“I have done this before. No worries,” she assured him and before he could protest she shouted out to a man on the bank to release the wheel and he shouted to another and another.
Rogan wanted to strangle her as he heard the wheel creak and watched as his wife disappeared beneath the water. From the way Daniel dropped in his arms, Rogan knew his arm was free.
Emma bounced up out of the water to shout to the man on shore again for the wheel to be released one more time, and then she disappeared once again.
The wheel creaked again and when he felt no change in Daniel’s body, he silently cursed. He should have never let his wife have her way. Suddenly, Daniel gave a yell and Rogan felt his body give. He immediately pulled him away from the wheel and watched for Emma to surface.
His heart slammed against his chest in relief when her head cleared the water. He was even more relieved when she remained in the water as he got Daniel to land.
“I will get your cloak,” he said to her after leaving Daniel in his wife and mother’s care.”
Rogan snatched up the cloak and turned just as the wheel sprang loose and water gushed forward, the force knocking Emma off her feet and dragging her under the rushing water.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The water rushed up like greedy arms, pulling Emma down. This was not the first time the stream had caught her unaware, and she had learned from it. She let it have its way, knowing it would tire out soon enough and she would be able to make her way to shore.
What she did not count on was the pain in her shoulder from being tumbled all around or the toll her body had taken helping Daniel. Fortunately, she felt the water slowing and knew she would soon be able to reach the bank.
She was suddenly jolted out of the water and she knew full well whose arms held her.
“Damn it, wife, I will not have an ounce of sanity left being wed to you,” Rogan said with more relief than anger as he hugged Emma tightly to him and walked out of the stream.
He set her on her feet only long enough to wrap her cloak around her, then he had her up in his arms again. “I am taking you to our bedchamber, getting you dry, and tucking you in bed where you will stay for the rest of the day and night.”
“I have no objections to that, though—” A cough did not allow her to finish, and she turned her head away as she coughed up some of the water she had swallowed.
Rogan took a seat on a large rock with Emma on his lap. He bent her over at the waist and rubbed her back. She coughed up more water before settling back in his arms.
“That will have to wait,” she finally finished. “Daniel’s arm and especially his foot will need tending.”
“Let one of the other healers see to him,” Rogan said, more concerned with his wife’s well-being than Daniel’s.
“I would if his foot was not so badly damaged,” she admitted, preferring to retire to their bedchamber as Rogan suggested.
“You saved his life. He deserves no more of your help.”
“If I do not help him, he may never be able to walk on that foot again and I would never be able to live with that thought.”
Rogan grumbled beneath his breath. “I do not care what happens to Daniel, but I do care very much about my wife. If you must do this, I will not stop you.” He felt her tense in his arms and took gentle hold of her chin. “Like it or not, wife, you now have a husband you are answerable to.”
Emma thought to ask if he was answerable to her as well, but she did not have the strength or the desire to debate the issue at the moment. Let him think as he will, and she would live as she wished.
“Excuse me, my lady,” an older woman said, catching both their attentions.
“Marianne, how is your son?” Emma asked with concern.
“Alive thanks to your bravery and your husband’s help. Helen and I are most grateful, but he is in much pain and his foot…” She shook her head and tears ran from her eyes.
“And what of your mistress?” Rogan snapped. “She almost drowned saving your foolish son, yet you have no kind words for her?”
Marianne paled. “I am so sorry, my lord. My lady, please forgive my ill manners—”
“It is all right, Marianne,” Emma said softly. “My husband is not aware that this has happened before and that I know how to handle the rushing stream. You owe me no apology. As soon as I change out of these wet garments, I will come have a look at Daniel and see what needs to be done.”
“I cannot thank you enough, and I do not know what the clan will do without you when you leave for your new home, though I am happy for you.” She turned and walked away, her gait slow from age and no doubt worry.
Emma slipped off Rogan’s lap. He stood slowly and for some reason she felt thwarted by the breadth of him and wrapped her cloak more tightly around her.
He leaned down, planting his face close to hers. “Know this well, wife. If I desired to put you on a horse right now and leave for home, no one could stop me. I give you leave to tend this fool. So be done with it, for when I come to fetch you, I will brook no argument from you. But first,”—he scooped her up in his arms—“I will make certain you get to the keep safely.”
His words stirred anger in her, but she did not bother to argue with him. He would learn that she would do as she wished.
Emma was surprised when he carried her up the stairs to their bedchamber, thinking he would simply deposit her in the keep.
Their bedchamber.
How easily it had become their bedchamber. The thought sent a flourish of tingles racing through her. It continued to amaze her that this man could stir her passion so easily?
Love.
She did love him, though she had tried not to. After all, he had been intended for her sister, but the attraction had always been there. To her surprise, it had grown over the time they had spent together. Until, she had finally realized that she was madly in love with him.
“I love you,” she said softly, snuggling her face in the crook of his neck as they entered the bedchamber.
