Page 2 of A Healer for the Ruthless Highlander
With each step they took, Leana remembered the forest that was close to her home. In particular, the fear she had felt the first time she had walked among those tall, silent giants. But she also remembered the fascination with what this hidden world had to offer.
Soon after her mother died, she was forced to grow up. She took care of her sisters, and she started following her father to his rounds, too. It didn’t take long for her to become a healer herself.
But that meant that Leana was often away from home for long periods of time. And every time she was, like this time, she missed her family, especially her sisters. The three of them had become very close, and when they were apart, Leana felt as if one of her limbs had been amputated.
“Is there a way to send a letter from this village?” she asked, lost in her ramblings.
After several minutes of bending over the grass, she straightened up. Her back ached, and her fingers burned from the smallscrapes she had picked up as she plucked bunches of grass here and there, but the simple task filled her with satisfaction.
“I want to inform me faither and sisters that it will take me a little longer to get home.”
“There is someone with writing materials in the next village,” Jane informed her. “It’s only half an hour from here, so ye can come and go easily. I can go with ye if ye like. Although I confess, I daenae ken much of the way.”
“What, ye’re nae from around here?” Leana asked, confused.
Normally, the villagers know every road and every nook and cranny by heart.
Jane shook her head. “I grew up in a city far away, but me Harry is from these lands, so when we fell in love, I followed him here.” She looked proud. “His parents have been very good to me, especially his maither. But sometimes I miss me home.”
“That’s normal.Imiss me family terribly,” Leana admitted.
“Anyway, me maither was dead when I left, and me faither… Well, he was a basket case,” Jane added in a mournful tone, after a brief laugh. “And I was very afraid of the Laird of our clan. He was frightening.”
Leana grimaced. “Aye,” she muttered, hiding her face as she looked down and pretended to continue collecting plants.
Thankfully, Jane didn’t notice, so she continued, “Sure, it’s nae like Laird MacReid is any better. In fact, I think he’s a lot scarier than me previous Laird.”
“Is he really that terrible?” Leana asked, looking curiously at her.
Jane nodded. “He takes good care of us, and me husband says it’s because of him that the land thrives. But I’ve heard all kinds of stories about him.”
“What stories?” Leana asked, leaning over the weeds with her arm outstretched to pick up a bunch of lavender.
For a moment, Jane’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “They say that the Laird was a rather feared pirate. He was out of Scotland for years, thanks to his travels, and when he returned, he came laden with gold and treasure from other realms, his hands stained with the blood of all the men he murdered…”
“A pirate laird,” Leana murmured, feeling a shiver run through her. “Sounds like something worth seein’.”
“Ye daenae want to meet him,” Jane promised, shaking her head sharply. “He’s terrifying. I saw him cross the field on horseback once. He looked like the shadow of a wolf. Even the faeries would be afraid of him.”
Leana could imagine the scene, of course. She knew well enough the fear certain lairds could inspire. She herself knew one who was a demon in human form.
After a final shudder from Jane at the thought of meeting Laird MacReid, the conversation died down, and both women concentrated on the task at hand.
By then, a light drizzle had begun to fall, filling the fields with the scent of petrichor. Uncomfortable with the cold, Jane took shelter in the nearest barn, but Leana did not follow her. She had to get the rest of the herbs she needed to make her medicines, or else her patients would pay the consequences.
She was so absorbed in this simple, comforting task that she did not notice the way the atmosphere was changing around her, the sound of footsteps drowned by the pattering rain. In particular, she did not notice the two shadows approaching her until it was too late.
Only her breath and the scream she let out gave any hint of what was happening. The force of her struggle, of her immediate reaction, as one of the much larger and stronger men grabbed her around the waist, gripping her arms with a brutal force that cut off her breath as she kicked and kicked.
Another tried to gag her, but Leana bit his hand so hard that he cursed. She tasted blood on her tongue.
“Help, Jane! Someone!” she cried desperately.
But Jane was far away, in the barn, and the storm was getting worse. The rumble of distant thunder not only masked the sound of the fighting, but the clouds also obscured the world to such an extent that it was almost as if night had fallen.
And so, when the two men finally managed to wrestle her to the ground and tie her up, Leana found herself helpless, with no one to come to her aid. Not even one of the grateful villagers, who would not have hesitated to come to her rescue had they known what was happening.
But defeat did not mean surrender. If she wanted to win, she would have to wait. Seeing that her captors had overpowered her, she remained calm, waiting for the right moment to strike.
