Page 67 of Sins of a Scot
When he opened his eyes, he saw her face gazing down at him. She was like an angel, her skin so soft and pure, her eyes sparkling with tears. His precious Iseabail.
“Am I dead?” he gasped.
“Indeed, ye are nae dead, and I compel ye tae stay that way.”
A slight and weary smile grew on his lips. “Ye’re so bossy, woman,” he croaked.
His eyelids fluttered, and once more, he heard Iseabail’s cries.
“Ye have tae stay awake, Owen. Please. Stay awake fer me. I promise I will never take ye on another boat fer as long as ye live.”
He nodded his head slowly, and tried with all his might to fight the sleep that threatened to overwhelm him. But his eyelids grew heavier and heavier by the minute. Eventually, he could fight it no more, and closing them slowly, he let the darkness take him.
Wearily, and with the feeling of a slight ache in his arm, Owen flickered his eyes open. He stared up at a low ceiling, feeling utterly confused.
Where am I? What happened? How did I get here?
Letting his eyes move about him, he noticed that the room was dim and small, lit only by a few flickering candles, and daylight trickling in from a tiny window.
Only upon lifting his head from the pillow did he see Iseabail beside him. She was holding his arm, but sitting on a chair with her head resting on the bed. Clearly, she was fast asleep. In that second, everything came flooding back. The sea, the boat, the sailors, and the men he had fought. The men who had caused the injury he now gazed at, his upper arm well-bandaged.
Gazing back at Iseabail, he sighed deeply, for wherever he was, it was she who had got him there. For a moment, as he hadstruggled against the raging waves, he imagined he might never see her again, but somehow, the gods had had other plans. No doubt, it was not all the gods doing, though. Iseabail was a force to be reckoned with, and as he thought about it, he wondered if she had not compelled the sailors to help her. He certainly wouldn’t be surprised.
After the night they had spent together, something magical had happened between them, and he knew now that his feelings were reciprocated. When she had asked him about that kiss, he had been too much of a coward to tell her how he really felt. He did not want to look like a fool, for he feared she might laugh at him. But he had been more of a fool not to tell her, for during their lovemaking, she had made it perfectly clear that she felt for him as he felt for her.
The sound of a door opening across the room alerted him, and as he lifted his head off the pillow once more, an old woman looked over at him. She wore a scarf that held her grey hair off her forehead, and upon her approach, he noted the wrinkles that lined her face. When she smiled down at him, however, she appeared kind and warm.
“It is about time ye were awake,” she said quietly, clearly not wanting to wake Iseabail. “Ye’ve been out o’ it for three days.”
Owen’s jaw dropped at her words, and she nodded. “Och, aye. But I would say that ye’re well rested now.”
She lifted a crooked hand and held his chin, moving his head back and forth while she examined him. “Aye, ye’ll be as rightas rain. Yer lady friend there,” she nodded to Iseabail, “was terrified ye’d never wake again, but I assured her ye would, and here ye are.”
A hundred questions flew through Owen’s mind, and choosing one at random, he said, “But how? How did she get me here?”
The old woman smiled knowingly. “Och, I have a good idea how. She has quite a way about her, does she nae? Anyway, me name is Ada. And yer both welcome tae stay as long as ye need tae.”
“Thank ye, Ada. I appreciate yer kindness.”
“I have the room tae spare, and besides, even if I hadnae have wanted ye here, yer friend paid me well with a necklace. O’ course, she need nae have bothered. I would have let ye stay at any rate. But she insisted. She was determined that I take care o’ ye.”
Owen gazed down at Iseabail, still soundly sleeping beside him, and smiled. “Aye. She is a good lass. I’m lucky tae have met her.”
Ada gave Owen a long look. “And when exactly did ye meet her?”
“We havenae kent each other long. But in the short time we’ve been together, and the trials we’ve overcome, we’ve got tae ken each other very well.”
“I see,” Ada said.
There was something in the old woman’s tone that made Owen look at her. She was smiling at him, almost mischievously.
“What?” Owen said, desperate to know what was going through the old woman’s mind.
“I just wondered if ye kent how in love with ye she is?”
Owen broke into a light chuckle and shook his head. “Och, I think ye’re mistaken. Like I say, we’ve only kent each other a short time.”
The healer then looked at him even more curiously. “Och, is that right? And yet, I dae believe ye may be even more in love with her than she is with ye.”