“And I am a blessed man that you do, for though you drive me quite mad, I cannot think of life without you.”
Her breath caught at the intensity of his words and she turned her face up in search of his lips.
He captured her mouth in a hungry kiss. She shivered in his arms, and he ended the kiss sooner than he would have liked. She was soaking wet and needed out of her clothes and that took precedence over appeasing his passion. However, he could not remain in the room while she disrobed, for he would rush her into bed and make love to her for the rest of the day.
It would take great effort to step away from her, though he reminded himself they would have tonight.
“I will fetch a servant to help you,” he said, sitting her on the chair near the hearth and moving away from her.
She thought he was taking his leave, but he walked over to the bed and stripped off his wet garments. She had forgotten he was as soaked as she was and allowed herself to enjoy the view of him naked. She wished he would not hurry to dress. She loved looking at his chiseled body, hard in all the right places. And she was growing wet in just the right place. Good Lord, her body ached from what she had been through, and it ached even more for him.
Rogan could feel her eyes on him and he knew if he turned and looked at her all would be lost. He would have her in bed in seconds, and she did not need him slamming repeatedly into her at the moment. She had been through enough, her body probably already feeling the consequences of her ordeal. He would not add to it, no matter how much he wanted to make love to her.
He never dressed so fast or ran from a woman’s bedchamber so fast. He hurried past her without looking at her, yanked the door open, and cringed when she called out to him.
“I will see you later?”
He did not turn around. “Aye, that you will, wife. You can count on it.”
The door slammed behind him and Emma shook her head and shivered. One moment he stirred anger in her and the next passion. Ho
w did she go from being annoyed with him to wanting him so badly? It made no sense, but then Patience often claimed that love had no rhythm or reason to it. She had warned that anyone who attempted to understand love was a fool. Emma had not understood what her sister had meant then, but she certainly did now.
She shook her head again. Now was not the time to question love. She hurried out of her wet garments and toweled herself dry, making sure to ring her hair dry as well. She slipped on a shift, adding a plain brown skirt and tan blouse over it, securing the ties on both. She did not bother putting on stockings. They itched and scratched and she hated wearing them. She grabbed her sandals and tied them around her legs, having left her boots by the stream.
After braiding her damp hair, she hurried to the door, yanking it open. She and the servant on the other side of the door both drew back startled.
“You need help, my lady?” the servant asked concerned.
Emma smiled and shook her head. “My husband has yet to learn that I prefer to tend myself.”
The servant nodded and stepped aside.
Emma stopped after taking only a few steps and turned. “Please see that Cook sends some food to Daniel’s cottage.”
“Aye, my lady,” the servant said with a bob of her head. “You will be sorely missed, my lady.”
She was the second one to tell Emma that today and it surprised her just as the first one had.
“You tend the clan well. We never want for food, shelter, or tending when ill. And you rescue even the most foolish among us. While we are happy for you, we are also sad to see you go. The MacClennan clan is lucky to have you join them.”
Emma stared as the servant bobbed her head once again and rushed off. She was certain she had seen tears in the young girl’s eyes, and she felt her own heart grow heavy with the thought of leaving her family.
Maura was in the Great Hall and greeted her with, “Finally I find you, your father is frantic to speak with you and know you are well.”
“I have no time to spare for him right now. Please tell him I am fine and, if time permits, I will visit with him after I see to Daniel’s care.”
Maura nodded and Emma hurried off.
Emma heard Daniel’s cries of pain long before she reached his cottage. Marianne waited outside the cottage door with Emma’s healing pouch in hand.
“I knew you would need this,” Marianne said tears in her eyes as she handed it to Emma. “Please. Please, help him.”
Emma placed a comforting hand on the old woman’s shoulder. “I will do all I can.”
Marianne nodded. “Then my son will do well.”
Emma entered the cottage, wondering if what she did would be enough to save Daniel’s foot.
*
Rogan had not expected Donald Macinnes to provide food for his large troop of warriors. His men had seen to their own needs, though he had been surprised to see that Donald had generously provided his men with bread and ale. And they were all looking quite pleased.
He grabbed a tankard of ale himself, needing it. He walked among his men talking with them to get his mind off his wife. He wanted her like no other woman, and he could not wait to get her home where she would be all his.
He spoke with his lead warriors, ordering them to be ready to leave at daybreak in three days’ time. One of his trackers would be sent out ahead to scout, though he doubted ghost warriors would attack them. The message had been delivered, the warning received, and returning home to MacClennan land would surely appear a retreat to the ghost warriors that probably watched undetected.
Having promised his wife time to tend Daniel, he decided to go to the mill and find out what exactly had happened that led to his wife placing herself in danger. He heard the screams before he saw the villagers gathered in groups in front of a cottage. He did not have to ask to know who screeched like a banshee.
He dismissed the thought of going to his wife as soon as it entered his head. She would think he came to collect her, a tempting idea, but he had seen the worry on her face and he had told her he would allow her time to do what she must.
