A Healer for the Highlander

by TERRI BRISBIN

  Lost in thoughts of leaving and losing everything here that she’d begun, the clatter outside grew louder before she took notice. Yelling, horses stomping, and then loud footsteps had her pulling the door open just as Parlan reached it.

  ‘Parlan? What is it?’ Anna said.

  She barely stepped out of his way as the large man came running at her, his arms full of a blanketed bundle. She could see only hands and feet sticking out as he pushed his way past her and ran for one of the bedchambers.

  Only when he laid the bundle down on one of the pallets did she understand that it was a boy. An unconscious boy. Parlan tugged the blankets free and stood away.

  ‘Davidh said to bring him to you and you would save him.’

  Dear God in Heaven! It was Colm. He looked a ghastly grey shade and she was not certain he yet breathed. She reached over and pinched his leg sharply to elicit a response. She cried out as he gasped slightly at the pain of it.

  ‘He is alive,’ she said. Leaning down, she placed her hand on his chest and listened close by his mouth. ‘Barely breathing,’ she said. Touching his face and neck, she found his skin cool and damp. ‘No fever.’ Pulling her attention away from the sick child, she looked to Parlan. ‘Iain? Did you find my son?’

  ‘Nay, only Colm. But Davidh is yet tracking them,’ he said. ‘He will find him, Anna.’

  She tried to believe Parlan’s words and to keep the terrible fear in her heart at bay. The only thing she could do right now was see to Colm and pray to God that both lads would survive. Apparently, the clamour of Parlan’s arrival had drawn Suisan’s attention and she pushed her way into the bedchamber and knelt down at Anna’s side.

  ‘What can we do? What do ye need, lass?’

  Anna called out orders—heat the water, find this herb and that, pour this, blend that—and they were done. First, she had to stimulate his breathing with one potion. Then, she must have a care for the cough that would happen. Next there would be cramping in his muscles and possibly convulsions.

  And at each step, the boy could die.

  Not his son. Not his son. Not his son.

  Under her breath, constantly throughout the next hours as she fought for Colm’s life, she prayed and bargained with the Almighty, much as Davidh had confessed that he did for his son through the last years of tending to his illness.

  She did not leave the boy’s side, not through that day or the night that followed. Suisan and Parlan were her constant companions and other villagers and kith and kin stopped to see if they could offer her help as she fought to save Davidh’s son.

  * * *

  Only the next morning, as Colm opened his eyes and met hers, asking for his father, did she take a moment and ask Parlan what had happened. When the man began to explain, Colm interrupted him several times, taking long, measured breaths in before speaking in a low, slow pace.

  ‘Iain told them that my father would slaughter them if I died. He told them they did not need the trouble that I would bring.’

  ‘Bold words,’ she said, her heart proud of her own son no matter what happened now. Another silent prayer in her son’s name floated up to the heavens.

  ‘Aye, he told me to wait for his word and then pretend I was sick. He said to cough and then lie on the ground as though dead. So, I did just that.’

  ‘Colm!’ Anna shook her head while Parlan called out ‘good lad.’

  ‘He told them to leave me where I was so I would not slow them down.’ Colm shrugged. ‘I knew he was protecting me, for he’d said we were brothers and that’s what brothers did.’

  ‘Your son managed to leave a trail behind them. Davidh and the others were following to find their camp while I brought Colm to you.’

  ‘When his pretending became too real,’ she finished. ‘But wait? The others?’ she asked.

  ‘Aye, love. A good commander always takes enough men to carry out his mission.’

  Anna turned then to find Davidh there, in the doorway of the bedchamber, covered in mud and dirt, a few leaves and a good amount of blood. A quick glance told her it was mostly not his. She stood then and watched as he stepped aside, revealing Iain there behind him.

  Anna crossed the short distance and clutched her son to her, wrapping him in her arms and hugging the breath from him. For the first few moments, she controlled herself, but then realising that she could have lost him, lost Davidh and Colm, Anna broke into sobs that would not be held within.

