Page 63 of The Cruel Highlander's Healer
Eliza nodded. “Thank ye. But I made the decision to allow him to do those things he did. I allowed him to tempt me. And he made nay promises or even mentioned that he would court me. That was all me own assumptions. So daenae be cross at him for it.”
Kate squeezed her arm comfortingly. “I am nae cross, but I do wish he’d nae done it.”
They had arrived at the kitchen, finding it mostly empty. There was only one woman standing behind a large butcher’s block, chopping up vegetables to start preparation for that night’s meals.
“We have a hungry healer on our hands!” Kate announced, affixing a smile onto her face as she turned toward the woman. “Do ye have anythin’ ye can spare before the woman wastes away?”
The woman made a big deal about scoffing at Kate, but there was no true annoyance behind it. Eliza got the feeling the cook was rather fond of the maid.
The cook made quick work of gathering things for Eliza, and it wasn’t long before she and Kate both clutched plates filled with smoked meat, hunks of cheese, and a bundle of grapes.
They ate in a courtyard on the western side of the castle. It was late afternoon, so the sun was bearing down on them and Eliza turned her face up to it, allowing it to warm her skin.
“I ken what it’s like,” Kate began, and Eliza turned to face her.
Plucking one of the grapes from its vine, Eliza plopped it into her mouth. The flavor danced across her tongue, bright and fresh and invigorating. She allowed the food to lift her spirits as she sat in the sun with her friend.
Eliza arched a brow at Kate, a wordless question that the maid quickly understood.
“What it’s like to have yer heart broken,” Kate continued, cheeks flushing with an embarrassment that Eliza knew all too well. “To be disappointed by men.”
Eliot coughed behind them. He stood close, a silent sentinel pressed up against the castle as he watched over them.
The women had tried to get him to take a plate when they were in the kitchen. They had also asked him to sit with them as they rested on the grass.
He had declined both, stating that his job was to watch them and ensure no harm befell them.
Eliza was unsure what harm could befall them in a castle this fortified, but she hadn’t pressed him further.
Now, however, as she glanced over her shoulder, she found the man shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. The moment her eyes landed on him, he straightened, a look of embarrassment flickering across his face.
She wanted to ask him why he looked so uncomfortable, but she didn’t press any further.
Kate looked contemplative when Eliza turned her attention back to her. The woman’s eyes were fixed out in the distance, roving over the lovely, gentle rolling hills that were the jewel of the Scottish highlands.
“Who broke yer heart?” Eliza asked, her voice gentle as she coaxed her friend to speak more.
Kate shook her head as if banishing thoughts of a far-off time from her mind.
“He was nothin’ but a man,” she answered honestly, her tone hoarse and Eliza could hear the emotion that was threatening to choke her. “A guard. I daenae want to say his name. But I’ve loved him for…”
Her voice trailed off, soft and pensive. Eliza could see the truth of Kate’s words, could see the way the maid’s eyes softened around the edges as she spoke of him. There was love there and also hurt.
“…as long as I can remember,” Kate continued, oblivious to Eliza studying her. “Long before I came to work in this castle. We grew up in the same village, and I think I loved him, even then.”
Eliza noticed tears brimming at the edges of the woman’s eyes, and she reached forward to squeeze her friend’s arm reassuringly.
“He’s getting’ married soon.”
The words hang in the air between them, and Eliza heard the pain that mingled with her words.
“He’s an absolute dobber if he chose someone else over ye,” Eliza said earnestly.
Kate’s eyes fluttered rapidly, the water that had been threatening to spill over vanishing as she turned to face Eliza.
“That’s kind of ye to say,” she rasped. “But I ken he loves her, and he deserves that. To love his wife.”
“And do ye nae think ye can love nay one else but him?”
