Page 44 of Married to the Icy Highlander
She added a touch of what smelled like lavender oil, as well as the petals from one of her flowers, and began to make some sort of poultice. When she finished, she presented the bowl to them proudly.
“What is that?” Neil asked as he leaned forward and stared into the bowl.
“It’s a poultice that’s supposed to stanch the bleedin’! I’m goin’ to put it into a jar for ye! That way, the next time ye travel, or hunt, or whatever, ye can use it if ye need to!” Jeanie exclaimed. “What do ye think, Faither?”
Ceana watched Neil’s expression carefully, waiting for his usual dismissal.
But, to her surprise, he smirked. He moved forward, scooping out a bit and spreading it between his fingers. He lifted it to his nose to sniff it, clearly impressed by what his daughter had done.
“Ye learned that from the new healer in just one morning?”
Ceana was surprised too. She had no idea how Alice had managed to get the little girl to settle down long enough to not only learn how to make a poultice but to also retain the information wholly.
“Aye!” Jeanie exclaimed, nearly vibrating in her chair with the need for praise.
If Neil didn’t speak up, Ceana might kick him in the shin.
“That’s fine work, lass,” Neil complimented, his smile widening as he reached over the table to ruffle the girl’s already unkempt hair. She wasbeaming.
“I’m so proud of ye!” Ceana piped up, wanting to properly encourage her. She would also thank Alice the next time she saw her.
“There’s so much more! Come, sit!” Jeanie urged, and they both did as she asked.
Ceana sat in increasingly uncomfortable silence as Jeanie recounted in great detail what she had learned throughout the morning and how it had all come together. She started to prattle off the things that the flowers could be used for and which ones were safe to eat. Just in case, she added. She then went off on a tangent about how she didn’t think that she would ever actually be able to eat a flower unless she was forced to.
But all Ceana could truly focus on was the warmth radiating from Neil’s body. She was hyperaware of every time he shifted and how her heart started to flutter despite the anger that she still felt toward him.
Suddenly, she felt his knuckles trail down her spine. The sensation was so subtle that she could barely feel it through the layers of her dress, but it was enough to make goosebumps rise all over her skin at the most inconvenient time.
She wouldn’t acknowledge it. No, she wouldn’t. If he meant the gesture as some sort of apology or intimacy, it didn’t matter. She wanted to hear the words from his mouth, and this wasn’t the time.
But, at the same moment, she wanted him to do it again. Desperately.
Ceana was readying herself to head down to the village for the evening to check in on the distillery when Neil stepped into her room. Mercifully, unlike when she had barged into his room, shewas properly dressed. Still, her heart leaped into her throat and thudded anxiously at the possibility that somehow, some way, she had been caught doing something that she wasn’t supposed to do.
Her eyes widened, her thoughts instantly drifting back to his treatment of her and the fact that he had not apologized to her yet. She had to actively remind herself that she was supposed to still be upset with him. She was supposed to wait for him to grovel… but that was very unlikely to happen. She knew that.
But the image of him on his knees in front of her was appealing, there was certainly no denying that.
“Can I help ye?” she demanded. “Bargin’ in here like some half-crazed bull. Do ye nae ken how to knock?”
Neil gave her a long look and shook his head. “This is me castle, I dinnae have to knock before enterin’ me wife’s room.”
Ceana started to protest, but he held up a finger and shook his head.
“Besides, ye agreed to always be available to me, remember?”
Her eyes hardened. He was just being an arse to prove a point, she knew that.
She folded her arms across her chest, glowering at him in a silent demand for an explanation as to why he was there. She mightnot be able to kick him out of a room in his own castle, least of all hers, but she could certainly make him uncomfortable enough that he would want to leave quickly.
“Well, here I am,” she drawled when it became obvious that he didn’t intend to speak.
He was making her do all of the heavy lifting in every conversation. She was starting to think that maybe he got off on it a little bit.
Wretched man.
“I wanted to inform ye that we will be leavin’ for MacAngus Castle within the hour.”
