Page 70 of A Healer for the Ruthless Highlander
“Well, as over as it can be, since everyone kens ye as the Pirate Laird,” Leana teased, coaxing a smile from his lips.
“Aye…” Kenneth murmured, looking at her with something close to affection.
One of his fingers slowly traced the line of her jaw. He looked pensive, and she soon discovered the reason.
“And ye? Do ye miss yer village? Yer family?”
“I miss me faither and me sisters,” Leana admitted.
Her fingers drew circles over his chest. She was afraid to admit that she would miss him when she left.
“Ye’ll be able to return to them soon.” Kenneth’s lips curled into a bitter grimace that he seemed unaware of. “Ye’ll be back with yer family… and in the care of yer Laird.”
“Nay.” Leana shook her head. “I will return to me family, but nae to the care of that man. He has never… He has never cared for me,” she muttered bitterly.
Perhaps she was touching on a subject Kenneth was curious about, for he didn’t seem to hesitate as he said, “I heard some stories from one of me councilmen. He said that ye’d had problems with yer Laird in the past.”
This time, it was Leana’s lips that twisted into a grimace. “The rumors arenae far off,” she admitted.
“What happened between ye two?” Kenneth asked, stroking her hair tenderly.
Leana watched him, noting that he didn’t seem upset, just curious.
And perhaps it was because of this new intimacy between them that she allowed herself to be vulnerable.
“That man… He tried to hurt me,” she mumbled as memories flashed through her mind.
A lump formed in her throat, and something similar seemed to happen to Kenneth, for his body stiffened immediately. His breathing grew ragged, and the hand that had been stroking her hair paused.
“Tell me what he did to ye,” he ordered in an icy tone.
Leana noticed that although he remained composed, he had that thunderous look in his eye, the one that warned of danger anddoom. She had seen it on other occasions. Only now, she knew that his anger was not directed at her.
With a bitter smile, she said, “He hasnae done anythin’ to me. He couldnae… because I fought back.”
“Be that as it may, I want to ken what happened,” Kenneth demanded crisply.
Leana bit her lower lip. “He wanted one of me sisters, nae me,” she began slowly. “Joanna was just a child when she started drawin’ men’s attention… Although she kens how to protect herself, it has always been me duty as the eldest sister to look out for her,” she declared in a slightly proud tone. “That’s why I was the first one who noticed the Laird’s interest in her. I… I tried to get him away from me sisters, but then he threatened me. He said it was either me or them.”
The memory dredged up all the hate and disgust she had buried deep inside. Her body tensed, and Kenneth seemed to sense it, for he pulled her closer to him.
“Go on,” he urged, slowly stroking her back.
Leana sighed. “When the Laird… When he threatened me, I made sure to return the favor,” she admitted. “I told him that if he laid a single finger on me or me sisters, I would murder him. As a healer, I have a dangerous advantage over the others—I ken nae only the plants that heal, but also those that can make a person suffer to the point of wantin’ to die…”
It was a dangerous statement. One that she hated to make. Never in all her years as a healer had she ever thought of using her knowledge to hurt anyone, but the Laird of her clan made her sin that one time.
“And what ye said was enough to make him leave ye alone?” Kenneth asked slowly. He seemed to be chewing on the words.
“Nay.” Leana chuckled bitterly. “He accused me of witchcraft soon after and locked me in one of his dungeons. He said I bewitched him and tried to burn me alive…”
At her back, Kenneth’s hand paused in the middle of a caress. Everything about him seemed tense, like a bowstring pulled taut.
“But he couldnae prove what he said, and in the end, he had to let me go. Everyone in the village kenned me and loved me, so they soon realized that he was lyin’.”
“Well, he didnae lie about everythin’,” Kenneth murmured.
Leana glared at him. “What do ye mean?” she asked, pushing herself up on one elbow to get a better look at him.
