Agnes had hoped the lass would remain unconscious while she worked, but Katherine awakened at the first touch of the hot cloth. The healer knew the solution stung, but it had to be done. Agitated and writhing, the lass cried out, but soon oblivion reclaimed her, releasing her from the agony. Once she had slipped back into her fevered sleep, Agnes could finish cleansing her wounds. She worked as quickly as she could, replacing cool strips with hot ones until the cool strips she pulled away had no more yellow drainage on them and the wounds looked clean. She allowed Katherine’s back to dry and cool before applying a soothing balm, which she covered with clean linen.
~ * ~
When Malcolm and Niall stopped at the room on the second floor, Fingal passed them, continuing up the stairs to a chamber on the third floor. Initially thrilled to see Fingal, the maid who readied his room pouted when she saw Tomas. Fingal chuckled, the reason for her chagrin obvious to him, “Another time, lass.” He stayed with Tomas until the lad had eaten and fallen asleep on a pallet. Knowing the exhausted boy wouldn’t awaken until morning, Fingal left the chamber and descended the stairs. As he passed Lady Katherine’s chamber, he heard her distressed cries. Upon reaching the great hall, it infuriated Fingal when he saw Niall sitting at the long refectory table with Malcolm and Duncan. “What are ye doing down here?” Fingal demanded.
Niall glared at Fingal and asked in a low, menacing voice, “Ye dare address your laird with that tone?”
“I beg your pardon, Laird,” Fingal said mockingly, “I thought I was addressing my brother.”
“Do ye need to be reminded they are one and the same?” said Niall, rising to his feet.
“Do ye need to be reminded that less than an hour ago, your wife begged ye not to leave her? Now she is crying out for ye, and ye are not there,” Fingal responded, not backing down.
Niall appeared stunned for a moment before turning toward the tower stairs, but Malcolm clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Niall, sit down,” he commanded. “This is why Agnes wanted ye out of the room. We must allow her to do what is necessary and ye can’t interfere. Fingal, I know ye mean well, son, but it will not help Katherine to have Niall there. She is delirious anyway and Niall will only be in the way. Let the healer finish.” Both young men looked murderous until Malcolm roared. “Sit down. Both of ye!”
~ * ~
Agnes told Niall she had done everything she could to stop the source of the fever but it still raged. Now they could only wait. She finally allowed him to return to his wife’s side, although she stayed to keep watch.
Niall helplessly watched Katherine’s restless sleep. She moaned, occasionally crying out incoherently. He felt consumed by guilt. When faced with the forced marriage, he had actually welcomed the possibility that she might be weak and slow witted. He had thought of her as a little broken doll he could put away on a shelf and ignore. He had planned to settle her in Duncurra, assign a clanswoman to tend her, and go on with his life. He needed her money.
He couldn’t set this bride aside, and he didn’t want to. That was reasonable, he told himself. She was clearly bright, she evidently managed Cotharach. She had the skills to run a household, the most basic requirement of a wife. If he had to have one, she would do as well as any other.
He also had to admit he felt a strong attraction for her.
What man wouldn’t?
He didn’t think he had ever seen a more beautiful woman and he stirred even now, remembering her passionate response to his kisses. He relished the thought of bedding her.
How did he let this happen? After Ceana, he had sworn he would never again allow a woman to have the power to hurt him. Words of her devotion to him slid easily off her tongue, even as she loved and freely gave herself to another man. Ceana had wanted to be “Lady MacIan” someday, so she had charmed and manipulated Niall into asking for her hand. He was a fool. After eight years, the bitterness of his pain and humiliation still remained.
He must not confuse desire with love. He did not love Katherine and, while he doubted he could ever love any woman, he would still remain vigilant and guard his heart. Perhaps simply having no delusions of love would be enough to ensure he wouldn’t lose his heart again. Yet even now he felt a crushing pain. The thought of losing her terrified him. Surely his admiration of her skills and beauty did not justify what he felt now.
This is not love
, he tried to assure himself once again.
It is...appreciation
. That must explain his despair. On top of being skilled and attractive, she provided the means by which he could save his clan. Only a heartless cur would feel nothing for her. Surely this was why his heart ached at the thought of losing her.
