An Outcast's Wish (Highland Heartbeats Book 3)

by Aileen Adams

  He didn’t think she posed a danger to the Duncans, at least not by herself.

  Maybe he would never learn what she had been doing out there. Maybe she would never regain her memory. For now, her care was up to Sarah and Heather. What ultimately happened to the girl would be Phillip’s concern, not his.

  Brushing away his misgivings, he turned toward the small room off the great hall that Phillip often used to take care of business needs. He found Phillip sitting behind a small desk, leaning back, eyes closed.

  “You’ve been looking for me?”

  Phillip opened his eyes and straightened, gesturing for Maccay to enter the small room. “Close the door.”

  Maccay did so, observing Phillip’s demeanor. He appeared agitated, plucking at his bottom lip, eyebrows lowered over bloodshot eyes. “You’re worried about something,” he said. “What is it?”

  “Just thinking about the meeting Jake is arranging with the Orkneys.” He shook his head and sighed. “Ceana stirred up trouble, and it’s time to smooth ruffled feathers.”

  “She could be dead.” The look Phillip darted toward him prompted him to regret his rash comment.

  “I’ll believe that when I see her body, and not before.”

  Maccay frowned. It was no secret that Phillip wanted his revenge against the former healer. Understandable, considering the fact that she had tried to kill his brother twice, and Phillip’s wife, not to mention what she could’ve done to Heather months ago.

  Over the passing days and weeks since their last interaction with Ceana, he had noticed that Phillip seemed so focused on finding and punishing her that it bordered on obsession.

  “I doubt that neither the Orkney nor the McGregor clans will have anything more to do with her now that they know what she’s done. She’s pretty much on her own. She may have moved on toward the lowlands, or maybe even the coast.”

  Phillip grunted. “She may have disappeared for a while, but I doubt that she’ll put her own warped sense of revenge behind her for long.” He shook his head, staring down at the parchment in front of him. “Something’s happened to her, something that turned her into such a hateful, vengeful creature.”

  “I agree,” Maccay said softly. “Just don’t let the same affect you.” He wasn’t prepared for the look Phillip gave him and sought to allay the reaction. “You’re not the only one that has noticed your feelings on this matter,” he quickly continued. “I’m not trying to overstep here, Phillip, but I do know what happens when intense anger and a thirst for revenge snares a person.”

  Of course, Maccay was referring to the increased animosity between his own parents, each trying to outdo the other when it came to spiteful actions and behaviors. “We may never see sight of her again. Right this very moment, her bones may be lying in the forest, ravaged by wild animals. You may never know what became of her.”

  Phillip sighed again. “I appreciate your concern, Maccay, but in this instance, it is not necessary.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What of the girl upstairs?”

  It was Maccay’s turn to sigh. “No memory of what she was doing in those woods, at least not yet. Hugh and I found her campsite. It looks like she’d been out there for at least a few days, probably longer. She had the presence of mind to set some rabbit snares, and judging by the ashes in the fire and the bones scattered nearby, she was successful in her endeavors.”

  Phillip contemplated that for several moments, and then shrugged. “Maybe she’s been living in the forest for a long time.”

  “Perhaps.” It was possible. “Anyway, Sarah told me that you needed to talk to me.”

  “I’ll be leaving in the next couple of days for the meeting with the Laird of the Orkney clan. While I’m gone, I want you to stay close to the manor. Watch over Sarah and Heather.”

  “Of course,” Maccay said, though disappointed. He thought he would be accompanying Phillip to the meeting between the clans. “I—”

  “I mean carefully, Maccay,” Phillip said, rising. He scowled down at the parchment and then returned his gaze to Maccay. “I want you to remain close by their sides. They don’t leave the manor house without your escort. They don’t do anything without your knowledge.”

  “Neither of them are going to like that. Just how do you expect me to—”

  “I will talk to both of them. They will obey me… and you.”

