncan could have gladly strangled Kurt with his own silk scarf but there were too many witnesses. " Miss Taylor. If you would do me the great honor of accompanying me to the Opera tomorrow night - I should be eternally grateful." " The Opera? Oh I would love to." " It's settled then. I'll call for you at 7:00. We'll have a quiet supper and then the Opera. Now, come along Duncan. You know I hate to be late to the Theatre." And with that, Kurt bowed with a flourish, kissed Jenny's hand again and turned on his heel to make his grand exit. Duncan could do nothing but follow in his wake. For the next few weeks Kurt squired Jenny all over town - theatres, operas, fancy restaurants, private soirees. He showered her with fancy clothes and gifts. He found her an apartment uptown and paid for it. He insisted she quit her job at Tony's to spend all her time with him. Duncan was unhappy - both because he had wanted her himself and because he *knew* Kurt. He wasn't the kind of man to stick with any woman long. In a few months, a year perhaps, Kurt would move on and Jenny would be left alone. The longer Duncan watched Jenny and Kurt together - the more angry he became. And it was almost impossible to avoid them. They moved in the same social circles and neither Kurt nor Jenny seemed to notice his growing resentment. Duncan knew he should leave now - before something happened , but he couldn't. He wanted to be near Jenny - even if he couldn't have her. Then Kurt was called out of the City unexpectedly. Like most old Immortals, he had wide ranging financial dealings and occasionally they had to be dealt with in person. A ship Kurt owned sank outside Charleston, SC and Kurt had to oversee its salvage. Since Kurt would be busy in Charleston, Jenny decided to stay in New York. Duncan knew it was a mistake, but he took full advantage of Kurt's absence. Jenny saw no reason not to accept his friendly invitations to dinner or the Opera. They had a good time - though Jenny showed no interest in him beyond friendship. For three glorious weeks Duncan was happy. Then Kurt returned and Duncan was miserable again. Worse, Duncan discovered that vicious rumors had been circulating about Jenny and he. The rumors said that they had become lovers in Kurt's absence. Several nights after Kurt's return, Duncan was sitting in his apartment when he felt another Immortal. Looking out of his second-story window, he saw a caped figure standing below under a street light. Kurt. Duncan picked up his sword and went down to the street. Kurt had moved into an alley that ran next to the apartment building. Duncan entered the alley warily. Kurt was standing 10 yards away, sword in hand. Duncan came closer. " MacLeod! Did you think I wouldn't find out? When you flaunted it all over town? Betrayed me in front of all my friends? I thought you were a man of honor. I was wrong." And before Duncan could say a word in his defense, Kurt attacked. Kurt was a fine swordsman and Duncan was hard pressed. They had both drawn blood several times when Kurt, lunging forward, slipped on a wet spot of pavement. His stroke went wide and Duncan stepping in, impaled Kurt through the chest. Kurt was "dead" before Duncan withdrew his sword and took his head. ******************************************** "I've already killed one friend over a woman that wasn't mine. I won't chance it again." " Don't you think she might like to know what you feel for her?" " To what end, Methos? Richie asked her out first. They've been seeing each other for over two months. He's talking about marrying her. She's his *woman*." " So, you're going to sit around and mope for, what, the next 40 years? I don't think even the noble Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod can suffer in silence for that long. Think about it, man. Either you get this out in the open - or you better plan on leaving town for a long time." Duncan looked over toward Maggie and Richie. Richie was nuzzling her neck as the jazz trio finished up their first set of the evening. When the music stopped, Maggie and Richie left their table and came over to Duncan at the bar. Richie would have ignored Duncan altogether if he had been alone but Maggie wanted to say hello and Richie couldn't think of a reason to say no. Richie and Duncan's relationship remained strained after last months fiasco. They were polite, but nothing more. Coming closer, Richie was surprised to see that Adam Pierson had joined Duncan. " Adam, I didn't know you were in town. Hey! I want you to meet someone. Maggie this is Adam Pierson. Adam, this is Maggie Grant." Maggie held out her hand to Methos and met his eyes with a steady gaze. Methos tried hard to remain calm while he recovered from the shock of his life. He knew this women. Or he had known her identical twin. But that had been 3000 years ago. It couldn't be. That woman had been Immortal. This one wasn't. Joe had shown him Maggie's picture earlier in the day when he had arrived from Singapore. Joe had already faxed him the details of her miraculous recovery. The picture had been a frame lifted from the TV coverage and not very clear. To see her in person - the likeness was extraordinary. The hair, the eyes, the smile. "Hello . . . Adam was it?" "Yes. I'm sorry . It's just jet lag. My mind's gone all soft. Pleased to meet you." Richie jumped in before Methos could say more. "Come on Maggie. I'm starved. Let's go find a pizza. Catch you later Adam." Maggie gave Duncan and Methos/Adam a tolerant smile and allowed herself to be dragged out of Joe's Place. "What's the matter Methos. You look like you've seen a ghost. Something about Maggie?" "No. No. Look MacLeod, I really do have a splitting headache. Too many time zones in too few hours. I'll talk with you tomorrow." Methos left. Duncan debated staying longer but his heart wasn't in it. He paid Dave, Joe's latest bartender, and went home.