Page 69 of Saved By the Cruel Highlander
His mind snapped back to the room, and he looked over at the mattress where Holly still lay unconscious.
“Well, nay, nae yet,” Cassandra admitted. “I cannae cure cuts and bruises. It was more to calm ye down a wee bit. I’ve never seen ye so agitated.”
“Just let me ken how bad it is,” Elias told her.
“Well, she has a cut on her forearm, but it doesnae seem that deep. I’ll bandage it, and she will be fine. The marks on her neck are worse. She was strangled for a long time—maybe with some rope or somethin’. I’ve seen bruisin’ like this afore, and it can be bad.”
“I thought ye were supposed to be makin’ me feel better,” Elias pointed out.
“I want ye to ken exactly how she is,” Cassandra said. “Ye really care for her, do ye nae?”
“Aye, of course,” Elias said. “She’s to be me wife.”
“Aye, but it’s more than that,” Cassandra said as she wrapped bandages around Holly’s arm. “I’ve seen ye concerned for others, but never like this. When she came here, ye didnae care for her, but now ye do.”
Elias paused for a few seconds before he finally said, “Aye.”
“She’s a good lass,” Cassandra continued. “She’s strong, too. I’ve seen wounds like that kill a man before. She’s still breathin’, and that’s the best thing that could be. We just have to wait for her to wake up.”
“And then what?” Elias asked.
“Either she wakes up or she doesnae. If she wakes up once, she’ll wake up the next time and the next.”
“And if she doesnae?” Elias asked.
“Well, let’s nae think about that right now,” Cassandra said. “There. That’s about all I can do for her right now. First the cat, and now the lass. I hope this is the end of it.”
“Aye, me too,” Elias admitted.
He wanted to be out searching the castle with the guards, in case there was anyone else, but he couldn’t leave Holly’s side.
“I can stay with her,” Cassandra offered. “I got a wee bit of sleep after treatin’ the cat.”
“Nay,” Elias said. “I willnae leave her until she wakes up. Ye go and get some rest in case we have more trouble in the castle, and I’ll stay here to watch over her and protect her.”
He took the chair by the wall and moved it over to the side of Holly’s bed. He planted it on the ground and then sat down.
Cassandra looked down at Holly, then patted the Laird’s shoulder. “I do believe she is strong enough to get through this.”
Elias nodded.
He listened as the door opened and closed behind Cassandra. After a moment, he took Holly’s hand. It was warm, and that gave him some hope. He squeezed her hand with both of his, holding on tightly. He watched her chest rise and fall, knowing there was hope as long as it moved.
“I cannae lose ye,” he whispered. “Come back to me, Holly. Promise that ye will come back to me. I’m worried. I’ve been a beast all me adult life—a monster. If ye dinnae wake up from this, I worry that I’ll burn it all to the ground. There’s a rage inside of me, and the only thing holdin’ it back is ye.”
He squeezed her hand again, checking that her chest was still rising and falling, then gazed upon her pale face. Most of the redness was gone, but it only made her look dead in a different way. He felt that if he kept holding her hand, she would continue to cling to life.
A slight shuffling to the right caught his attention. He didn’t sense danger from the noise but looked in its direction.
Ollie slowly skulked out from behind one of the other beds. He padded over to the Laird and looked up at him.
“Aye, up ye go,” the Laird said.
Ollie crouched down and tensed up for a second. Then, he used all of his strength to leap up onto the mattress and flopped down next to Holly. He glanced at the Laird one more time before he closed his eyes.
“I really hope ye wake up soon,” Elias whispered. “I dinnae want to see ye like this, and I cannae let Cole see ye like this.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