Five
Early in the morning, just before dawn, Katherine’s fever broke and she sweated profusely. Agnes dried her gently and changed the linens. Katherine finally slipped into a still, natural sleep. Telling Niall the worst was over, Agnes left, with instructions to send for her if anything changed. Drained, Niall lay down on the bed beside Katherine, and, giving in to his exhaustion, fell asleep.
Niall slept for several hours, awaking late in the morning. Lying on his side, on top of the bed linens, he put his arm around Katherine. She had turned off her stomach during the night and had curled up against him with her back to his chest. The dark bluish shadows under her eyes gave witness to the ordeal of the last few days, but her pale skin felt cool and no longer looked flushed with fever. The linen towel, with which the healer had covered her back the evening before, slid off when Katherine turned to her side, leaving the lacerations on her back in view. Niall breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the open lash marks looked clean and less angry.
He had been married to her for four days, and now, for the first time, he gazed on his wife’s naked form. After assuring himself she would recover, he enjoyed her charms at his leisure. Her thick braid hung over her shoulder, disappearing into the cleft between her breasts. Although her arms partially shielded them from view, he could see the upper curve of the creamy mounds, barely glimpsing the edge of the pale pink nipples. He found them delightfully enticing. His gaze continued down her slender body to where his hand lay on her flat stomach, the rest of her enchanting body disappearing under the sheet. Although he thoroughly enjoyed the sight, it came at a price—he grew hard, aching for release. He knew he would have to wait a little longer until she had fully recovered, but he reveled in the thought that this lovely creature belonged to him.
With a sigh, he rose and slipped from the room. He sought out Alan and instructed him to return to Duncurra with the rest of his guard, taking the remainder of the dowry. Only Fingal would remain behind. Niall thought it better not to send Tomas away from Katherine, so the lad would continue to be Fingal’s responsibility until they returned to Duncurra.
Because he did not yet know whether the six other men led by Diarmad had reached Duncurra unscathed, Niall still worried about the target they posed to raiders. Cnocreidh, the large Matheson holding, bordered the western edges of MacLennan and MacIan land and could be reached in less than half a day from both Brathanead and Duncurra. Niall believed a small contingent of MacIan warriors, known to be traveling with a treasure, would make a tempting target to the thieving bastard. For the same reason, Niall would not risk travelling to Duncurra with Katherine unless a full contingent of guards accompanied them. He sent instructions to Diarmad to return with ten men in five days time. He wasn’t sure if Katherine would be ready to travel by then, but he wanted to be prepared to leave as soon as she recovered sufficiently.
~ * ~
The healer, Agnes, came to inspect her injuries shortly before noon, accompanied by a serving maid. Chivying Niall out of the room again, she woke Katherine, who felt as weak as a kitten. They helped her wash quickly, trying not to tire her, and Agnes dressed her wounds. After helping her don fresh clothing, Agnes made her drink some broth and eat a little bread. The brief activity exhausted Katherine and she fell asleep before they left. Niall stayed with her through the afternoon and evening, and slept beside her as he had the night before.
~ * ~
The next several days proceeded in much the same way. Well out of the woods now, Katherine slept less and less and her strength returned steadily. Once convinced of this, Niall left for longer stretches during the day, but always returned in the evening to dine with her. During these evenings she finally learned a bit more about him and his clan. His mother had died in childbirth when he was six. His distraught father, wanting to ensure his small son had a mother, married Eithne Chisholm almost immediately. After Fingal was born, Eithne visited court frequently, preferring the intrigues there to life in the Highlands. Niall didn’t seem comfortable discussing his stepmother, so she didn’t pursue the topic further.
Tomas visited several times a day. Niall had given strict orders not to allow Tomas to tire her by staying too long, so Fingal had the job of marshaling him. On the afternoon of the fifth day, during one of Tomas’ visits, Laird MacLennan tapped on the open chamber door as Tomas animatedly described the wooden sword Fingal had given him while Fingal stood quietly near the door. Malcolm cleared his throat.
“Lady Katherine,” he said, “I think it is time for us to formally meet. I am Laird Malcolm MacLennan, your host,” and he made a small bow. A tall, lean man who looked to be about two score and ten years old, Malcolm had jet black hair with grey temples and hazel green eyes. He wore a well-trimmed graying beard and mustache.