  Maccay frowned. “Are you expecting trouble?”

  “I always expect trouble,” he said. “Whether it comes from Ceana, the Orkneys, or the McGregors, I strive to never underestimate their shenanigans. Until this situation with Ceana is resolved, and until the Orkneys and I have renewed our tentative truce, I want the women protected.” He moved to the door. “We’ll see how the meeting goes with the Orkneys. Then it will be time to deal with the McGregors. After Jake killed one of them and wounded Clyde…” he sighed. “What a muddled mess this has become.”

  “Well of course, I’ll watch after Sarah and Heather, but Phillip—”

  “There’s something else, but I don’t want either Sarah or Heather to know about it.”

  Maccay nodded. Now what?

  “I’ve heard a rumor that Sarah and Heather’s stepfather has learned they’re here.”

  Maccay lifted an eyebrow in surprise.

  It’d been a long time since Phillip had traveled down to the coast and kidnapped Sarah to help his brother Jake. Several more months before Phillip and Sarah had both journeyed south again, to take Heather away from her untenable situation.

  Their stepfather, Patrick MacDonald, was a good for nothing, abusive drunkard. While he didn’t know much about their former situation, Maccay did know that the man had treated his stepdaughters horribly.

  Maccay frowned. “You don’t think he intends to come after them, do you?”

  “I don’t know,” Phillip said. “But I would rather err on the side of caution than to assume otherwise. Why he would want them back, I have no idea, because from what Sarah told me, he didn’t seem to have any affection whatsoever for either one of them after their mother died.”

  Maccay thought about it.

  It was doubtful that their stepfather would venture this far north for his grown stepdaughters after all this time.

  Didn’t Phillip have enough to worry about between the disruption of the tentative truce between the McGregor and Orkney clans, and dealing with Ceana? Now he also worried about Patrick MacDonald?

  He wondered if it was because Phillip’s wife was with child, soon to bear his son or daughter. Is this what love did to a man? Turn him into nervous knots of anxiety and worry?

  While Maccay could certainly understand a man’s desire to keep his wife and family safe, he hoped that Phillip—

  “You’re the only one that I can completely trust keep them safe, Maccay. Hugh will be accompanying me to the meeting. After contacting the Orkneys, Jake will continue on to check the northern boundaries. I will not take chances with their safety. You understand?” Phillip turned to glance at him over his shoulder as he reached for the door latch.

  “Of course,” Maccay said. Though disappointed he wouldn’t be accompanying Phillip after all, he felt honored that Phillip placed such great faith in him to entrust the safety of his wife and his sister-in-law to his care. He would do anything and everything he could to make sure that that faith was justified.

  * * *

  “Most you follow me everywhere?”

  The question came from Heather, glancing over her shoulder at him with a scowl.

  Maccay grinned at her.

  Over the past couple of days, he had taken Phillip’s concerns seriously and had done exactly as he’d ordered.

  The first day after Phillip left for the meeting with the Orkney laird, it’d been quite a challenge to keep up with either Sarah or her younger sister.

  Neither of them ever seemed to stop moving.

  While Sarah simply ignored him for the most part, Heather was quite vocal about her displeasure at the way he followe
d practically on her heels everywhere she went.

  If either of them so much as left the manor house, he was right behind them. He had followed Heather to her meadow only this morning, only to be soundly scolded.

  Why was he following the two of them? She demanded to know, time after time, repeating the same question.

  For some perverse reason, Maccay had always enjoyed teasing Heather. She was a bit more volatile than her sister, who tended to merely stare him with an implacable expression when he annoyed her. But Heather? No. Actually, he enjoyed getting a rise out of her.

  “Because Phillip ordered me to.”

  “I gathered that,” she snapped. “But why?”

  He merely grinned and continue to follow the two of them around, so much so that even Sarah was beginning to grow impatient with him.

  That thought elicited yet another grin.

