Page 2 of A Highland Healer Captured
The storm rattled the shutters. Skylar smirked, but the sound cut through their laughter like a warning. It was a reminder that the night wasn’t as safe as the fire made it seem.
She tore another hunk of bread and dunked it deep into her broth, defiantly loud. “If the good Lord intended me for quiet eating, He wouldnae have given me teeth.”
Astrid threw up her hands. “He gave ye a sharp tongue too, mayhap sharper than is wise. I only hope some man finds it charming before I’m too dead to care.”
Skylar leaned back with a grin. “Daenae fash, Mam. If nay man claims me, I’ll claim meself. And I’ll still have me herbs for company.”
Her mother sighed so deeply it stirred the candle flames. Hamish only smiled, eyes warm as he looked at his youngest daughter. She was the apple of his eye, spunky and stubborn, and as untamable as the storm thundering outside.
If anything, the storm had grown bolder, hurling buckets of rain at the shutters as though it wished to join the family quarrel in the hall. Skylar scraped the bottom of her bowl for the lastcarrot, determined to enjoy it before her mother found a fresh reason to scold.
Astrid lamented, “Yer sisters never gave me this much grief, and look how well married they are —”
The hall doors banged open hard enough to shake the rafters.
“What in God’s bleeding name?” Skylar said, standing from her chair to see the cause of the noise.
A messenger stumbled in, hair plastered, cloak soaked, chest heaving. He clutched a leather case like it held his very life.
Hamish stood at once, the way a laird did when danger, or news, pressed into his hall. “What brings ye out in this storm, lad?”
The boy dropped to one knee, holding out the case. “Beggin’ pardon, me Laird. I’ve an urgent letter. From yer sister.”
The air shifted in an instant. Astrid’s hand flew to her cover her chest in surprise, her mouth thinned and brow knit together tightly. Hamish broke the seal with his thumb, eyes running quick over the lines. His face was always steady as stone, but Skylar watched as it faltered and fell.
Her spoon slipped into her bowl, forgotten. “What is it?”
Hamish glanced at her. “It’s Ariella.”
Her heart clenched so tight she felt dizzy. “Ariella?”
“Yer cousin has taken fever.” His voice had gone lower, heavier. “Three days running, hard breathing. The village healer’s to a birthing. The priest has prayed, but…” He folded the letter, pressing it closed with his palm. “They ask for ye, Skylar.”
She was around the table before she knew it, letter in hand, and eyes furiously assessing the contents.
“I’ll ride tonight,” she said, placing the letter on the table.
Astrid gasped. “Tonight? Inthis?” She gestured sharply at the storm. “The ford will be a raging torrent. Ye’ll drown yerself before ye reach the far bank! Hamish! Please?”
“Better I drown trying than do nothin’ while Ariella burns alive,” Skylar shot back, voice hot and sharp. “Ye didnae read the letter, Mam. It reeks of desperation. I ken what a fever unchecked can do.”
Hamish set the letter on the board, slow and deliberate. “Ye’ll ride when it’s safe.”
“When she’sdead?” The words slipped out raw before Skylar could bite them back.
Astrid gasped again. Clearly hurt. Hamish’s eyes narrowed, not with anger, but with the kind of iron patience that had carriedhim through battles and clan councils alike. “Ye’ll nae speak death into this hall, lass.”
Skylar bit her lip hard, guilt sparking beneath her temper. “Forgive me. But Da — Ariella needs me. Now.”
“She’ll need ye more alive than drowned,” Hamish said. “The ford’ll be impassable in the morning. Even then, I’ll nae have ye ride alone. We’ll send Ioan ahead, and ye’ll follow with a proper escort, when the worst has blown through.”
“That’s days,” Skylar argued. “A fever steals hours, not days. She might nae have that long.”
“A fever steals nothin’ God does nae measure,” Astrid said firmly, though her voice wavered at the edges.
Skylar rounded on her. “Would ye sit here if it were Scarlett on that bed? Or Mabel? Or me?”
Astrid’s lips parted, her face paling. “Daenae put such thoughts in me mouth.”
