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“Is it your touch that heals?” he asked, thinking it might be easier if he guessed instead of her revealing it.

She shook her head.

He was even more curious now, having assumed he was right. He reached out and took hold of her arm to draw her toward him where he sat on the bench that she had placed close to the hearth so she would have sufficient light.

“I will trust you with a secret,” he said. “So, you know we can trust each other.”

His offer appealed to her. “All right, tell me.”

“I was once wed and lost my wife, and my heart still breaks and aches for her.”

“So, that was who you kissed when you kissed me while with fever,” she said, the mystery of that kiss finally solved, though she thought that might have been the reason.“You demanded she not leave you. You made me give you my word… her word.”

“Aye, I would have done that if I could have, but I never got the chance. I got to her too late to save her and it haunts me that I failed her.”

Shade said what she felt, his hurt tearing at her heart. “My heart hurts for you and your wife and I understand why your heart continues to break.”

Quint felt a strange release sharing that with her as if it eased the pain some and was relieved when she asked no more about it.

“My turn.”

“I’m listening,” he said.

She breathed in a brave breath and said, “I can see the inside of people when they are ill or wounded. I see the blood flowing through the veins, the bones, the steady or at times the uneven beat of the heart, the lungs expanding and slowing as death nears, and I see the bairn that grows within a mother, and much more.”

Shock marred his handsome features and Shade worried that she had made a mistake in revealing her secret to him. Her stomach churned and her heart beat a bit faster as she waited for him to speak.

He never got the chance, a voice shouted out, “Shade! Shade! My da had an accident and needs your help.”

CHAPTER 7

Quint followed Shade and Walter, a lad of no more than ten years, through the woods. The scrawny lad was damp with sweat from running to get to Shade, speaking between tears, sniffling them back and using his shirt sleeve to wipe away the stubborn ones that fell.

“It’s broken. I know it is. He’s going to die just like John’s da did when he broke his leg,” Walter said, raising his arm to wipe his wet cheeks.

“Is a bone protruding from your da’s leg, Walter, like what happened to John’s da?” Shade asked calmly.

The lad shook his head. “Nay. Nay. But it swelled and bruised instantly after he fell, and he is in a lot of pain. Are you sure you have all you need with you?” He nodded to the pouch she carried.

“Worry not, Walter, I have everything I need to tend to your da.”

“It’s only me, Mum, and Da. Harvesting needs to be finished, fences repaired, a spot on the roof needs patching, wood chopped before winter sets in. If Da can’t?—”

“Your clan should send help,” Quint said.

Walter cast a quick glance back at him. “We’re a small clan, sir, and our chieftain is old with no heir. Lord Torrance of Clan Glencairn has visited with him twice in the last week and all fear that our chieftain is going to surrender the clan to him. There are rumors that clansmen will be forced to join the fight against Clan MacLeish. Lord Torrance is a harsh ruler. If he rules over our clan and my da cannot work the farm, he will force us out of our home and put another family there. We will have nothing.”

Shade stopped walking. “You and your family are not alone. Once we reach your home and I know more about your da’s injury, I am going to send you to Rawlin, my step-da. You know him, don’t you?”

“Aye, I do. He is a good man. He and my da worked together to help bury the monks.”

“Rawlin will gather some men to help get things done for you and your mum until your da is healed enough to return to work,” she reassured him. “Now let’s get to your da.”

The lad calmed upon hearing there would be help for his family and he talked less and set a faster pace.

Quint cast a glance around as they approached the farm. It was small but appeared well cared for with only some minor repairs needed. Though if they were left solely to a lad of ten to accomplish, they could be seen as mountainous.

“I will wait out here,” Quint said when they reached the cottage.