“Lie down,” he commanded, his voice full of concern. He leaned her back to the ground. Without asking, he pulled up her shirt and examined her side.
Andra could barely catch her breath and it was not due to the injury. His rough hands sparked tiny pinpoints of fire where he touched and probed. She wanted those fingers probing elsewhere and could not get a coherent word past her lips.
“You’ve reinjured your ribs, and mayhap cracked a few. We best bind you to prevent further injury.” He helped remove her shirt and said not a word about the pink, satin bra but he took a long moment to slide his gaze over her breasts and she noticed his kilt tent between his legs. He positioned his back to shield her from the men and bound her ribs in strips of linen torn from his own shirt. Then he helped her don her last clean, dry shirt. “Do ye think ye can ride, lass?”
“Yes,” she replied, sounding more certain than she felt. If he kept this up, he’d not have a strip of linen remaining on his shirt. The heat from his hands at her waist made her ache for him, and his deep, blue eyes seared her. If she gazed into those liquid pools, he would see her unfettered desire.
She averted her face and dipped her head to the side, “Thank you, Kendrick. I think I’ll manage well enough. Could you bring my cape, please?” He rose swiftly and walked away, taking the heat of the world with him.
* * *
If his men and the children were not waiting for them, he would have taken her right there, wet and aching. He would have claimed her as his own and plunged his burgeoning member deep into her heat. He needed to rein in his emotions before this rampant desire caused him to do something he might regret. That first encounter was one thing, a bit of battle lust on both of them, but he still knew nothing about the woman.
Kendrick fussed with his horse taking a moment to allow his arousal to abate. When he returned to Andra, he lifted her off the grass and set her back on his horse. When he tied her boots to the saddle, he again took note of their quality.
“These boots are verra fine and the precise stitching and material of the soles is not like any I’ve seen before.” He waited for her to say something, but her focus was on some distant place. She always avoided talking when he commented on her clothing or the jewelry she wore. Why would she not trust him just a wee bit—tell him something, anything meaningful to dispel his doubts?
In a short while, the river fanned out and split around a small island. The current had slowed to a gentle meandering making it an easy place to cross the horses.
Andra, nestled against his chest, glanced around. “This is a beautiful glen, the faded heather and clumps of golden-amber grass sway like gentle waves on a sighing sea,” she said.
Kendrick joined her perusal of his land. “Aye, we are on MacLean lands now. ‘Tis the most beautiful spot in all the Highlands.” He didn’t bother to suppress his pride. The closer he drew to his home, the more he could feel the stress from the last days slip away.
Andra started to shiver. “Are ye cold, Andra?”
“I’m fine,” but her jaw clenched in an effort to keep her teeth from chattering. “How much farther before we reach your castle?”
“Not far, we’ll be there in a few hours.” Kendrick pulled his plaid around her shoulders.
“Mmmm, you are so warm.” She snuggled against him and a surge of possessiveness swelled in his chest. Sleep finally dragged her under its forgiving veil, and she relaxed into his embrace.
Looking down at her plump mouth slightly parted as a light snore escaped her throat; he felt an urgent need to shelter and comfort her. He found her beauty beguiling, evident even while covered in dirt and debris; but her gentle and fierce protection of the children held him in thrall. Her willingness to face difficulties with strength and offer help to strangers at her own peril surprised him. Something in his chest thrummed and kicked. “Mine,” his mind shouted.
After a while, Lorne pulled beside his brother and spoke in a quiet voice. “Almost home, brother. It looks like fatigue has finally claimed the lass. What do ye plan to tell our parents and the clan about her? The clan’s not likely to welcome a Cameron, you ken.”
“I have sworn my protection. That will be enough for anyone to ken for now. I’ll discuss things with Da and Mother. Mayhap they’ve heard of her father or kin.” Kendrick changed the subject, “How do you feel brother? You’ve said little on the ride.”
