Page 19 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
“Thank ye,” she said as the tears began to fall down her face. “Thank ye, me laird.”
She was about to tell him all the reasons she was grateful, but those emerald eyes suddenly fixed her with an intense stare, and she closed her mouth abruptly.
“Let’s get one thing clear, lass; I dinnae want ye there. I have saved ye twice, and I’m collectin’ me debt for ye to repay, nothin’ more. Ye’re nae to touch me unless it’s to treat me.”
She stepped away from him, smelling the smoke from the fire as it crackled into embers behind her.
“Treat ye?” she asked, “what do ye mean?”
“Did ye think I came all the way here just to check on ye?” he asked incredulously. “I’ll let ye ken of yer duties after ye’re rested, but until then, we need to get out of here. Come, lass.”
And, with that, he turned away and walked towards the treeline in the distance.
“Wait, wait!” she said swiftly, following behind him as he glanced back at her. “Ye’re sayin’ ye wish me to be yer healer?”
“For the short term, aye. Our healer departed for me grandparents’ seat a time ago, and we have been in need of someone with similar skills.”
She stopped in her tracks, looked back at her cottage, and put her hands on her hips. He continued walking until he finally turned and looked at her in exasperation.
“Are ye comin’ or nay? I can leave ye here to be burned by the mob if ye prefer.”
She let the cruel words wash over her, knowing that he would not have offered to help her if he was just going to leave her here.
“I have some things I must fetch. Ye may not have all the ingredients I require in yer castle. I need to go back to me house and collect some things.”
“The castle has everything ye could need.”
“And how do ye ken that when ye dinnae even ken what ailments may come knockin’ on yer door? If I leave it here, the villagers will loot me supplies. If I’m forced to leave me garden, I shall bring as much as I can with me now.”
She could tell she was pushing the boundaries of what he would allow. At the mention of her garden, he looked even more furious than he had before, but she would not back down on this.
It had taken her years to gather everything she needed, and she was proud of her collection of rare herbs. Some of them were so rare they were hidden around the house. She would not abandon them.
“Ye have ten minutes,” he said abruptly, “then we are leavin’.”
She nodded. “More than I need. Where is yer horse?”
“Och, I’m comin’ with ye lass, need to protect me investment from skippin’ away while me back is turned.”
“Where would I go?” she asked, throwing her hands up in frustration.
She glanced back as she made her way to her cottage and realized that as he followed her, his eyes were darting all over their surroundings, his hand on his sword.
Has he come with me to protect me,she wondered,or to protect his ‘investment’ in his new healer?
Either way, she was comforted by his presence and walked swiftly up the path to her front door. She felt a pang in her heart at the beautiful little garden that she would no longer be able to tend. Doubtless, another of the villagers would move into her home and make their life here.
She opened the door and was met by Scott, spinning around in place with a dirk in his hands. She huffed at him.
“It is alright, Scott; I just need to get some of me things.”
“That’s good,” he said, nodding down at the bag at his feet. “I dinnae ken what ye would want to bring.”
Keira gave him a warm smile as she recognized many of the jars she would have wanted to pack herself. Her brother had been doing his best to bring as much as he could and she loved him all the more for it.
“Where is Daisy?”
“She was gatherin’ whatever she could bring with us, I think,” he said, giving her a worried stare. “She’s scared, Kee. I dinnae ken whether she’ll like it in the laird’s castle.”