  ‘Commander?’ her son said, over her shoulder as she cried.

  ‘Here now, my love,’ Davidh said, as he eased her off Iain and into his arms.

  ‘I thank you for bringing my son back safely,’ she whispered.

  ‘And I thank you for saving mine. I thought him dead in that moment when we found him by the road.’

  ‘I told you, Mistress Mackenzie,’ Colm called out. ‘I played dead just like Iain told me to do.’

  Davidh released her and went to his son, kneeling at his side and whispering to the boy. She wanted to cry more, to ease the sadness that filled her, but there was too much to do now. Davidh had fulfilled his part of the bargain and now she must do as she’d promised.

  ‘I would like to stay just one more day,’ she said. ‘To make certain his breathing is back to what it should be.’ She wiped away her tears and smoothed her hands down over her skirts and apron. ‘Then we will leave.’

  ‘Leave? I do not wish for you to leave, Anna. I never asked that of you.’

  ‘But I promised I would.’

  ‘I think we should stop making promises we cannot keep and only make those we can.’ Davidh took her hand in his and entangled their fingers as he liked to do. ‘I promised to love and cherish you. That is where we can start.’

  ‘And I promise to trust you, Davidh.’

  He kissed her then, promising her in that quick touching of their mouths that his love was hers for always.

  When the murmuring and whispers around them grew louder, Anna realised that they were not alone. Well, only a few people were inside the house, but the sounds from outside made it clear that others were waiting and listening. She walked to the doorway and looked out.

  There in the road, a large group congregated around Davidh’s house. Not only Camerons, but Mackintoshes, too. Warriors on horses and on foot. Both of the chieftains, along with their personal guards and more. Villagers and those from the keep stood watching and waiting.

  ‘You went to the laird?’ she whispered to Davidh.

  ‘Aye. I have faith in my chieftain and kenned I could ask for his help in this. He did not fail me.’

  ‘Does he ken the truth of it?’

  ‘Aye, mistress,’ The Cameron said with a nod as he’d heard her question. ‘I ken.’ The Mackintosh nodded as well and Anna wondered at that.

  ‘The boy is my kin, too, Mistress.’ The Mackintosh glanced down the road towards the keep. ‘Damn it,’ he swore aloud. ‘She cannot stay where I put her. I will try to slow her down.’ Swinging his long leg over, Brodie Mackintosh climbed from his horse and walked off towards his wife who was running towards them.

  Iain was the lady’s nephew, the son of her twin brother. But did her son know that? Turning away and leaving The Mackintosh to see to his approaching wife, she looked at Davidh.

  ‘Does Iain know?’

  ‘Aye. The outlaws told him when they tried to convince him to play a part in their uprising. They promised to support him if he claimed his rightful place,’ Davidh explained.

  ‘Iain, I beg your pardon for not telling you first.’ Anna walked to her son. ‘I should have told you long ago about your father.’

  ‘You did, Mam,’ Iain said. ‘The commander and I have been talking about him. You told me so much about him and the commander added more.’

  Before she could say more, the laird dismounted and walked inside alone. She curtsied to him as
he approached.

  ‘Davidh’s son is well?’ he asked.

  ‘Improving, thank God.’

  ‘I would speak to you about a private matter,’ he said softly. ‘To put your mind at ease, if I can, mistress.’

  They walked to the other side of the room and she reached out her hand to Davidh, inviting him to join them.

  ‘Davidh told me a little of the story, but there is more that I can tell you.’ She felt Davidh’s arm encircle her waist, holding her close. ‘Malcolm’s father kenned about you,’ the laird said. ‘I do not believe he kenned about the bairn, but he took you as a threat to his control over his son and the plans he had in mind for the boy.’

  ‘He did? How?’

  ‘There was not much that Euan did not control. From what he told me when he sent Malcolm to me that summer, I think he threatened your mother to make her take you away.’ Anna gasped. ‘Then he sent my nephew to me with orders to send him south and keep him away for months.’

