Page 62 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
“What is troublin’ ye?” she asked, glancing back at him as she walked through the low-cut grass, her hair swaying behind her. She truly did look beautiful and serene in her surroundings, and he was glad of it.
“Nothin’,” he said stubbornly, wanting to hack off all the heads of the flowers he could see with his sword. They looked happy and content in the breeze, and it was making him angry.
“Och, ye do spout a pack of lies when ye’re irritable,” she said, walking through a gap in a low-cut hedge and stumbling slightly over an uneven stone. She staggered to the side, placing a hand on her belly as she stopped, regaining her balance.
Noah was beside her in a second.
“Are ye alright?”
“Yes, yes, dinnae fuss, I just need to sit for a moment.”
He led her swiftly to a bench behind them and settled her gently on it.
“Do ye need the nurse? Shall I get Dougal?”
“His name is Jack, and dinnae think ye can change the subject so easily,” she said. “And stop lookin’ at me like that; I am just a little tired; I dinnae need a healer.”
Noah grimaced as the mention of a healer flooded his mind with images of Keira. Amelia made a triumphant sound.
“I kenned it!” she said proudly.
He looked back at her, his irritation spiking. “What do ye ken?”
“One mention of a healer and ye close up like a flower at night. Come on, then. Out with it.”
“What are ye talkin’ about?”
“That healer who ye brought to yer castle. That beautiful healer who stormed in on us without knockin’.”
Noah glared at her, but she met his gaze with the same stubborn set to her jaw as his own. He could not help but smile ruefully at how similar they were.
“Ye are the very devil.”
“Why did ye bring her to MacAllen Castle?”
“Deindre went to our grandparents, and we needed her services,” Noah hazarded, hoping it would be a good enough explanation. It was not.
“Daenae give me that. Why did ye bring her to yer castle? From what I was told, she was well settled in the Donaldson clan.”
Noah clenched his fists, trying to keep his voice level and not betray the rage that her innocent question had sparked in him.
“There was a priest. He accused her of witchcraft, tied her to the stake—he was going to burn her alive.”
Amelia’s hand rose to her mouth, and her eyes grew wide with shock and outrage.
“Why did he accuse her of that?”
“Does he need a reason?”
“Men usually do,” she said resignedly.
“She refused his hand.”
“Ah,” Amelia said heavily. “A crime indeed.”
Noah scoffed. “She has two young siblings. I brought them home with me so they would be safe.” Amelia leveled him with a quizzical stare, and he rolled his eyes. “I could hardly leave them there alone could I!”
She just smiled in response.
