“No, my lady. You mustn’t get up. Here let us help you.”
“I need—” she croaked and swallowed painfully. “I need to use the garderobe.”
“Laird Sutherland left Violet in charge, my lady.” Suisan nattered on as she helped Violet lift Gusty’s head to give her a sip of water. “He is beyond worried about you. Even now two guards stand outside your chamber door by his command while he and his best warriors hunt down the villains who did this to you.”
As Gusty settled back on the pillows a long sigh escaped her. The harrowing experience had left her tired and weak. She lay quietly, listening to Suisan as she related everything that had happened during Gusty’s rescue, and her eyes grew heavy.
* * * * *
Gusty awoke, shivering uncontrollably.
The rustle of skirts drew her attention and she opened her eyes to find Violet sitting on the edge of the bed. With Suisan’s help, Violet lifted Gusty, bracing her back so she could painfully swallow a few sips of something nasty tasting. Violet placed her palm on Gusty’s forehead and she sighed at the coolness of her maid’s touch.
“She has a fever doesn’t she?”
Suisan’s voice seemed to fade in and out and Gusty missed some of the one-sided conversation between the two women.
* * * * *
Gusty must have fallen back asleep but when she next awoke she felt no better than she had before. The coverings on her bed were not enough to keep her warm. Her throat felt raw and she needed a drink of water. She lifted her throbbing head to glance around the chamber. The room twirled around her and she gasped and fell back against the pillows. She closed her eyes and waited for the world to settle, afraid to move again. At the sound of footsteps she opened her eyes and found Violet at the foot of the bed.
“Could I please have some water?” The words came out in a ragged whisper.
Gusty heard the clink of metal against metal. A moment later gentle hands helped her to raise her head and a cup of water was place to her lips. Gusty took several quick swallows and began to cough. Violet patted Gusty’s back until she caught her breath and then pressed her back down on the pillow and pulled the covers up to her chin. Violet shook her head.
“Where is Alexander?”
Gusty watched as Violet tried to explain with her hands. After a few moments of trying to make herself understood, Violet moved to the door and opened it. She pulled a young man into the room, pointed to Gusty and nodded.
“Where is the laird?” Gusty asked the man.
“Laird Sutherland left three days back. He went hunting, my lady.”
Gusty nodded slowly. “Thank you. You may return to your duties.”
She did not have to ask what prey Alexander sought. She had already learned that to a Highlander, the term “hunting” meant raiding. But she was certain that raiding the neighboring clan’s holdings was not what Alexander had in mind this time. Out for vengeance, he’d no doubt gone looking for the men who had kidnapped her. The knowledge worried her. If he were careless in his pursuit, he might be injured or even killed.
Why hadn’t he waited until she had awakened? That worry lay heavy on her mind as she determinedly made an effort to rise from her bed. She told herself she was not that ill. As a teenager she had survived a bout of the flu, the chicken pox and the mumps―all in a period of six weeks. She remembered missing school as her grandmother had dosed her with antibiotics and pain medication. If she could survive all those illnesses, she wasn’t about to let a little cold keep her in bed now.
With a little luck, a lot of stubbornness and a bit of help from Violet, she managed to get her feet over the side of the bed. She sat there with her eyes closed and waited for the dizziness to ease. Finally she stood up on wobbly legs, determined to get to the large chair in front of the fireplace. Her head felt woozy and she took several deep breaths to keep back the nausea that threatened her. She kept her eyes closed for several moments, praying the dizziness would pass. When she opened them she found Violet standing nearby, shaking her head and frowning ferociously as she pointed at the bed.
“I assure you, Violet, this little fever isn’t going to bring me down. I want to be up and moving when Alexander returns. I don’t want him to see me like this,” she stated firmly.
Violet raised her hands as if she intended to signal some argument but a knock sounded, interrupting their conversation. With a shake of her head Violet crossed the room to answer the door and returned a moment later bearing a supper tray. She set it on the table in front of the hearth and walked resolutely to the bed where she threw back the covers and pointed from Gusty to the bed.
“No, Violet. I am perfectly fine now. My fever is nearly gone and I will be back to my old self in no time at all. I seldom get sick but when I do, I heal very quickly. I have a great immune system.” She stopped. Violet probably didn’t understand half of what Gusty’d just said.
Violet stared and Gusty shook her head.
“Never mind. Suffice to say I’m well on my way toward making a full recovery.”
“Is that why you’re about to fall flat on your face?”
Gusty turned to see Alexander lounging against the door frame. His lips twitched as if he was fighting a smile. She gave him an exasperated look and his expression turned serious.
He approached her purposefully and she backed up a step until her knees hit the side of the bed and she abruptly sat down. Pain jolted through her head and she gasped and closed her eyes, fighting the sick feeling that threatened to lay her out flat on her back. After a moment she opened her eyes to find Alexander looming over her, his hands on either side of her hips. He leaned closer until his lips were just a breath away from hers.
“Stay in bed,” he whispered and kissed the tip of her nose.
He turned away but not before she caught sight of the wink he sent in Violet’s direction.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes, Violet. Keep her in bed. If she doesn’t stay there, tie her down.”