  Despite the fact that Phillip had left him behind, he was quite enjoying himself.

  Maccay didn’t underestimate Sarah either, despite the fact that she was soon to become a mother. When she set her mind to it, she was even more stubborn, tenacious, and fierce than her sister. Marriage to Phillip had mellowed her temper somewhat, but when riled, she was a force to be reckoned with.

  He remembered the day that he, Hugh, and Phillip had first accosted her at the edge of the woods down by the coast. Fists flying, feet and legs kicking. In his mind, they weren’t so much kidnapping her as “borrowing” her for the sake of Phillip’s brother. She had fought them like a wild animal, kept them all on their toes for quite some time afterward.

  Looking at her now, in love with Phillip, carrying his child, soon to become a mother, she had mellowed. So had Heather after she married Jake, to an extent.

  Marriage suited them both. Which once again had him contemplating his own state of… aloneness. And immediately on the heels of that thought came the image of Alis hunched down in the wooden tub, pale knees jutting upward, her long, auburn hair cloaking her face, those thin, bony white shoulder, and her delicate arms wrapped around her knees.

  A brief surge of desire swept through him at the image, but his attraction to her was more than physical. He still couldn’t figure out why he was so curious about their temporary houseguest.

  She grew stronger every day. When she recovered her physical strength, what then? Where would she go? Who would take care of her? Would she return to the woods? Was someone looking for her?

  Until they learned more about her identity, there was no way to know. Until they did—he was jarred from his wayward thoughts when he suddenly walked straight into Heather, nearly knocking her off balance. He quickly reached out his arms to steady her.

  “Maccay!” She turned to face him, arms akimbo. “What has gotten into you?”

  He certainly couldn’t tell her the real reason, so he played dumb. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s bad enough that you follow Sarah and me everywhere we go, every time we so much as step outside of the house. But if you’re going to follow me to the village, I would appreciate it if you would pay attention!” She shook her head. “I asked you if you knew the blacksmith’s son.”

  He frowned. “Of course I do. I know everyone in the village. Why?”

  “Because he often travels to the outlying villages. I thought I would ask him to come by the manor house tomorrow, take a peek at Alis, and see if he recognizes her. Maybe he knows where she’s from.”

  It was a good idea. He was disappointed that he hadn’t thought of it.

  “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “Do you know where the blacksmith and his son live?”

  “Of course I do. Don’t you?”

  She heaved a put-upon sigh and rolled her eyes upward, as if striving for patience. “If I knew, Maccay, I wouldn’t be asking you, would I?”

  He grinned. “Maybe, maybe not. Maybe you’re trying my patience on purpose.” He barely held back his laugh as her face reddened with emotion.

  “I’m trying your patience?”

  “They live in a hut at the edge of the woods, not far from the smithy.”

  She scowled and moved off in a huff, and he following, deciding he wouldn’t torment her any longer, at least for a little while. The smithy was quiet, and when they knocked on the small, thatched house a short distance away, there was no answer. She frowned.

  “Where could they be?”

  “Probably at one of the outlying farms, fixing a plow or taking care of horses. That’s what they do, you know.”

  Another heavy sigh from Heather before she abruptly turned around and headed back for the manor house, mumbling under her breath as Maccay followed, highly amused.

  When they returned, Sarah waited at the door. She took one look at Heather’s scowl and then turned to Maccay, arms crossed over her chest, eyebrow lifted. Is that the look she gave Phillip when he annoyed her?

  “What?”

  “I’ll need some help with Alis.”

  “Why, what’s the matter with her?” He frowned. Had she taken a turn for the worse?

  “Heather and I are going up onto the ridge to gather some herbs. I convinced Alis to come outside, get some fresh air and feel some sun on her face. It would do her spirit wonders.”

  “And?”

  “And, she’s too weak to trek up the side of the hill. I need you to carry her.”

  “You what?” Maccay took a step back, frowning.