He made his way around the crowd, hearing snatches of chatter.
“She will heal him.”
“He will lose the foot and his life along with it.”
“Emma will not let death take him.”
“Sad day when she leaves us.”
“Who will take care of us?”
“Patience and Heather gone.”
“Emma will find them.”
“Emma will make things right.”
Rogan could not fault the villagers for worrying. He was, however, annoyed that they were more concerned with themselves than Emma’s happiness. They should be pleased that she made such a strong match and that they now had the MacClennan clan to rely on.
That they believed she could keep death at bay also worried him. Surely, she had not saved everyone she had tended. His strides grew more determined as he approached the mill. He intended to get some answers about the accident and learn some things about his wife along the way.
*
Rogan left the mill pleased that he had learned much more than he had anticipated. He even had a better understanding about the working of the mill. But it was the things he had learned about Emma that had pleased him the most. She was a superior woman in so many ways. He could learn much from his wife and she could learn much from him. He looked forward to the life they would share together. There was one thing that troubled him though. He was well aware of Emma’s willfulness, but to hear George say that once Emma set her mind to something there was no changing it made him realize the possible problems her stubbornness could present.
George had made it clear that he was grateful for all Emma had taught him and pleased that she had been eager to learn from him as well.
“A kind heart and quick wit,” George had said about her.
That was his Emma and he was eager to collect her so they could spend the rest of the day together. He had not realized how much time he had spent at the mill, several hours if he read the sun right.
He hurried his pace and seeing no one lingering around Daniel’s cottage had him thinking and hoping that Emma was done with Daniel and already gone.
He knocked on the door and the old woman answered. She bobbed her head and stepped to the side. “My lord, you are most welcome in our home.”
Rogan stepped in. Helen sat in a chair next to the bed, though jumped up and bobbed her head at Rogan. Daniel lay with his injured foot resting atop two pillows and partially covered with what resembled a poultice.
“Forgive me, my lord, for not rising, Emma will have my head if I dare move this foot.”
“More frightened of my wife than me?” Rogan asked sternly.
Daniel bowed his head. “Aye, my lord, I am.”
Rogan smiled. “Wise man.”
Daniel sighed in relief. “Thank you, my lord.”
“It is Emma you should be thanking most heartily,” Rogan said.
“I have, my lord, repeatedly. She saved my life and my foot. My injury is not as bad as first thought. Emma says the water saved it from being crushed beyond repair. She has ordered me to stay off it completely for a week, and then I am to use a crutch for several weeks.”
“And I am to apply the poultice for several hours a day for the next three days,” Helen added.
“And your arm?” Rogan asked.
“Bruised and sore, that is all,” Daniel said with relief.
“Emma has returned to the keep?” Rogan asked.
“No, my lord, just as she finished with Daniel, she was called to Nessa’s cottage. She has gone into labor with her first child,” Helen said.
That his wife was off tending yet another clan member irritated him. “Is there no one else who can deliver the babe?”
“Other women will help Emma,” Emma said, “but we all prefer to have her attend our births. We feel safer with her there. She is knowledgeable about so much.”
“But she
has also been through an ordeal herself today and needs rest,” Rogan said annoyed and waved his hand at the two women. “Go, I wish to speak to your husband alone.
Helen looked hesitant to leave her husband, but she did as ordered, taking her motherin-law’s hand and hurrying out of the cottage.
All color left Daniel’s face as Rogan leaned over the man. “I would have let you drowned without a qualm after learning how cruel you were to my wife when she was young. Make certain you extend a proper and heartfelt apology to her before we take our leave, and make certain others hear it or you will wish you had drowned.”
“I will, my lord, I will,” Daniel said with an emphatic nod of his head.
Rogan stood straight, squaring his broad shoulders and once again Daniel paled. “You would never make a good warrior.”
“I am a simple farmer, my lord, though I would raise a weapon to protect my clan and the Macinnes sisters.”
“That is good to know and it redeems you some in my eyes. Now tell me how I find Nessa’s cottage.”
Rogan gave the two women a nod when he walked out of the cottage. “Daniel is fine and will remain so as long as he does what he has been told.”
He heard Daniel’s mother, Marianne say as soon as she entered the cottage, “You will obey Lord Rogan’s command as an honorable man would do.”
Rogan had no doubt Daniel would. Now it was time to find his wife and have her all to himself.
Several women stood talking outside the cottage Daniel had directed him to. They bowed their heads as he approached, one stepping forward.
“If you look for Emma, my lord, she is no longer here,” the young red-haired lass said. “Just as she finished delivering Nessa’s babe, a fine strapping son,”—the young lass smiled—“word came that she was needed at Anna’s. One of her young lads has a sick stomach.”
Rogan followed the direction the young lass gave him to Anna’s home only to find that Emma had been summoned someplace else. So, he followed from one place to another until he was told that Emma had been called to the keep, her father needing her.
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