“I’ve been worse. Those tablets Andra gives me help considerably. I’m certain I could not have made it without them. I thank you brother for allowing her ministrations. Perhaps the fairy folk dropped her in our midst to aid with my recovery. She’s a fine, bonny lass, and if I weren’t betrothed, you’d have a fight for her affections.”
Kendrick clicked his tongue, “Och, what affections do you speak aboot, you daft fool. Aye, she is bonny enough, but you well ken I’m not looking for an attachment. Besides, you’ll have your hands full with your own sweet Edana. Need I remind you she anxiously awaits your return? One lovely lass should be enough to keep you quite busy.”
Lorne laughed at his brother. “Your discomfort speaks louder than words, brother. I haven’t seen a woman penetrate your cool reserve in a long time. Don’t bother to deny that you’ve already formed an attachment to her.”
Kendrick cast him a stern look but didn’t argue the point.
During the last hours of their ride, a crash of thunder rumbled overhead and lighting opened the night sky. By the time they finally crossed the drawbridge and entered the lower bailey, it was already full dark and the weary travelers were drenched.
John had ridden ahead and advised Lady Beatrice of her family’s approach. She stood regally at the keep’s entrance beside her exuberant daughter, Isabel. Several stable lads grabbed the horses’ reins as the men and their passengers dismounted and climbed the steps to the keep.
When Kendrick tried to wake Andra, she moaned but did not open her eyes. As he wiped the hair from her face, panic gripped him.
“Rabbie, let me hand Andra to you, she’s burning with fever.” People died every day of slight fevers and she had been through one shocking trial after another since they had first found her.
He jumped from his horse and took her back into his arms taking the steps to the keep two at a time. He kissed his mother’s cheek in greeting still clutching Andra tight to his chest. “Could you send the healer to my chambers immediately? The lass burns with fever.”
Despite the late hour, the keep buzzed with activity. His mother issued orders to her maids and told Isabel to return to her own chambers. “I’ll not have you felled by fever as well, child.”
“Oh, must I, mother? I could help Kendrick.”
“Absolutely not! We’ll let Jane tend her. Ye may visit her when she recovers and her sickness poses no danger to you. Take the children from Rabbie and get them settled in the nursery.”
Isabel relented and directed her attention to Rabbie. Glancing at him from beneath fluttering lashes, she asked, “And who is this charming lad and lass?”
Chapter Fifteen
The following day Kendrick and Lorne went to their father’s chamber. It was difficult to see him in his reduced state. His once muscular frame had withered to flaccid skin and bones, and his coloring had sallowed.
“So, I hear you’ve brought a Cameron into the keep. Do you plan to ransom the lass if she recovers?”
“Nae,” The brothers answered in unison. Kendrick took over. “It seems she has no memory of her kith and ken in Scotland though she remembers her parents. Her da took her from Scotland as a wee bairn. After her mother’s death, she traveled with him until his recent death left her with no remaining kin. There is much aboot her we dinnae understand. However, she was verra instrumental in Lorne’s recovery from his injuries and took care of the bairns. I couldn’t justify leaving a wounded, disoriented woman alone in the wilderness.”
“I see, ‘twould be wrong, of course. Have you learned of the bairns’ family?” his father asked.
“A
ye, as best we could determine, they’re all dead. The lad says there are no other kin and the girl never speaks. Rabbie believes they are distantly related to the Dunbar’s so mayhap Alith kens of them.”
“De you think Andra’s connected to Cormag Cameron and his band of rogues and thieves? You cannae be too careful when it comes to them, you ken. Dinnae trust the lass.” Monroe started to cough harshly into a square of linen he held in his hand. The cloth came away covered with blood.
Monroe looked at the cloth with disgust. “‘Twon’t be long before I meet my maker. I am proud of you sons and ken you’ll take care of the clan well when I’m gone. I had hoped, however, to see you married before I depart these earthly realms, Kendrick.” He coughed again.
