Page 73 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
Noah’s heart soared at the obvious jealousy in her voice and couldn’t hold back a smile. “MeDeindre? She was hardly mine, lass. I’ve had a lot more of ye than I had of her.” Her eyes narrowed at him, and he chuckled. “By which I mean, I have hadnoneof her. She was a good healer, but she had a great many patients and dinnae give me much attention.”
Keira snatched the jar from his fingers and went to the pot over the fire, which was steaming gently. She filled it to the brim, mixing the new tea with the old, and turned back to him.
“Now,” she said, all business, “ye will need to drink it down and see if it takes effect. If ye think it has helped, ye should take this three times per day.”
She handed it over. Noah looked at the jar and then up at Keira, who raised her eyebrows expectantly. Without further ado, he swallowed it all in one go.
The liquid was lukewarm, bitter, and rather jarring to the senses, but overall, not too unpleasant.
“Clever,” he said as he placed the glass beside the fire.
“What is clever?” Keira asked.
“If the mushroomswerepoisonous, now they willnae be able to tell which thing it was that killed me. The terrible tea, or the Penny Bun.”
Keira was smirking at him. “Ye are fixated on me endin’ yer life,” she muttered.
“Aye, well, I ken I vex ye enough to try it.”
But she frowned at his words, worrying her lip with her teeth again.
“I’d never use me gift for that,” she said sternly, her easy manner evaporating. “Not for anyone in the world, not even me enemies. I was jestin’ when I said such a thing.”
“I ken, lass,” he said, raising his hands defensively, “I would never have thought otherwise.”
After a few moments, she relaxed, peering at him with interest now.
“Do ye feel anythin’ yet?” she asked.
He made a show of considering her questions. “There’s a strange naggin’ in me ears; is that normal?” Keira’s lips quirked into a smile. “Nae,” he continued. “I cannae feel much yet. It dinnae taste as bad as it looked. What’s in it?”
“Will ye remember if I tell ye?”
“Probably nae,” he admitted.
He stood up to leave, feeling pleasantly warm from the tea, but when he looked back at Keira, her hands were hovering in front of her stomach, and she was ringing her fingers together in a strange way that suggested she had something on her mind.
“What is it, lass?” he asked.
She flicked a lock of that raven hair over her shoulder and looked at him with a determination in her gaze that reminded him very much of her brother before he took a swing at him.
“I have a question to put to ye.”
Noah frowned, watching her carefully. “Aye lass?”
“Ye promise nae to laugh?”
“Nay,” he said immediately, receiving a beautiful scowl in return.
“I kenned ye would say that?—”
“Well then why did ye ask?—?"
“Will ye let me speak or nay?”
He gave a low, exaggerated bow. “I do apologize, M’Lady, do continue.”
She rolled her eyes expressively but put her hands on her hips with renewed determination. “Scott is much stronger since we arrived here. He is learnin’ to fight like a man, and he has improved a great deal in a matter of days.”
