Page 12 of Taken by the Heartless Highlander (Falling for Highland Villains #2)

CHAPTER 12

“And did ye sleep alright?” Keira asked, pushing Daisy’s hair back from her face and stroking her cheek. The girl leaned up against her shoulder, her mouth drooping at the corners. Daisy did not do well with change.

“Aye, I slept better than I expected. I think there are rats in the walls.”

“Ye lucky thing,” Keira said playfully, “I only have mice in mine.”

Daisy giggled and Keira hugged her warmly as she told her to get up and get ready for breakfast.

As she left her sister’s room, she walked down the corridor a little way to her brother’s chambers and knocked. She was not surprised that the door opened to reveal Scott already dressed, his mop of red hair wet from a swift wash and his bright eyes friendly and happy.

She knew he would do well in the castle. Scott had already taken a liking to MacAllen. The laird was about as authoritative as she could imagine any man being. She knew he would be a good influence on her brother. She shuddered as she imagined how Scott might have turned out had Lucas remained in their lives.

“Did ye sleep?” she asked as she entered his room.

“Aye, very well. Ye?”

“Yes, like the dead.”

“How are yer chambers?” Scott asked as he tied his belt around his waist. It made Keira uneasy to see him carrying a dirk almost everywhere he went now, but she knew better than to tell him to stop. They were not safe—living at the whims of Laird MacAllen’s charity— and she would do well to remember that.

“Large and well equipped. They will do very well until we leave.”

Scott nodded, glancing up at her from beneath his bangs, which were flopping into his eyes.

“Ye still think we will have to leave? Could we nae stay here?”

Keira moved forward, brushing his hair from his eyes, and he batted gently at her hand with a frown.

“Nay, we cannae live off the laird’s charity forever.”

She thought back to the softness in MacAllen’s eyes as they left her cottage. How easy it would be to give in and stay here for as long as she could, basking in the safety he afforded her.

If I could guarantee I wouldnae have to see him with his shirt off again that would make livin’ here a little easier, too.

But she knew that their time in the castle had to be temporary. She could not afford to let her guard down. She needed to protect her brother and sister and get them somewhere defensible and safe Somewhere of her own making, where she didn’t have to rely on others’ whims.

Scott was frowning at her, and she gave him a quick smile.

“I must find me way in the world, just as ye and Daisy will one day. It will be an adventure.”

“I like this castle,” Scott said softly.

“Aye, but it isnae our home. We will find another. But for now, I recommend making the most of bacon and eggs for breakfast.”

Scott’s head rose, light dancing in his eyes as he grinned.

“Bacon?” he asked with excitement.

“Aye, I could smell it from downstairs when I came to fetch ye. Get yer sister and go and break yer fast.”

“What about ye?”

“I’ll be along.”

He gave her a quick hug and skipped out of the room. She smiled as she heard her sister’s delighted squeals. It never ceased to amaze her what joy her siblings could find in the smallest things.

She left her brother’s chambers, watching them chatting as they descended the stairs and went to her suite of rooms, wracking her brains to try and find a cause for Noah’s ailment.

She had not been able to bring all of her books with her, but there was one for herbal treatments that she was glad she had remembered before they had left.

She was fairly certain she had heard of a treatment with a poultice made from foxgloves, but when she read about it, she was glad she had checked the measurements. It was actually a tea that could help alleviate the symptoms, but the potency of foxgloves was far higher than she had realized.

Vinegar, honey, and mustard plasters could also be used, which pleased Keira. She had her own methods of creating mustard plasters using egg whites instead of water, which had greatly improved their results in her experience.

In another section of the book, she found it suggested that the malady could be an affliction of the mind, which gave her pause for thought.

She remembered Neive telling her of a woman who had lost her son in the war, and she developed chest pain as a result of his passing. She lived for many years afterward but suffered from such pains until the end of her days.

She continued reading for many hours, making notes on a variety of different treatments. She was conscious that she was putting far more research into the problem than she ordinarily would.

She wanted to impress the Laird. She wanted him to see that she was skilled in her trade.

She thought back to when they had sat side by side in front of the fire, his eyes fixed on hers for a few heart-stopping seconds as his gaze moved down to her lips, as though he might have kissed her.

The very idea of kissing MacAllen was shocking. He was far above and beyond her station in life, yet the thought of being able to touch him outside of a medical setting was intoxicating. She had thought of his chest from their first encounter many times. Her dreams had been filled with images of him coming to her rescue as the flames began to burn at her feet.

Ye are bein’ a silly girl about him, she thought ruefully; ye cannae afford to have yer head turned by such a man as he.

She cursed under her breath, only to realize as she opened her eyes from her most recent fantasies that there was someone else in the room. She had not heard the maid knocking for her, and she cleared her throat.

“Are ye alright, miss?” the maid asked.

“Yes, yes, I apologize. I was readin’ me books and dinnae hear ye enter.”

“This was just delivered for ye, ma’am,” the maid said, approaching and handing her a neat envelope that Keira took without comment.

She waited for the maid to depart, feeling a tendril of fear uncoil within her as she looked at the long, elegant hand on the letter. Only one person knew where she was and would send her a letter such as this.

Keira’s hands shook as she broke the seal and unfolded it.

No matter where ye go, no matter where ye run, I will find ye, Keira. I’ll cure ye, and we will be together, either in this life or the next.

She swallowed, the trembling that had begun in her fingers spreading through her whole body as she remembered Lucas’s demonic eyes as he had addressed the crowds, ready to watch her burn.

She crumpled the note in her fingers in disgust and moved to cast it into the fire. But, as she raised her fist, she suddenly realized what those words might mean.

She smoothed out the paper and read them again three or four more times.

I’ll cure ye.

There was only one way that Lucas would think he was able to ‘cure’ her. She had heard a tale of it before: a holy man believing he could cure a woman’s sin by lying with her. It was undoubtedly what he wanted, what he would demand if he ever caught up with her.

Lucas did not truly want her dead. He wanted to own her and, in owning her, destroy her spirit. He wanted her to bow down to him and repent for her sin of refusing his proposals. He saw himself as God’s right hand and would not rest until she gave him the respect he deserved.

The very idea of succumbing to such things and having to let that man touch her filled her with nausea that she could not fight. She ran to the basin in the corner of the room, taking deep breaths and trying to calm her thundering heartbeat.

The last time she defended herself and stood up to him, she was almost killed, putting herself and her siblings in grave danger.

She could think of only one way that she could make Lucas truly give up on her, one way that, in his eyes, she would be ruined for him forever.

And I might just be desperate enough to do it.