Page 26 of Captured By the Highland Devil
“Ye will nae, me laird,” the captain replied. “I will make sure he does as ye say. Please excuse me.”
When he left, Ruben tightened his hold on her and ushered her—almost towed her—down to the clearing away from the training fields. She looked up to offer her thanks when he reprimanded her again.
“What are ye doin’ here? Ye could've been hurt, even maimed. What were ye thinkin’, just standin’ there in the middle of the strikin’ range?”
Paige flung her head up, outraged that he would give her such a set-down in a public place. As she drew a breath to reply, she cast a look behind her—he was right. The trajectory for the arrows from the young lads in training were right where she had stood.
She had walked, unwittingly, into danger like the foolish girl her father had raised, the girl she was trying to leave behind.
Swallowing her pride, she turned back. “I’m sorry. I hadnae realized.”
He pinned her with a hard look. “Ye’ll need to sharpen up quickly if ye dream of survivin’ here. Ye should return to yer room as it will only get more dangerous out here. I still daenae ken why ye were here at all.”
Her lip tightened, “Me maither and I decided to take a walk as she said I was too cloistered in me room. We had nae planned to see ye,” she said, keeping from wincing at the burn on her arm. “I need to see the healer.”
Ruben’s hand slid up her arm and he bowed her elbow to see the rip and the tiny drops of blood. She could see the disdain in his eyes. “It’s nothing but a scrape.”
“It still hurts,” she defended herself. “And me knee is scraped too.”
“I keep havin’ to remind meself that ye gentle-bred women are so soft,” he scoffed. “I’ll show ye the way,” Ruben said, then called one of the men to them. Curiously enough, it was the same man he had been sparring with before.
“Keep the men doing the drills we did earlier and if I am nae back by the last run, send the men in.” Ruben told the man.
“Aye, me laird,” the man bowed. “Me lady. Good to see ye again.”
When had he seen her before? Faintly, she remembered seeing him at the other end of the chapel where she and Ruben had wed. “I do remember ye,” she said. “Pardon me though, what is yer name again?”
“Galan Howe,” he replied. “I am his lairdship’s man-at-arms.”
“A man I trust with me back in any battle,” Ruben said. “If ye cannae find me at any time, find him. He will assist ye.”
“Thank ye,” Paige replied.
A smirk flittered over Galan’s face, “I’ll see ye at supper.”
“I’ll return before that,” Ruben said.
Once again, Galan’s eyes flittered between them, and drawled “Of course ye will.”
“I ken what ye’re hintin’ at,” Ruben said darkly.“Haud yer wheesht!”
As Galan chuckled, Ruben walked them away and to the castle. He took her up two levels to a long hall at the very back of the keep. Even from up there, she could already hear the crash of the waves below and the briny but brisk air. The sea air almost hid the fresh, natural scent of herbs and lavender dangling from the roof’s timbers.
The hall was lined with neatly made cots fitted with grey sheets on one side, and on the other stood long tables with tools for the healers. She noticed there were washing basins, jugs with liquid or scalded milk, cauldrons, mortars and pestles and many bone-carved spoons. Oddly enough, not one healer was inside.
“Do ye ken where the herbs are?” she asked.
“There,” he nodded to a door at the end. “Some are dried, some are green. What do ye need?”
She gave him a list of plants and went to arrange a mortar and pestle. When he returned with the plants in hand, she plucked the leaves off and dumped them into the mortar.
After searching the jugs, she found a jug of water and used the pestle to crush the herbs. She then mixed them with water and drained the juice through a fine cloth into a cup.
She nodded to a small table that held fresh linens. “Hand me two strips please.”
As he cut a length off, she slathered both with the thick poultice and sat. Pulling her skirts up above the knee, she made sure to tuck the rest of her dress under her thighs.
“When did ye learn herbs?”