  ‘Which you did,’ Davidh added. ‘Mal did not return until the middle of winter.’

  ‘When he returned here, my brother supervised him more closely and tasked him with more responsibilities to prepare him as his heir. Malcolm never had much time after that for mischief, as my brother called it.’

  ‘Why do you tell me this?’ she asked the laird. ‘Is Iain not a threat to you?’

  ‘’Tis no secret that I came by this seat late in my life and how it happened. Though I want my eldest to have it after I am gone,’ he said, ‘life has a way of interfering with plans we make. And I have learned that it is not good to tempt the fates too loudly.’

  The laird nodded at her son. ‘I am pleased that Malcolm’s son is here now. He will learn and train and, if called to serve, will be chosen and placed on my seat.’ Robert nodded at her son. ‘He has a good teacher in Davidh,’ he said as he took her hand. ‘As he had in his mother.’

  Robert reached inside his tunic and brought out Malcolm’s ring. ‘His father gave this to you in pledge and his son should have it. We got it back when we took the camp.’ He gave it to her. ‘I have had them struck for my own sons.’ Robert Cameron cleared his throat and spoke so all could hear now.

  ‘Elizabeth will be waiting at the keep. I should go to her and tell her before she, too, comes running.’ He pulled open the door, glanced down the road and laughed. ‘Too late, I fear. I think The Mackintosh’s wife might be a bad influence on mine.’

  He pulled the door closed behind him and quiet descended within the house.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  When the laird left, the crowd outside began to disperse, too. Word had spread that young Colm was on the mend and so the usual demands of life called them all back to their work and duties. And the promise of a feast to celebrate the defeat of the outlaws two days hence gave everyone something to cheer about.

  Soon, only Anna and Davidh and their sons remained there. Colm was sleeping now, for his battle to breathe and the medicaments and concoctions she’d given him had tired him. When he’d handed the boy to Parlan by the road, Davidh did not know if he would see his son alive when he returned. So, for now, he sat by his pallet, holding and rubbing Colm’s hand, as he offered up more prayers.

  Davidh could hear the quiet conversation between Anna and her son out in the main room. Iain had acted with courage and intelligence these last days. His quick thinking about Colm had, Davidh did not doubt, saved his son’s life. And Iain had sorted out where the outlaws camp was and left good signs of their trail so Davidh could follow.

  They had attacked swiftly and the outlaws were, to a man, destroyed. Ailbert, Lilias’s brother, had been their spy and had met the same fate as the others. As Davidh considered what had happened, he only then noticed he yet wore the grime of the road and the blood of their enemies. Many had died this day, but only one of his men.

  He watched Colm sleep now and slowly released the boy’s hand on to the pallet. Standing, he tucked the blankets around his son’s frail shoulders to keep him warm. He left the bedchamber and found Anna alone.

  ‘Where is Iain?’

  ‘He wanted to see his friends. He was not hurt and seemed more excited to speak with them, so I saw no reason to keep him here.’

  ‘Iain looks at this as an adventure. He now has a story to share with the others.’ Davidh waited for her to face him, but she did not. ‘He is like his father in that, Anna. Mal could not wait to tell me of his travels when he returned to Achnacarry.’

  He saw her head nod in agreement and realised that Mal had done the same with her all those years ago. The well-educated, travelled son of the chief telling the woman he loved about his adventures. They had shared the same friend.

  ‘I am heating water so that you can wash.’ She stood there by the hearth. ‘And there is porridge in the pot. I thought it would be something hot and filling if you hunger.’ Her voice was halting and she did not look at him as she spoke.

  Something was wrong.

  He walked over to her and turned her to face him. She shook in his grasp. Her eyes were wide and haunted and her skin cool and pale. Davidh had seen this many times, even felt it himself, after facing danger. He rubbed his hands down her arms from her shoulders to her elbows and back, trying to bring some warmth into her.

  ‘This is just a reaction to all you have faced this day. The fears you controlled so that you could do what needed to be done. The worries over my son as you fought to keep him alive. Even watching your son turn into a young man who is new to both of you. You fought a great battle this day, my love.’

