Page 60 of A Forbidden Night with a Scot
Samuel’s heart shattered in his chest at the pain he heard in Gavin’s voice. Slowly, he dragged his gaze to Alicia, who was staring at him in horror, a hand clamped over her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks.
In one final fit of rage, Gavin tore himself free of Nerian with a growl and delivered one final blow to Samuel, knuckles smashing against the side of his head. This time, he hardly had the chance to register the pain. Instead, darkness claimed him, everything around him going black.
The last thing he saw was Alicia and the glint of tears in her eyes.
Pain speared through Samuel’s head as he blinked his eyes open, looking at his surroundings. He was not in his bed, but rather in a cot next to a few more identical cots that lined the wall. At the other end of the room, books and papers covered a large table and herbs hung from the ceiling to dry.
The healer’s quarters.
There was little light in the room, though not because it was still night. The windows had been covered with heavy cloths, letting in only a sliver of morning light that barely illuminated the room. As Samuel looked around, he thought at first that he was all alone, but then spotted a lone figure sitting in a nearby chair, absorbed in the pages of a book.
At first, he thought it was Alicia and his heart jumped to his throat as the memories of the previous night rushed back to him and he remembered what had happened and how he had ended up where he was. But then he realized it couldn’t be Alicia. He doubted Gavin would ever allow him to see her again, let alone be in the same room with her without anyone else present.
“Ye’re awake.”
It was a familiar voice and Samuel saw the figure stand and approach him, the book laid carefully on the chair. As the woman came closer, he saw it was none other than Emmeline, who looked as though she hadn’t slept at all that night. Dark circles lined her eyes and she appeared wearier than when she had arrived, as though the night had taken much out of her.
“How are ye feelin’?” Emmeline asked. “Shall I call the healer?”
“Nay,” said Samuel, making to shake his head before he thought better of it. His ears still rang and the pain was still too much for him to do anything but keep his head still precisely where it was. “I’m alright. Alicia?”
Emmeline gave him a small, yet fond smile. “Locked in her chambers, o’ course,” she said. “But she’s alright. Scared from what she saw, but she’ll recover.”
Knowing Alicia was shocked and scared from what she had witnessed hurt Samuel even worse than his injuries. Though he couldn’t tell how bad he looked, he was certain he didn’t make for a pleasant sight, as every part of his face felt swollen andtender, pain coursing through him every time he tried to speak or move his facial muscles. He couldn’t help but wish he could have protected her from this. He couldn’t help but wish he could have done something to prevent it.
Hesitantly, Samuel asked, “An’ Gavin?”
At first, Emmeline said nothing, staring into the distance for a few moments. In the end, she said, “Me Faither is furious. He is makin’ us leave today.”
“Today?”
It was too soon. Samuel needed to speak to him, to make him understand how much he loved Alicia. He had promised her he would do anything for them to be together, and he wasn’t going to take back his promise now.
Emmeline nodded. “Soon, even. We are preparin’ fer our departure. He forbade Alicia an’ Katherine from seein’ ye, but I am a married woman an’ he cannae tell me what tae dae. I came tae inform ye. I didnae want ye tae find out after we were gone an’ Alicia… she begged me tae say goodbye tae ye on her behalf.”
Trying to push himself upright, even as his head swam and his vision blurred, Samuel said, “I must see her. I must?—”
“Ye cannae,” said Emmeline firmly, pushing him back down with a hand on his shoulder. “Faither will never allow it. An’ besides, ye can hardly sit. Ye’ll never make it tae her.”
Samuel didn’t want to give up, but the way Emmeline spoke made him realize he truly had no other option than to let Alicia go. If Gavin saw him again, he would surely end him and the years of friendship between them would make no difference.
“I am truly sorry this happened, Samuel,” said Emmeline as she perched on the edge of his cot, regret coloring her features. “Ye have always been… special tae Alicia. When she first told me about ye, I was surprised, o’ course, but perhaps it isnae so surprisin’, after all. I ken she loves ye very much an’ I am glad she doesnae have tae marry Laird MacTavish anymore. She would have been so unhappy with him.”
Samuel knew Emmeline spoke from experience, as she had married her much older husband at the tender age of fifteen and had been suffering as his wife ever since. The last thing she would want was for her sister to meet the same fate.
For a few moments, Emmeline fell silent again, her gaze lost somewhere in the distance, as though she, too, was lost in her memories. Was she thinking about her husband, Samuel wondered? Was she thinking about what would happen to Alicia now that no other man would marry her? From how she had spoken, it seemed they knew she was no longer pure and thus Laird MacTavish would not want to marry her.
“I’ll come fer her,” Samuel said with absolute resolve in his voice. “Once I am healed, I will come fer her, Emmeline. I will convince Gavin, nae matter what it takes.”
Giving him a small smile, Emmeline touched his shoulder briefly in a comforting manner before she stood and stepped away from the cot.
“Goodbye, Samuel,” she said. “I hope that ye dae.”
With that, she was gone, leaving Samuel alone in the room to ponder the look on her face. A part of him thought Emmeline didn’t believe he could do what he claimed but didn’t wish to tell him so, to discourage him. But Samuel wouldn’t be discouraged. He had made a promise to Alicia, a promise he intended to keep.
As the minutes passed, Samuel lay there on the cot, staring at the ceiling. Not much later, he heard the sound of several hooves and the creak of the gates as they opened to allow passage through the castle walls, and he knew Alicia was leaving.
She is leavin’. She is leavin’ an’ I am allowin’ it, like a fool.
