Page 48 of The Cruel Highlander's Healer
Her head gave another throb as she bent to grab her boots, and she couldn’t stop the groan that fell from her lips.
“I’ll go find ye some water,” Conall said as he stood.
She opened her mouth to remind him to ensure it wasn’t from the lake, but he raised his hand and scowled at her.
“I’ll make sure it’s safe. I’m nae a dobber,” he grumbled as he made his way toward the door.
Eliza let out a quiet chuckle despite herself. The Conall she’d come to know over the last couple days was firmly back in place. Gone was the man who’d joked with her just moments before and then reassured her so gently.
She was happy to have his gruffness back. Gruff she could deal with.
Her fingers were stiff and her mind slightly bleary, so it took longer than usual for her to lace up her boots. She was just finishing up when Conall returned, a large mug of water gripped tightly in his hand.
He offered it to her, and she took it gratefully.
She paused to sniff it. Not that she would be able to tell from the smell that it contained arsenic. But she couldn’t stop the habit all the same.
Relief flooded her the moment she tipped the water to her lips, already the cool, clear liquid chasing away some of the headache and the wooziness she’d felt upon waking.
“All of it,” Conall commanded, nodding at the glass the moment she took it away from her lips.
“Are ye a healer now?” she asked with a smirk.
He only scowled at her, clearly waiting for her to listen to him. If it wasn’t for the fact that she knew she needed it, she would have told him to stop being an arse and refused to finish it.
But as it was, her body was craving the liquid. She brought the mug to her lips, finishing the rest of it in a few short gulps.
“There’s fresh bread and sausage waitin’ for us downstairs,” he said, not waiting for her as he turned and strode from the room.
Eliza’s mouth began to water at the mention of the food and she wasted no time climbing to her feet and following after him.
As they made their way down to the ground floor of the inn, she marveled at the thin, steep stairs.
How did I make it up these last night without falling back down on me arse?
A memory, or at least what Eliza thought was a memory, flashed through her mind. Conall ordering her to go first as she went up the stairs, hovering close behind her so that she wouldn’t fall.
Had that been his intentions? Had that truly even happened?
They made it to the ground floor, the smell of bread and food wafting up to her and driving all thought from her mind. Glancing toward the counter, Eliza immediately spotted the barmaid from the night before busy as she dried off a glass.
The girl met her eye, and Eliza gave her a small, quick wave as she followed Conall to the table. The young girl blushed, dipping her head in respectful acknowledgement before darting back into the kitchen.
She appeared a moment later holding a wooden tray, the bread and sausage that Conall had said was waiting for them sitting on top of it.
Eliza tracked the girls every move as she came closer, her stomach lurching with hunger as the dish was set before them. The moment the girl walked away, Eliza reached for the bread and for a link of sausage.
It wasn’t until she’d taken several bites, her hunger slowly becoming satiated, that she realized that Conall hadn’t yet eaten any of the breakfast.
Eliza swallowed.
“Are ye nae hungry?” she asked, taking a bite of the sausage.
He scowled at her, clearly displeased that she noticed.
“Ye can eat first.”
She opened her mouth to argue, about to tell him that there was more than enough for the both of them, but he silenced her with a glare.
