Page 65 of When a Highlander Vows
Thank God it dinnae rain this eve.
Despite his noble mission, he would have been greatly disappointed to feel the cold icy droplets of rain on his skin again after having only just returned from the stormy borders. He called for ale and food, and he tried to find a seat as close to the warm fire as possible. He kept his hood up, heeding the warning Archie had given him.
He had neither the energy nor the inclination to fight against whatever mysterious men one might find in the darkened hills at night. Especially not when his mind was so full of something and someone else.
As he drank and ate, he thought of Caitlin, and the way she’d look at him when he’d return with her gift. Soon after Caitlin’s arrival, he’d overheard his grandmother speaking to Paige about Caitlin’s eyesight. He’d been intrigued enough at the time to stand nearby and eavesdrop as they’d discussed it.
“Is there any hope? As ye can see, she is able to find her way well enough. She is nae completely blind. And when she gets close, she is able to see very clearly. What dae ye think can be done for the lass?” his Nan had asked, and Lucas had been touched by her kindness.
She’d hardly known the lass but for a few days, and there she was, trying to solve her greatest problem.
“Nay, she is nae blind, but I worry that the condition will worsen,” Paige had responded. “However, if the disease beganyears ago as she claims, then the worst would have happened already. So, I think it is possible there might be a remedy.”
“Some herbs? A tincture?” his Nan had asked.
“Nay. Something a little more constant and physical. I have heard stories of people who make a sort of glass one can wear on the eyes. Ye tie it around yer ears or yer head, and it is somehow able to make ye see more clearly.”
“Och, how extraordinary!” his Nan had exclaimed.
He’d left thinking the same thing, as well as thinking that it was a ridiculous idea and not in the least possible. Therefore, he thought little more about it. But after Caitlin had accused him of hurting her unknowingly, he thought he could give it a try. It was a chance to make it all up to her. To make her see that even though his past was dark and fraught with problems, he could still do the right thing. He could still be the man that she deserved.
And if Paige had been able to learn about this special glass one wears near the eyes. Then surely, he could as well, using his influence as a laird as well as his ability to ride far and fast and his knowledge of the villages surrounding his castle. He had no distinct plan as yet, but as of then, he was hoping to speak to the healer in every village he passed, wondering if they’d heard of this special tool and could point him in the right direction.
After he ate and drank, he dropped a few coins into the landlord’s hand, and the man had Searbas taken to the stablesand provided Lucas with his best room. He found he was utterly exhausted and spent, and without undressing, he simply laid down on the bed and fell right asleep.
33
When morning came, Lucas practically leaped from his bed, feeling well rested, and he did not eat before he left in search of the healer. A few of the villagers were able to direct him well enough, and he soon found himself standing outside of the largest hut in the small village with all sorts of interesting smells emanating from the door. He reached up with a fist and banged loudly on the door. In response, he heard a clanging from behind it.
“Is the healer in?” he called with impatience.
He was hungry, and he wanted to get the first village’s task completed as quickly as possible so that he would be able to ask a few more healers in the space of one day.
“Aye!” a scratchy voice called, and soon the large door opened, and the various smells coming from the doorway only intensified.
Lucas grimaced, but he stepped inside when the old man turned to let him through.
“What is this? A young man to see me?” the old man asked with a smile, showing his few broken teeth. “I assume it is a love potion ye’d like, or perhaps a potion to help strengthen yer…resolve, in yer bedchamber?”
“What? Nay, nay,” Lucas said, waving a hand in the air, frustrated. “I want somethin’ else entirely.” Clearing his throat, he looked around at the oddly furnished room.
It was one large room, but there were little compartments or alcoves with cushions and curtains, as if places for patients to rest. The smells were of herbs and tinctures he knew, and yet there was a smell of rotting meat in the air as well. It made Lucas feel ill.
“I am come for information. I am Laird McDougall, and I have an interest in what ye may ken about an eyeglass of sorts.”
“An eyeglass?” the old man said, lifting a brow and shuffling away with his humped back to continue grinding herbs at a long table.
“I daenae ken what ye call it, but somethin’, like a tool of some sort that ye put near the eye which could help a person see more clearly.”
“Och,” the old man nodded, his mouth opening wider, revealing even more broken teeth. “I ken just what ye mean.”
“Ye dae?!” Lucas asked excitedly, a smile growing on his face. “Where might I acquire one?”
“It is an odd request. I have never seen any meself, only heard about them.” The old man paused in his grinding and pinned Lucas with a glare. “Ye are a lucky lad, for a peddler has only come round yesterday, selling any number of wares relatin’ to the body and the mind. Ye might be able to find him and ask him for what ye seek.”
Lucas could feel his heart rushing in a new, frenzied beat. He was close without even realizing it. He had hardly ridden fifty miles and yet he was soon to find what he so desperately sought.
“And which direction did he go?” Lucas asked, turning his body to leave as soon as he received his answer.