“You must decide on a bride who will benefit the clan and give you heirs. Find a strong, capable wife of breeding age that will bring men and arms to us. You have left this too long, son.” He started coughing and struggled mightily to regain his breath.
“Dinnae fash yourself, Father. I fully accept my responsibilities to the clan and won’t fail you.” His thoughts flashed on Andra. It shocked him to realize he wanted her by his side. Unfortunately, there was no sense broaching that impossibility.
* * *
Since their return to Ruadhstone castle, Andra’s fever continued to rage. She didn’t regain consciousness, but thrashed about in her bed, then fell silent for hours with almost no movement. She moaned and called out words no one understood. Her chest wheezed despite all efforts by the healer to calm her breathing. Even though the demands of the keep and clan business kept Kendrick busy, he checked on Andra’s progress as often as possible and sat by her bed late into the night.
Climbing the stairs to the tower early on the third day, he came upon Lorne and Rabbie talking quietly in one of the alcoves cut into the wall between floors.
“What’s amiss? Is it Andra?” He could tell by the frowns creasing their brows that the news wouldn’t be good. His mind and gut twisted at the thought she might not survive.
“We grow concerned about Andra’s condition.” Rabbie explained, staring through an arrow slit to the bailey below. “Lorne and I were discussing the possibility of finding Andra’s wee tablets and administering them to her. They appeared to be of great help with Lorne’s recovery. Or mayhap one of us should try her method of warming a fevered body to reduce the shakes that wrack her.”
As usual, Rabbie attempted to add levity to the situation, but Kendrick’s thoughts immediately turned to their first night when they had climbed under the coverings, one on either side of Lorne. The sudden desire to cradle her heated flesh in his arms surprised him.
“Damn, I should have thought of the tablets before.” He pierced his men with a stern stare. “And no one will be climbing into bed with Andra,” he said, biting off the words with more agitation than he intended. “No, ‘twould be most improper and would give mother an apoplexy if she found us thusly.”
Incredulous at their suggestion, he paused, rounding on them with a scowl. “You dinnae speak to Mother about that night did you? You ken if anyone learned of that, well—it wouldn’t be acceptable. Not to mention the problems it might create with Edana and The Keith.”
Should any one of the men disclose the events of that night, there would be consequences he didn’t want to consider. And he definitely did not want the impropriety of that night to suggest an attachment between her and Lorne. Though he could not explain why, he did not want others to deem Andra a loose or wanton woman. Until he had a better understanding of her history, he needed to quell the gossip, or at least not add to what had already spread through the keep.
“Nae, of course not.” the men exclaimed in unison.
Lorne continued. “We’ll find her tablets in a wee container in her bag which is in the armoire. If you send the maid out for a while we could find them easily enough.”
“I will handle this. You need to get on with your business before we draw unwanted attention.”
His chambers were stifling hot. A fire roared in the hearth, someone had shuttered the windows and tightly closed the drapes blocking any light or breeze from invading the room.
“How fares the lass?” he asked the maid, Vera. His mother had placed her in charge of sitting with Andra when the healer was not present. He had enjoyed Vera’s favors on a few occasions, but their dalliance had ended more than a year ago. She was a devious and untrustworthy chit, one he wished he’d never bedded. Now, he avoided her whenever possible. She batted her eyes coyly and sidled up to him in a suggestive manner. It didn’t sit well with him that she watched over Andra. “Leave us,” he commanded with a scowl. She hesitated for a brief moment, then huffed out the door.
He searched Andra’s satchel, feeling as though he invaded her privacy. A foolish thought since he had the right to examine anything she brought into his home. Inside her bag, he found neatly folded items of clothing and several containers including one made of a clear, shiny material with a strange closure on it. Inside it, he found a number of items he could not identify and set them aside to examine more closely at another time. He also found two bottles made of a hard, white material with something printed on the surface and a pliable tube, which he recognized as the source of the ointment she had applied to Lorne’s injuries and to her own. These things made the mystery of her presence even more perplexing.