Insulted that they would treat her as if she was a child, Gusty snorted but immediately regretted her action as her head began pounding anew. In spite of her attempt at rebellion she was actually glad she had been forced back to bed. Her little jaunt across the room had sapped what little strength she’d had and exhaustion claimed her. Despite her insistence to the contrary, fever still ran rampant through her body. In total submission to Alexander’s command she turned onto her side, closed her eyes and nestled her throbbing head into the pillow. With a small sigh of resignation she fell into a fitful sleep.
Alexander took a quick meal in the hall and bathed. He did not bother replacing his tunic, merely wrapped his plaid about his dripping, naked body as he made his way back upstairs. With a quick nod to the two guards he entered his bedchamber and motioned for Violet to leave. He bolted the door after her and moved to stand beside the bed.
He found Gusty already asleep. Her breathing was deep and even and he hoped they had seen the worst of the illness but he still feared for her wellbeing. He had seen many a man come down with a fever after being injured in battle and once it took hold, such sickness tended to linger for days and turn life-threatening in an instant.
Alexander had wanted to get back to Gusty as fast as possible to spend the rest of the night watching over her. She looked so small and helpless in his huge bed.
She lay curled up on the far side of the mattress, facing away from him. He lifted the edge of the covering and eased in beside her, careful not to disturb her. But even in her sleep his sweet selkie seemed to sense his presence. She turned and moved to snuggle against him, shivering violently.
He pulled her up against the length of his body and wrapped her in his arms with her head cuddled on his shoulder. He covered her slender legs with his thigh and held her close. After a time the shivering ceased. Exhausted from the long hours he had spent in the saddle hunting down her abductors and lulled by the wonderful feeling of her warm, lush body in his arms, Alexander soon drifted off to sleep.<
br />
Awaking to an incredible heat, Alexander opened his eyes to a dark room. The fire had gone out, which told him the warmth he felt came from Gusty. With her face buried in the crook of his neck she had him sweating profusely. He eased her from his shoulder and she moaned. He hated to move her but he had to do something quickly to bring down her fever. She mumbled something against his skin but her words where too unintelligible to decipher.
“Gusty?”
He caressed her shoulder in an attempt to wake her but her only response was a low whimper. He eased her back onto the pillow and rose from the bed to replenish the fire in the hearth. When he had a good blaze going he went and opened the door.
“Find a servant to bring up fresh, cold water and some cloths,” he told one of the guards.
The man nodded and hastened down the corridor toward the stairs, and Alexander returned to the bed. He poured a cup of water from the pitcher on the bedside table then carefully lifted Gusty’s head and offered her a sip. She latched on to the cup and gulped greedily.
“Easy, my love. A little at a time.”
She drained the cup, sighed and went limp against his arm. Her condition was beginning to alarm him.
Moments later Violet arrived with the water and the towels. Alexander met her at the door.
“Thank you,” he said, relieving her of the items he’d sent for. “I’ll take care of her. But please come back at dawn.”
He closed the door and carried the water to the table by the bed. He filled the washbowl, set it on the floor next to him then maneuvered Gusty to the side of the bed and eased her onto her back. She began to mumble and he paused to listen but could make out only part of what she was saying. Shaking his head at her delirious state, he dipped the cloth into the cool water and wiped the wet rag over her burning face. She moaned and turned her head toward his touch, obviously seeking relief.
He dipped the cloth into the bowl again and wrung it out then wiped it over the side of her neck and down over her chest. A gasp of outrage followed the action and she came up off the bed as if prepared to do battle. She apparently did not appreciate the coldness of the cloth against her hot skin. No doubt the extreme difference in temperature shocked and hurt her.
“Easy, Augusta! Easy, love! I have to get your fever down. And this is the only way.”
He pressed her back onto the bed and held her down with his upper body as she fought him. One fist hit him in the neck with such force if she’d connected with his eye, she would have blackened it. Her tormented cries as she lay beneath him had him cringing in remorse but she fought him as if she were a little wildcat and he could not let her go.
“Hush, Gusty! Hush, now!” He whispered against her brow.
Then as fast as she’d started she quit fighting him and he raised himself cautiously. Gusty lay quiet, looking up at him with an expression of recognition in her beautiful golden eyes.
“Everything is fine, my little selkie. I am here to take care of you. You have nothing to fear ever again.” He smiled at her and continued to wipe the cool, wet cloth down over her arms.
After a moment she muttered something under her breath that sounded like a nasty insult to his manhood but he smiled and ignored her. He dipped the cloth into the basin and twisted it before applying it to her chest, wiping down over her beautiful, full breasts. Her nipples pebbled at his touch and he felt an answering arousal between his thighs. Just the sight of her nakedness was enough to have him hard and ready. Alexander reminded himself she would not be recovered enough to satisfy his lustful needs for some time.
“No, Michael. I don’t want you to cut my hair,” Gusty said, her voice loud and clear. “Granny will be angry… I know it takes forever to comb… Maybe just a little bit… Be careful… I know it’s just a small knife but it is Granny’s favorite. She doesn’t want us handling it.”
