Page 38 of Married to the Highland Devil
The three ladies turned towards the door once the clan’s healer arrived. Elijah Murray walked in and handed Amelia some cloves of garlic and stone to squash them on the table.
“Careful, My Lady,” he said to her as she worked. “I dinnae wish to anger the Laird by getting’ ye hurt.”
Amelia smiled at him. “I am not that fragile, trust me,” she said to him and grinned wide.
His voice was gentle, a bit gruff but pleasing to listen to. Amelia had learned that it was a desirable quality in a healer or physician as the English called them.
Soothing voices helped those in pain to relax. She had learned that and many other things from her mother when she had been very young. Amelia never forgot those lessons on herbs or cleaning wounds and making tonics.
She hoped to help Duncan’s clan in her own way with that knowledge.
Elijah and Elspeth discussed the plan upon the men’s return from the battle for a long time while Amelia assisted in mixing the salve for wounds. Each time her mind wandered to Duncan, she sucked in a deep breath and told herself he would be fine.
There was no need for the quaking fear twisting inside her gut and making her nervous.
The day rolled into night soon, and Yvaine had fallen asleep on the bed after the healer had retired to wait in his own chambers. Amelia stood at the chamber’s window now, her face turned out towards the night sky in silence.
The blue reflection of light from the full moon was all she could see as she kept her gaze on the sky. Even though her mind was distant with her thoughts, she heard Elspeth’s deep burdened sigh.
The quickened sound made Amelia turn around, but she did not need to move as Elspeth had joined her by the window.
“It is a lovely night,” Elspeth said to Amelia in a low voice.
“I am sure it is,” Amelia answered. She could only imagine what it looked like in its entirety. She had since learned to keep her longing at bay.
She sucked in a deep breath and placed her hands on her cheeks. The wind blew against her face, and she inhaled. The air was cold, yes, and she caught the hint of rain somewhere in the far heavens.
After they finished preparing the herbs and tonics, they had come up to Yvaine’s chamber to wait. Amelia did not think she could breathe easy until she knew Duncan was safe, so she consoled herself by remembering the sound of his laugh and the conversations they had shared on their journey to his castle.
“He was ten summers when his father first began to teach him about battles,” Elspeth said now, and Amelia angled her head in Elspeth’s direction.
“That is very young for a boy.”
“Duncan knew he had responsibilities from a young age. He was so smart, and strong… His father, my Phillip, joked all the time that he would one day become Laird of many clans. That ambition led him into doing business with the wrong person and trustin’ the wrong friend. He wanted to leave behind a strong legacy for his children.”
She released a rough chuckle now, and Amelia’s heart ached for the little boy Duncan had once been.
“I lost my mother when I was nine summers, and my sight a few months later. It was the darkest time of my life but not only because I could not see… I lost the most important person in my life. My father and I are very close, of course, and I know how much he loves me, but…”
Tears burned the back of Amelia’s eyes as she said the words, and she wiped them off her cheeks with both hands.
“Duncan has you and his sister. You are his family… I am sure he will be all right.”
“And now, he has ye,” Elspeth said to her.
Amelia gasped when she felt the woman’s hand on hers.
“Amelia… yer my daughter too now,” Elspeth continued. “If my son has chosen ye to be his bride, and he has promised to love ye then ye should ken that yer my daughter. Ye also dinnae have to worry… Duncan has been through worse battles, and he came back alive.”
Amelia released a short chuckle now. Elspeth welcoming her to their home this way was a sweet gesture. It made Amelia feel warmth and a bit relaxed too. At least now, she knew Elspeth did not think she was a monster who had stolen her son.
But she mentioned love.
She hated that she would have to disappoint Elspeth on that matter. This marriage was not a love match. Duncan had made that perfectly clear.
The air around them was still solemn when a raspy knock sounded at the door. Yvaine jerked awake on the bed, and she dashed to the door before anyone else could move to open it.
“The Laird has returned.” Amelia heard the gruff words on the other side of the chamber, and she moved at the same time Elspeth did, kicked her leg against an object in her path, and yelped from the pain.