Katherine sat in one of the two chairs by the hearth, and Tomas, suddenly quiet, crawled into her lap. “Laird MacLennan, I am very pleased to meet you. I am so sorry to have been such a nuisance.”
“My dear,” he smiled warmly, “Ye are certainly not a nuisance. I considered Laird Alastair MacIan to be my closest friend, as close as a brother, really. His family is always welcome in my home. Niall and Fingal are like nephews to me. Isn’t that right, Fingal?”
“Aye, Laird, ye always make us most welcome here.” Katherine thought she heard a coolness in Fingal’s response.
Malcolm said, “Not still arguing with Niall, are ye?” then to Katherine, “these lads.” Malcolm shook his head in mock frustration. “Have ye ever known two brothers to be so different?”
Malcolm walked farther into the room and stood near the chair in which Katherine sat. It meant she had to look up at a rather sharp angle to see him. Katherine felt momentarily wary, but Malcolm was a close friend of Niall’s and she realized she was being silly. She answered, “I really couldn’t say, Laird. I met them for the first time barely a week ago, and it seems I have slept most of that time away.”
“Of course, how could I have forgotten? Are ye feeling quite well now?”
“Aye, Laird, thank you, Agnes is a very skilled healer.”
“Ye see, Fingal, even Katherine agrees that Agnes knew what she was doing that night.” Confused by his comment, Katherine glanced at Fingal, whose expression was inscrutable. Had Fingal argued with Niall about the healer?
Malcolm went on, “Fingal, son, ye really need to let it go. Ye see, Katherine, when ye arrived, ye had a raging fever and in your delirium, ye begged Niall to stay with ye.”
Katherine remembered and knew she had not been delirious then. Although a bit foggy, she recalled feeling terribly ill and afraid. She hadn’t wanted Niall to leave her.
“Agnes has been a healer for quite some time and knows anxious husbands can do more harm than good.”
Although she respected Agnes, Katherine silently disagreed. In her experience, patients benefited from having loved ones close. Unless someone became a problem, she did not insist they leave, but Agnes’ opinion was held by many healers. Clearly Laird MacLennan respected her.
“Niall very wisely stayed downstairs with me while Agnes was working. Fingal became indignant when he realized Niall had left ye and ye called out for him. But, ye see, Fingal, it was simply the delirium. Niall made the right decision in leaving Katherine in Agnes’ care to spend the evening in the hall with us.” Turning back to Katherine, he said with a laugh and a shake of his head, “Young men can have such romantic ideas. Katherine, I can tell ye are a wise, practical young woman.”
Katherine wasn’t sure why Malcolm was telling her this, but Fingal appeared to be both angry and embarrassed. Malcolm must have been trying to smooth over whatever had happened between Niall and Fingal, but it wasn’t working very well.
Tired of looking up at Malcolm and thinking to change the subject, she motioned to the other chair by the hearth, saying, “Laird, I am terribly sorry, I have been rude. Please, sit down.”
“Oh, nay, thank ye, lass, I won’t tire ye any longer. Ye have been through a terrible ordeal.” He glanced at Tomas, who still sat on her lap, adding, “I just wanted to ask if ye would feel up to joining us in the great hall for dinner this evening?”
“Aye, Laird, I am feeling much better. I would be delighted to dine in the great hall tonight,” Katherine responded.
“Well, until later then, lass.” He bowed, then looked pointedly at Fingal, inclining his head towards Tomas before leaving.
When his footsteps retreated down the hall, with the humor back in his voice, Fingal said, “I think I have just been told to remove Tomas and allow ye to rest.”
Katherine smiled, saying, “Tomas, why don’t you and Fingal go see if there are any dragons to slay with that fine sword of yours?”
Tomas scooted off her lap to leave, but before he did, he asked, “Are there really dragons in the Highlands?”
“It would seem so,” answered Fingal.
Katherine smiled at his obvious reference to their host, but before they reached the door she said, “Fingal, I’m sure Agnes meant well the other night. Please don’t be angry with Niall over this.”
“Don’t worry, my lady, it is past. Malcolm has indeed always been like an uncle to us. I’m sure he thought my argument with Niall meant more than it did.”