Page 59 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
Bernard hit the parapet of the turret, which struck him just under his shoulder blades, sending a jet of agony across his shoulders, upper arms, and all the way down his back. Something hard had also hit him just under the ribs, although the pain was nothing like that which he was experiencing on his back.
He screwed up his face, then he knelt down, groaning in anguish, and when he opened his eyes he saw Janice kneeling beside him, her face mirroring his distress. She was rubbing one of her hands with the other, and he realized that she had hurt herself too.
“I am so sorry.” Her voice was trembling as she laid her hands on his and squeezed them. “I am as bad as my brothers. Are you all right?”
Men were not supposed to weep, but as Bernard shook his head, he found that tears of pain were coursing down his cheeks. He was acutely embarrassed, but he could do nothing about it.
“I will fetch the healer,” Janice said desperately, beginning to stand up. However, Bernard caught her arm, shaking his head.
“Wait. I will be fine in a moment,” he assured her. “I have suffered worse, and I don’t think anything is broken. I have broken my arm before—andthatis painful!”
He breathed deeply, in and out, for a while. Janice looked into his face, her expression one of deep concern. She would never forgive herself if anything bad happened to him. She sensed that not only was he extremely good to look at, but there was an air of wholesomeness about him, a sign of a good heart.
By this time some of the guards were gathering around and looking worried.
“A’ right, big man?” Billy Mearns asked anxiously. “Can we dae anythin’?”
“No, Billy, I will be fine in a minute,” Bernard replied, smiling painfully. “Thank you. It is just a bump.”
“I am so sorry,” Janice said again. She was almost weeping herself. “It was so clumsy of me.”
“Don’t distress yourself, mistress,” Bernard murmured, still wincing painfully. “It was an accident. But what caused you such distress?” Then he looked at her keenly. “Were you running away from something? You look very upset.”
Janice’s grey eyes once more darkened with anger. However, she realized that there were half a dozen men around them, all of whom were listening eagerly to what she was saying. Instead of answering his question, she enlisted their help to haul Bernard to his feet.
“I will speak of that later,” she muttered, so quietly that only he could hear.
He nodded and allowed himself to be pulled upright.
Now, as she stood back and watched him swaying slightly, Janice put a hand on his upper arm to steady him and blinked in astonishment as she felt the unyielding hardness of his muscle. The only substance she could compare it to was saddle leather, which was so tough it could stop arrows. She knew she was beingfanciful; of course his arms could not stop arrows, but it was the only comparison she could think of at that moment.
She had to consciously stop herself from gazing at him as two of the guards escorted him to his room. However, when they arrived there, he refused to go to bed.
“I have hurt my shoulder and my ribs,” he said grimly. “Nothing is broken, and I am not an invalid.”
Despite his denials, Janice was still worried. “Shall I have some willow bark tea sent up?” she asked.
She was concerned about what she thought was his show of bravado, afraid that he might be trying to conceal his pain so that she would not think he was weak.
“Thank you,” he replied. His stomach chose that moment to express its indignation by giving a mighty grumble. “And if you don’t mind, I would like some food.”
He looked embarrassed, and Janice chuckled.
“Of course,” she replied, as he sat down stiffly in a padded chair beside the fire, refusing her help. She rang for the food and medicine, then poured them some wine from the carafe on the table beside him.
Janice realized that being alone in his chamber with him was against all the rules of polite society. At best it would be considered ill-advised—at the worst, scandalous—but she had never been one to pay much attention to the dictates of a few people who considered it their right to tell others what to do. She simply did not care, and as she looked into his greenish-brown eyes, she realized that, despite the class differences between them, she had more in common with him than with anyone else she knew. They could work well together if both of them were running the estate. The thought stunned her.
While they were waiting for the food to arrive, Bernard leaned forward to keep his back away from the chair and looked at her earnestly.
“What happened, mistress?” he asked. “If you wish to tell me, that is. You did not look happy when you went into the hall, and when you came out you looked extremely angry.”
Janice sighed. “I was—Iam—angry. Furious, in fact.”
She clenched her hands into fists as she relived what had happened. The rage surged back, and she bent forward, leaning her elbows on her knees, then she began to speak. Her voice was throbbing with anger.
Janice hated being the center of attention, but unfortunately, it was necessary that evening since her brothers were hosting the event. However, when she slipped back into the hall, she found all the guests already seated, mostly in the places that had been allocated to them, although a few were out of place. No one was fighting or arguing about it, though.
She looked around with quite a bit of satisfaction since this was an event that she herself had organized, and she prided herself that she had done a fairly good job of it. She did not care if anyone praised her or not, as long as they enjoyed the feast. The sight of so many beautiful evening gowns and clan tartans gladdened her heart, as did the happy sound of conversation and laughter. She was full of relief that everything was going so well.
