Page 9 of Saved by the Cruel Highlander (Lairds of the Loch Alliance #1)

CHAPTER EIGHT

“… n

ess, and dinnae stress her body or mind for a wee while.”

Holly realized Cassandra was talking, but she only caught the end of it.

“Aye,” she managed.

“Ye didnae hear a word I said, did ye?” Cassandra asked.

Holly could still smell him, almost taste his warm breath as his lips had hovered perilously close to hers. The areas of her body where he had held her were still warm, and they pulsed gently. She dared not close her eyes for too long, or she might dream of it.

“Sorry, I…”

“Och, it’s all right. Ye took a fine knock to the head.” Cassandra paused for a second, and her pace slowed. “It was an accident, was it nae?”

Holly could hear the meaning beneath her words and quickly answered, “Aye, I slipped.” I was startled before he could kiss me. “I must have stepped on something. Why, ye dinnae think that…”

“The Laird has a temper, but he wouldnae hurt those around him,” Cassandra replied.

Is that true, or are ye as afraid of him as everyone else in the castle?

“I dinnae ken the Laird all that well, but I ken he’s nae a man who takes orders from anyone,” Holly noted. “Yet…”

Cassandra chuckled. “Ye want to ken why he listens to me?”

“Aye, I guess I do.”

“I’ve kenned Elias since I was a wee bairn,” Cassandra told her. “I grew up in the castle, and he always took a shine to me. He has six years on me but always treated me as an equal. Now that we’re adults, a gap of six years is nothin’, but it’s a lifetime to a child. He was twelve, and I was six when he had me runnin’ through the woods outside the castle walls to hunt boars and hares. That’s a part of why he listens to me so much.”

They reached Holly’s room, and Cassandra opened the door for her.

“Go sit on the bed, and I’ll fetch some fresh linens to bandage yer head for now.”

Holly did as she was told.

Why do I feel so protective of a man I barely ken? Aye, we are to be wed, but nae for love or anythin’ like it. Is that it? It would be an insult for him to be with another woman when he’s promised to me?

Cassandra returned a few minutes later, just as Holly’s eyes were getting heavy.

“How are ye feelin’?” she asked.

“Tired,” Holly replied.

“Let me bandage yer head, then ye can get some sleep,” Cassandra instructed.

There was something about the way the healer spoke that made Holly want to follow her commands.

Is that the reason?

Holly didn’t believe in witches, but she’d heard talk of women who exerted greater control than others. Is that what was happening here? Did she and the Laird obey Cassandra’s instructions because there was magic behind them?

I must really have hit me head hard to be thinkin’ like this. She’s a healer, and that cannae be confused with witchcraft.

Cassandra stood by the bed, dipping a cloth in a basin of warm water. She brought the cloth up and dabbed it on Holly’s forehead before plunging it back into the water to repeat the task.

“What’s the other reason?” Holly asked.

“What do ye mean?”

“Ye said there was another reason the Laird listens to ye,” Holly reminded her.

“Aye, I did say that,” Cassandra replied as she dabbed the cloth on Holly’s head. The water in the basin had a very slight pink tint to it because of the blood. “It’s from the war.”

“The war?” Holly asked.

Cassandra’s face paled a little as if she had been the one to lose blood. “I’ve always been a healer. From the moment I could understand the world, I wanted to understand how to make people better. War is far removed from that. If someone doesnae listen immediately, people die. Soldiers trained themselves to listen to me words, and I trained meself to command them like I was in charge.” She smiled sadly. “I guess I keep that in case we go back to war again.”

Cassandra looked down at the wet cloth in her hand and shook her head, emerging from her daze. She rinsed the cloth in the water and wrung it out with strong hands, before placing it beside the basin. Then, she picked up a dry cloth and dried Holly’s forehead.

“Ye’ve been by the Laird’s side for most of his life,” Holly said.

There must have been something in her tone, for Cassandra stopped what she was doing and looked at her. The edges of Holly’s vision were a little blurred.

“It’s nae like that,” Cassandra explained. “Ye are promised to him now, and that’s somethin’ for me to get used to, but there’s nay romantic feelings between Elias and me. He’s like a braither to me. Ye dinnae need to worry about that.”

“Nay, I wasnae…” Holly trailed off.