Alexander stared at her face for a full minute before he realized Gusty was delirious from her fever. He listened intently to what she had to say. As he wiped her down she continued to entertain him with her one-sided conversation.
“I am sorry, Granny. It was his idea. I tried to stop him but he promised to teach me to ride my bike if I let him. Michael, you brat, look what you did. My hair is so short and it is all crooked. Yes, Granny, spank him—he made me cry.”
As far as Alexander could make out, the lad had proceeded to chop off her hair until it was extremely short.
Alexander could not imagine what she would have looked like with shorn locks. He loved her dark mane of curling hair. It was long and silky and when he thrust his fingers into the thick mass he had visions of burying himself in it. It was long enough that he could have easily wrapped it around his body and held her captive as he buried his cock between her slender white thighs. God he needed to keep his mind on his task! He had more important things to worry about than lustful fantasies.
“Michael, look what you did to my hair!”
Alexander grinned despite Gusty’s obvious anger. This Michael of hers—whoever he was—reminded Alexander of Duncan. A mischievous imp. But not even Duncan would dare to do something as egregious as chopping off Gusty’s glorious locks with a blade.
Unimaginable, Alexander thought, lifting a strand of her silky hair. But what if…? His hand froze in midair and a sick feeling settled in his gut. What if he could not bring her fever down? It was a common practice to cut the hair short to cool the body. His hand shook as he thought of having to take his dagger and cut her lovely mane himself.
“Laird?”
Alexander froze at the address. He stared down at the woman in his bed and the image of another came to his mind, superimposed over that of his wife. His selkie…his childhood friend, his long-lost little selkie… Augusta Sinclair, the wee lass from his past, his first true love.
“Laird?”
The longing in her childish voice nearly broke his heart.
“Aye, my little selkie?”
“You will come for me, won’t you? You promise?”
A lump formed in Alexander’s throat at the pleading, preventing him from answering immediately.
“Aye, Gusty. I promise to come for you,” he finally said, his voice gruff.
“And we will be together for always?”
“From now into eternity.”
The beautiful smile she gave him and the deep sigh of contentment was almost his undoing.
“God above!”
Over the years Alexander had not allowed himself to think about the wee lass on the beach until he found Gusty lost in the woods several months ago and again on the beach when he had tricked her into their handfasting. All those years ago a broken promise had shattered his youthful heart. But now he understood. Malcolm Sinclair had hidden away his bastard child to keep her from harm and when that danger had come too near he had moved her to a new hiding place. Alexander understood the measures to which a father would go to protect his child. He had his own brother’s child in his care now.
Alexander listened to Gusty’s ramblings for some time but he had trouble understanding her as she kept switching from Gaelic to a dialect of English he could only assume was used far to the south in the Isles. He wondered idly as he stroked her smooth white skin if that was where Maeve and Hagen had hidden her for all those years. It would explain much about her. Like her odd accent and some of the peculiar things she sometimes said.
He dropped the cloth back into the water and placed the bowl aside. Grasping her by the hips and shoulders, he eased her over onto her stomach and then began the procedure again. As he gazed down at her slender body he realized just how much he had come to care for his new wife.
His wife!
Truly he thought of Gusty as such no matter they were not wed yet. He considered her his true lifetime mate, his wife, his little selkie. His deep feelings for her astounded him, considering the short time they’d been together, but he found he looked forward to all the years they had ahead of them and the children they would have together. His h
and stilled. Did he love her?
With typical adolescent ardor he had loved the wee lass she had been, his childhood friend from the beach. Now that youthful sentiment had blossomed into a man’s passion for the woman he loved.
Alexander stared down at his hands and noticed they were shaking. Quickly he continued to wipe the wet cloth over her back and hips and buttocks. The thought of having children had him looking at her delicately flared hips with a critical eye. He placed his hands over them to measure their width. Was she capable of having his babe? She seemed so small and fragile and he was so large. He shook his head in wonder that someday his child would grow within her womb. The idea pleased him. He would enjoy being a father. His thoughts wandered as he smoothed the cool, soothing cloth over her hot skin. He listened with only half an ear to her periodic ramblings, focusing instead on his future with Gusty. When he had wiped down the length of her body completely he turned her onto her back again and pulled up the covers, tucking them under her chin.
Placing a hand on her forehead, Alexander smiled, pleased to find her skin somewhat cooler to the touch. He took the bowl and moved to put it back on the washstand but Gusty murmured a few words under her breath, her tone of voice stopping him in his tracks. What had she said? He turned and walked back to the bed. At first he thought she had awakened and was talking to him but then he realized she was still talking in her sleep.
“I’ve had the dream again,” she began then paused as if waiting for a response.
Alexander made a noncommittal noise, which seemed to satisfy her, for she went on.
“About him… I could see him clearly this time. He was so very handsome, ruggedly so, not some pretty-boy like those movie-star types. His hair was long and dark, the color of a raven’s wing…and his eyes! My knees go weak when I think of the way he looked at me. His eyes are the most striking silver but warm, not cold like metal. No, they are full of fire and life.”
Again she paused. Alexander had listened in amazement as she described him but who was she talking to? And when had she dreamed about him?
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