A brusque knock sounded before the door opened and closed quickly behind his brother. “Have you found the tablets?” Lorne noticed the bottles inside the clear container and said, “Aye, those are the ones. I watched her closely when she opened her bag to extract them for me.”
Kendrick pulled on the metal tab at the end of the clear package and found it opened along a set of rigid cog-like metal teeth. He pulled the tab back and forth a few times. “Quite an ingenious device and this is verra strange material,” he said, rubbing his thumb across the plastic case. After pulling out the bottles, he handed the package to Lorne to examine.
Affixed to the outer part of the bottles were paper coverings, one red, and one blue with large printed names he didn’t recognize. The sides of the bottle had lettering so small he could barely read it. He couldn’t imagine a printing press or personal hand that could produce such perfect, tiny lettering. After reading the label, he decided on the blue one, though both seemed to address the same ailments. He fidgeted with the bottles for a few minutes, then pulled out his dirk to cut through the hard surface.
Lorne reached to halt Kendrick’s assault on the bottles. “Nae, brother, she twisted the tops off in some manner.”
Kendrick saw that there were two spots on the cap. When pressed, he found the top unscrewed with little effort. He lifted Andra, dropped the tablets down her throat, and held a cup to her lips. “Swallow these wee tablets, Andra.” He pressed his hand to her forehead, which burned like the fires of hell. “Come back to me mo leannán.”
Lorne clicked his tongue. “So, you call her sweetheart, now? You best take care who hears you blathering sweet words in her ear, brother mine.” But Lorne was all smiles. It seemed they’d all come under her spell during their time together.
He returned to examining the other items in the bag. “What do you think all these things are?” He pulled out a package that smelled like mint. There was a small, pale blue round disk. When he dropped it on the floor, it popped open.
“Damn, I’ve broken it.” Lorne moaned.
“What is it?”
Lorne handed him the most astonishingly clear, miniature-looking glass, now marred by a crack through the center. “Put the things away for now, we can examine them another time. I’ll stay with Andra for a bit.”
“The bottle says to give her two tablets every 4 to 6 hours, but it also has a lot of warnings. Do you think they could harm her?”
“She gave these to you regularly and took them herself when we were in the cave and on the way home. You seem to have survived without ill effects. At this point I think we should try everything at our
disposal.”
Once Lorne left, Kendrick removed his shirt, slipped behind Andra, pressed her body tightly against his, and pulled the blankets up to her chin. He leaned back against the headboard an ache filling his chest; feelings he had denied himself for a long time crept through to his core, and he couldn’t stop them if he tried. Yet try he would.
Andra thrashed about calling out to her da and someone named Daniel. Tears would spill down her cheeks and then she would slip into a sleep so deep he feared she’d never wake. He wondered if the other name was that of her husband or lover. The thought of her in someone else’s arms clawed under his skin, an itch he wanted to scratch at until he drew blood.
Chapter Sixteen
When Jane, the healer, came to check her patient, Kendrick had just administered the third dose of Andra’s tablets and wiped her brow with a cool cloth.
“I brought some willow bark tea and broth if she can swallow a wee bit,” Jane offered. “Why don’t you break your fast and get some fresh air m’laird?” Jane had been with their family for many years and had replaced Alith, the woman who’d been healer since his grandmother’s time. Ancient and beyond the ability to continue the rigorous demands placed on a healer of a large clan, Alith still assisted gathering and preparing herbals and medicines. Everyone called her Auntie or Lady Alith.
Kendrick went to the outer bailey and took up his sword to practice with Rabbie.
“Any change yet?” Rabbie asked, taking a swipe at Kendrick.
“Nae,” Kendrick blocked and thrust with such force he almost knocked Rabbie off balance.
“I ken you want to vent your frustrations. Well then, let’s see what you have, cousin.”
Rabbie would accommodate his need to release the tension that spooled off him like a tightly coiled whip. They began a fierce practice battle that demanded all their strength, skill, and focus.
Finding My Highlander Page 11