  Now this was going too far. It was one thing to be asked to watch over Heather and Sarah. He had no problem with that. But why did he have to—

  “Come along,” Sarah said, brooking no refusal as she turned into the house. “I convinced her to do it and if we wait much longer, she’s apt to change her mind.”

  Maccay couldn’t help it. “Maybe she won’t remember that she agreed to go.” His statement brought scowling looks from both of the sisters. Once again, he bit back a laugh.

  6

  Alis tried not to stare at Maccay’s jaw as he held her in his arms, following Sarah and Heather up the steep hillside a short distance behind the manor house.

  She tried, but wasn’t altogether successful. Up close, Alis could see every whisker on his chin, count every last line around the corner of his eye, watch the pulse throbbing in his neck. From exertion? She didn’t weigh that much. No, not fatigue. He didn’t even breath heavily. He was very strong.

  It felt nice, to be cradled in someone’s arms like this. She didn’t think she ever had been. If she had, wouldn’t she remember? The feelings that hard, bulging biceps would leave on her skin, the way he tucked her close against his chest, the sound of his breath as he strode upward?

  She noted how focused his gaze was as he studied the terrain prior to every step. Then again, was it really superior focus or merely the fact that he didn’t want to look at her?

  Did she care?

  Her left arm wrapped around his neck and her palm resting against his upper shoulder allowed her to feel every play of muscle, every twitch and flex as he strode upward. The fingers of her right hand instinctively clutched at the leather lacings of the tunic covering his chest. They were loose, allowing her an occasional glimpse of bare chest.

  She had hesitated when Sarah beckoned her to come outside with them, but now she was glad she had acquiesced. She sighed and tried to distract herself from thinking about Maccay and his muscles.

  She didn’t know why exactly, but something disturbed her, prompting her to remember… something niggling at her brain. She had felt it last night too, lying in bed before she dropped off to sleep. It was something important, wasn’t it? Else why keep returning? She didn’t know what it was.

  She had been found in the woods for a reason. She glanced again at Maccay, the way his jaw set just so, and then he heaved a short sigh and glanced down at her.

  Their eyes locked.

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  “Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have horns growing out of my head or boils on my fa
ce?”

  His question startled her, so much so that she automatically leaned back, which in turn prompted him to tighten his grip around her torso.

  “Stop squirming or you’re likely to send both of us sprawling down the hillside. Is that what you want?”

  The words were spoken softly and not with anger. Indeed, the corner of his lip twitched upward and for the first time, she saw the beginning of a dimple.

  She felt the heat of a flush rise in her cheeks. Again. What was the matter with her? Why did she always feel so… so disconcerted in his presence? Because he had rescued her? Brought her out of the woods so that Sarah and Heather could care for her? She frowned. If he hadn’t come in after her, she wouldn’t have needed…

  “What?” She muttered under her breath.

  “What’s the matter?”

  She glanced again at Maccay. “This is so very frustrating.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “What is? You don’t want to be with the sisters?” He gestured up the hill. “It’s nice up there. This time of day there will be lots of sunshine. It will do you good, put some color in those pale cheeks of yours.”

  “No, not that,” she replied softly. “This inability to remember.” She gazed ahead and watched as the sisters topped the rise, then both turned to wait for Maccay and his passenger.

  “Give it time,” he said. “Sarah is the best healer in the country—”

  “You mean the county?”

  “No, Alis, I mean the country. Her reputation as a healer has traveled far and wide. We heard of her skills way up here in the highlands and she lived in the lowlands, down by the coast in Kirkcaldy.”

  Alis wondered how such a thing could happen, and even more so about what had happened to bring Sarah and her sister up here to the highlands. Highland clans tended to be isolated and somewhat judgmental of others especially lowlanders. The thought gave her pause. How did she know that?

  “Maccay, do you need any help?”

  The question came from Heather, who stood, hands on her hips, waiting impatiently.