Page 70 of The Highlander's Virgin Nun
The news gave Alexandra the final burst of energy she needed to help her brother. It also reminded her of something she had overheard Caelan recounting to Jayden after his wife had left. He had told Jayden about Clan MacKinnon and had mentioned that Laird MacKinnon’s wife was a healer.
Alexandra had no reason to think that Lady MacKinnon was any better than Michaela, but two healers were better than one.
She took a deep breath and, without another word to Michaela, left the room. She ran up to her bedroom and pulled a piece of parchment from her desk. She wrote to Rosaline, asking her to return immediately and to bring her sister-in-law with her. She told her as much as she could in as few words as possible, desperate to finish the letter and have it sent out quickly. Then, ran to Jayden and handed him the letter.
“I’ll send it with our fastest messenger on our fastest horse,” Jayden promised.
Once she saw the letter leave the castle grounds, Alexandra rushed back to her brother’s bedside. She told Michaela to use her to her fullest extent.
Together, they cared for the Laird, eagerly awaiting the return of his wife and the healer.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
“Poisoned?” Rosaline cried, her eyes widening in shock.
The messenger in front of her jumped at the sudden loud sound, and Eliza rushed to her side.
“What is it?” Eliza asked, taking the letter from Rosaline’s hand as her grip weakened and almost dropped it.
She had begun to shake and was now looking around for something to hold onto. She found a table nearby and rested her weight on it.
Eliza read the letter and turned to the maid setting the table for dinner. “Go fetch the Laird now, please. Tell him it’s urgent.”
“Aye, Me Lady.”
“Rosaline.” Eliza walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, supporting her weight.
Rosaline put her hand over her heart, checking that it had not beaten out of her chest. She blinked her eyes over and over as if she would find some clarity.
“We will leave right away,” Eliza said. “I will help heal him, and he will see ye once again as he asked. This is nay time to dwell on the past, dear. We will go to him.”
Rosaline could only nod and let Eliza guide her to the door. She was barely capable of forming words. That voice in her head did not scream at her to stay here, where she was wanted. Her memory of Caelan’s face when he told her to leave did not haunt her mind.
She simply wanted to return to him, to see him once again, and to do anything she could to keep him alive.
Eliza arranged it all. She sat Rosaline by the castle doors, before instructing a maid to watch over her, make her drink some water, and eat some food before they left. She packed her things and told Conall to arrange horses for the three of them. Conall quickly dropped his work and had three steeds waiting for them within the hour, including the one Caelan had sent Rosaline with.
Seeing his sister still struck dumb, Conall lifted her onto her horse and secured their bags. Eliza pulled her healer’s bag onto her lap, full to the brim with any tincture she may need, and the three set off straight away.
Conall tied Rosaline’s horse to his and told her, “Just keep yerself on.”
Her hands gripped the reins, and her thighs tightened around the saddle. Her eyes were fixed on the ground in front of her horse, and she stayed as steady as she could. She had no words to utter, no input to give. She simply allowed her family to take her where she needed to be, saving all of her energy for her arrival.
The village came into view first, and Rosaline immediately felt that she had barely been gone a day. Even under the dark of night, she could identify each villager in each house. She saw worry on their faces and realized that news of the Laird’s injury must have reached their ears. She could only hope that they hadn’t learned anything in the past couple of hours that was not mentioned in Alexandra’s letter.
They galloped through the castle gates, and a guard took their horses and bags immediately.
“He is in the healer’s chambers, Me Lady,” the head guard said. “Welcome back.”
Rosaline thanked the guard—her first word in hours. She gathered her skirts into her hands and ran towards the healer’s chambers, her brother and sister-in-law following closely behind.
As they burst through the door, she saw her husband lying in the bed, half the man she had left. Before she could let the grief consume her, she looked straight at his chest and paused, keeping her party behind her with her arms raised at chest height. She did not breathe until she saw him breathe. As his chest fell and rose again a moment later, she sighed in relief and ran to his side.
“I must get to work,” Eliza announced, mostly to her.
Rosaline realized she wanted to hold Caelan’s hand, stroke his forehead, and whisper to him to wake up, but there was no time for this. Eliza needed full control. So she quickly planted a kiss on the back of her husband’s hand and took a step back.
She gave Eliza a nod. “Please, go ahead. Let me ken if I can do anythin’—anythin’ at all.”