She wasn’t sure what she wanted to know by asking those questions. She barely knew the man, but she knew one thing clearly, even with the dull throb in her head. She wished there was time for him to kiss her before they had been disturbed.

“What was he like in battle?” she asked.

Cassandra stopped what she was doing again and looked at her. There was a note of compassion in her eyes.

“Ye’ve heard folk talkin’ in the castle?” she asked.

“Aye,” Holly replied. “Is it true?”

“Is it true?” Cassandra mused. She wrung her hands as she thought about it. “He is a good man.”

Holly waited, but only silence followed. “Aye, but is he… ferocious on the battlefield?”

Cassandra looked past Holly, mulling over the question. “He fights like nay one. When he is on the battlefield, he looks almost invincible, and that’s a braw sight for any man under his command. To see yer leader run into battle afore ye and slay the enemy with each stroke gives ye bravery ye didnae ken ye had. It makes him a good laird, a man who’ll protect his people at any cost.”

“Someone told me that he bathes himself in the blood of his enemies,” Holly whispered with a shiver.

“Nay, he doesnae bathe himself with blood,” Cassandra returned, “but… I’ve seen him return covered in the blood of his enemies—our enemies. It’s a sight I both dinnae and do want to see. He looks like a different man covered in blood, but it’s nae often his blood, and that means we’ve nae lost him. Better for him to return covered in blood than nae to return at all.”

“Aye,” Holly whispered.

The small cut on her head felt insignificant as she heard about the trials of war. A shiver ran through her as she tried to picture the man who had held her on his lap covered in the blood of his enemies.

Sure, she preferred him alive over their enemies, but what was the cost? What sort of man was he underneath it all? No one had come out and said it, but it felt easy for the Laird to take another’s life, almost welcome.

“I admire ye for doin’ what ye’ve done,” Holly said softly.

Cassandra inhaled sharply through her nose and picked up the bandage. “Och, it’s only a wee wound to dress.”

“Nay, I dinnae mean for treatin’ me, but for helpin’ in the wars. I cannae imagine what that must have been like.”

“Aye, ye dinnae want to ken,” Cassandra replied. “It’s only a small part of what I do, really. On the battlefield, it’s about keeping them comfortable for as long as ye can. Bein’ a healer in the castle is far different. Nae everyone focuses on botany, but I do. I like to mix up poultices, add herbs to honey before application, and try to use what we have around us before bloodlettin’ or purgin’. A lot of it is tryin’ what we can and usin’ that knowledge the next time.” She wrapped the bandage around Holly’s head, her touch warm. “Most maladies are caused by something poisonin’ the body.”

Holly stiffened a little at the mention of poison. “Would ye teach me some of it?” she asked.

“Ye want to learn how to be a healer?”

“I dinnae ken if I want to be a healer, but it would be useful knowledge,” Holly admitted. “I’d like to learn about botany and medicines and all that.”

Cassandra finished the dressing with a small knot at the back, not pulling it too tight. “There ye go,” she said. “Aye, if ye want to ken more about anythin’ I do, ye are more than welcome to spend time with me. Elias really is like a braither to me, and that’ll soon make ye me sister by law. I dinnae ken ye yet from Adam, but I ken I like ye, lass.”

Holly smiled.

“Och, that willnae do, will it?” Cassandra snorted. “I cannae call ye lass when ye’re to be Lady McAllister.”

“I dinnae ken if I’ll ever get used to that,” Holly admitted.

“Get some rest,” Cassandra instructed. “Ye might be a wee bit sore in the mornin’, but ye’ll be fine.”

“Thank ye again,” Holly said. “Must be nothin’ compared to what ye dealt with on the battlefield.”

“A wound’s a wound,” Cassandra replied. “I take nay wound lightly.”

She walked out of the room and closed the door gently behind her.

Holly moved up the bed and lay down on the soft pillow. Her body ached a little after her fall, and tiredness rushed at her.

She closed her eyes but didn’t immediately think of the near kiss with the Laird. She thought about poison and how, if she knew more about botany and healing, she would recognize the effects if Felix tried to follow through with his plan.

Me faither always taught me to protect meself, and that is exactly what I intend to do. If I’m attacked, I’ll be ready.