Page 6 of Transporting a Ruthless Highlander
Struan watched her tie the last knot in the bandage, wishing that she could stay a little while longer. She was not particularly attractive, but the soft touch of a woman’s hands on his skin felt wonderful.
“I need to speak to the captain,” he said desperately as she stood up and began to pack her herbs, potions, and bandages away.
“The captain is busy,” the healer said brusquely as she prepared to walk away.
Struan slumped in disappointment and put his head on his knees, wrapping his arms around them. If he had not wanted to kill Kevin so much, he might just have given in and let himself die, as he was sure so many others had done.
Suddenly a firm, authoritative woman’s voice came out of the darkness of the passageway, and Struan looked up, astonished, to see the woman to whom he had spoken earlier bearing down on him. She was tall and slender, but she had a no-nonsense, authoritative bearing that was more than a little intimidating.
“Who wants the captain?” she demanded, looking around her.
Margaret, the healer, pointed to Struan’s cell. “He does, Captain. He is askin’ thousands o’ questions. My ears are just about bleedin’!”
Gavina laughed and patted the woman on the back. “Away an’ get yer dinner, Maggie,” she said affectionately. “Ye have worked hard today. Maybe there will be a nice wee surprise for ye later.” She winked.
“Oh!” Maggie looked delighted, then she folded her arms and frowned at her captain in mock suspicion. “Tell me ye havenae sat that wee nyaff Hughie McFee next tae me at the table again!”
“No. I have a better surprise than that!” Gavina laughed and shook her head. “’Tis Mungo McGuire. Away wi’ ye!”
The two women parted, still laughing, as Gavina moved over to Struan’s cell. They gazed at each other for a moment, then Gavina sat down cross-legged in front of him.
“Ye wanted tae see me?” She glanced at the number above his cell bars. “Prisoner number four-five-two?”
“I did.” Struan could not straighten up to his full height in the low-roofed space, so he crawled over to the bars and sat so close to her that they were almost nose to nose. “A grave miscarriage of justice has been done to me. I am not guilty of the crime of which I was convicted. The culprit is my half-brother, Kevin Gilchrist. He slit my father’s throat and pinned the blame on me. I am an innocent man, and I do not deserve to be here.”
Gavina looked into his eyes and saw the dark anger within them. She had dealt with thousands of prisoners in her time as captain of theWeeping Willow,but it was a very long time since she had been moved to pity by any of them. Indeed, the only time she felt anything was when she oversaw the funerals of stillborn babies. Then she had been known to sneak away to her cabin and weep for a while for the little innocents who had never had a chance to see the sun. However, there was something about this man that made her want to listen to his story.
“So what dae ye want wi’ me, number four-five-two?” she asked, raising her eyebrows inquiringly. She had taken an apple from her pocket and was munching it while she waited for him to speak.
Struan’s mouth watered as he watched her even white teeth bite into the apple. It was months since he had eaten fresh fruit. He looked down at his hands. “As I told you, I am not guilty of the crime of which I have been accused, and I would like you to get a message to the chief of the Gilchrist clan for me telling him what I have just told you. His name is Torrence Gilchrist.”
Gavina stared at him in disbelief. “What is your name, four-five-two?” she asked.
“Struan Gilchrist,” he replied. He was just beginning to feel some hope, but her next words quenched it.
“We have been at sea for hours, Struan, and are well intae our journey. There are no mail coaches in the middle o’ the North Sea, an’ even if I could dae such a thing, I wouldnae because I have no way o’ knowin’ that ye are tellin’ me the truth. Even if I could get a message tae anybody, I wouldnae anyway. If I did it for one, I would have tae dae it for everybody. Anyway, it haes nothin’ tae dae wi’ me. I am no’ a magistrate.”
Struan nodded slowly. She was right, of course she was, and he had been foolish to ask. She was still munching her apple, and the sight and smell of it were driving him to distraction.
Seeing his look, Gavina suddenly felt sorry for him. She took another apple out of her pocket, then offered it to him, and he snatched it away, took a bite of it, then closed his eyes as if it were the most wonderful piece of food he had ever tasted.
“Thank you,” he said gratefully as he took another bite then began to crunch contentedly for a few moments before he suddenly stopped. He wrapped the half-eaten fruit in his blanket, then realized that the captain was staring at him. “I am keeping it for later,” he explained. “After supper. It’s delicious.”
“I make sure a’ the sailors an’ convicts get some fruit every day,” she told him. “I dinnae know why, but it keeps them happy, an’ healthy too, I think. Eat it. ’Tis a gift.”
“When did you become a ship’s captain?” Struan asked as he picked up the apple and began to munch it again. He was curious about her, but he also thought that perhaps if he could somehow find out more about her, he could use it to his advantage.
“When I was eighteen,” she answered abruptly.
“And how did that come about?” Struan was amazed.
“That is none o’ yer concern,” she replied, annoyed at his inquisitiveness.
“Do the men obey you?” he asked curiously. “I find it hard to believe that they take orders from a woman.”
“Dae ye now?” Gavina’s voice was almost a growl. “They have no bother takin’ orders fae this woman!” She thumbed her chest, her eyes flashing with anger.
Struan studied her closely for a few moments. She truly was a beautiful specimen of womanhood, with large brilliant green eyes, shoulder-length hair that was a shade darker than his own red-blond thatch, and a tall, willowy figure. He felt like a thirsty man slaking his thirst at a cool stream as he looked at her, drinking in her loveliness because he had not seen beauty for such a long time. How had a woman like this come to be the captain of a sailing ship?