  He leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers, the tip of his tongue touching her lips, tasting the remnants of her fear. She leaned into him and opened to his kiss. He tasted her, sliding his tongue into the heat of her mouth and finding her own. Rubbing his against hers, Davidh felt her body relax against him. Her arms slid around his waist and she held him close, disregarding the filth he yet wore.

  ‘I should have trusted you, Davidh. I should have told you who he was as soon as I knew who you were.’ She lifted her head and looked up at him.

  ‘I should have trusted you, Anna. When you explained. When you said that you had changed your mind. We could have introduced him to Robert together, made him known to his kin without making him a possible weapon to be used against them.’

  ‘Mistakes.’

  ‘Aye, mistakes. I do not plan on making them again.’ He watched her face as a smile filled it then.

  ‘I am not accustomed to answering to a man,’ she whispered. ‘I have been on my own, seeing to my needs and my son’s, for so long, ’twill take some time for me to learn to depend on someone else.’

  ‘We have that time now,’ he said. ‘Now that we have got over the dangerous parts, it should be much easier.’

  Anna laughed then and his heart warmed at the sound. He wanted to hear that always. For so long his home had been filled with sadness and grief and worry. Now, with her, it would be filled with warmth and joy.

  And two sons to raise together.

  He held her then, in silence, simply enjoying the possibilities that now lay spread out for them. As he did, a strange thought occurred to him.

  One day long ago, his friend Mal had asked him to stand as godfather and protect his wife and heir. The request came unexpectedly and Davidh thought it strange how Mal was making such plans for his future wife and son. As he thought on it now, Davidh remembered when they had spoken of such a thing.

  It had been a year after that summer. The summer when Mal had met and loved Anna and created Iain. Had Mal known all along, then, of the son Anna gave him? He looked down at Anna and wondered if he should tell her.

  One day, he would sort it out and speak to her about it.

  For now, he would stand as guardian to her son. For now, he would hold her and protect her and love her. Everything else would follow.<
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  Two days later

  ‘Lady Arabella has invited us to visit Glenlui.’

  Anna watched as her son spoke with the chieftain and his wife—his aunt. Brodie Mackintosh apparently was quite impressed by Iain’s actions in the rescue and battle that followed and had spoken to her and Davidh of fostering him. As her son talked with the powerful chieftain, Anna smiled. Clearly, Iain was pleased and the smile on the lady’s face as she met her brother’s son told Anna that they would have a care for the boy if the offer was accepted.

  ‘She said we could visit at any time.’

  ‘So, Wife,’ Davidh whispered as he slipped his hand around hers, ‘have you decided then?’

  ‘After hearing your counsel and kenning it would not be until next year, I think we should accept. Iain will benefit greatly from it and he will get a chance to meet his Mackintosh cousins and other kin that live there.’

  ‘We, is it, then?’ He laughed from behind her and the warmth of his breath tickled her skin there. ‘I am so glad that my wife pays heed to my words and my orders.’

  His words teased them both, for he was thinking of the hours they’d spent in bed together this morn and the orders he’d given her. She shivered as her body remembered some of the most pleasurable ones.

  ‘But, certainly, my husband. I would always obey your commands.’ She pressed back against him and felt his male flesh hard against her buttocks. He let out a groan as his body responded to hers.

  Anna laughed then, stepping away and trying to stop teasing him. If she was not careful, he would find a place—a closet or alcove—and pull her in there. Oh, she enjoyed those encounters and would not deny it to him, but she had something to tell him and it seemed like the right time. Anna smoothed her hands over her skirts, trying to find the words.

  ‘Iain’s journey to Glenlui might be perfectly timed,’ she began. Anna turned slightly so she could see his face. ‘I will be quite busy next spring.’

  ‘By then, your gardens should be well in hand,’ he said. ‘Are you expanding them?’ She laughed then at the words, even though he did not understand...yet.