A Healer For The Highlander (Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance)

by Fiona Faris

  “Mm,” she said between mouthfuls.

  “Tis good, wee one?” Sophia asked. Ava nodded. Within a matter of moments, she had finished the whole bowl, and was clapping her hands together, asking for more.

  “We should try to go easy on yer belly, wee one,” Sophia said. “Let’s get you some broth, aye?”

  Ava frowned, but settled for the soup.

  “She seems tae be doin’ much better!” Logan was so happy when he returned from his morning rounds and found she had finished her entire bowl of grain, and that she was already working on a bowl of broth.

  “Aye, that she does. I am goin’ tae put some mint on her belly just in case she eats a wee bit too much.” Sophia whispered this bit.

  “Good thinkin’,” Logan responded. “Ye must be exhausted,” he said, looking at Sophia’s face, noticing her swollen eyes.

  “A wee bit, but I’ll get my rest when I can. T’was important fer me tae be here with her, to keep a close watch on her,” Sophia said, looking at Ava.

  “Well, I appreciate it. It’s been good havin’ ye here to care fer her. She couldnae have gotten better so quick if it wasn’t for yer careful watch and helpful herbs. She has life in her again. Ye dinnae know how much I value ye bein’ here.” He slipped his hand around hers and looked in her eyes.

  “I am happy tae be here, tae be able tae help ye and Ava in whatever way I can. Tis all I can do after ye have let me stay here and build a new life here.” Ava smiled as she locked eyes with Logan. She felt the pull again, the desire to fall into him and let their lips lock. But she refused herself the desire, and moved away from him instead.

  “Now that ye are here, ye can make sure Ava takes the tincture. I should likely get down tae Fanny.”

  Logan nodded. As much as he wanted her to stay, he understood that she also had a duty to the other people in the keep. He knew just how many had been ill the previous night, and he guessed many more would awake ill this morning.

  “I ken. I will look after Ava now. She seems tae be in good spirits.” He smiled and walked over to his daughter. He reached over and ruffled her hair, but she smacked his hand away while drinking broth with the other.

  “Alright, wel,l I’ll be back tae check on ye tae soon as I can be.” She waved goodbye to Ava and turned to leave the bedchamber. Logan thought about stopping her, giving her a kiss again, but he wisely decided against it. Even if he had chosen to kiss Sophia then, he would not be able to explain it to his daughter. And that was the last thing he needed to add onto his plate now; the explanation that he might be falling for another woman who was not Ava’s mother.

  Sophia walked down the long stone castle halls and went towards the great hall. She was sure Fanny would be in there, as exhausted as she had to have been. When she went into the room, there were less patients than she had anticipated. Perhaps some had, like Ava, gotten better overnight and were in need of less care.

  Fanny was in the corner, where Sophia had expected her to be. She wandered over there to check in and see if there was anything Fanny needed help with. She couldn’t help but notice Gilbert was not around. Things had been tense since last night. His sudden explosion was unexpected, and Fanny’s slap must have gotten to him enough to make him step away from his work, at least for a short while.

  “Ah! Sophia, so glad ye are here, lassie.” Fanny’s cheery demeanor always put a smile on Sophia’s face. Even in dark times, Sophia knew that Fanny would be happy to see her and be around her.

  “Fanny, I hope ye got some rest last night,” she scolded the elderly healer.

  “Nae but a wink, but tis alrigh’. I’m happy tae be doin’ this work. How is Ava doin?” She jumped immediately to the point.

  “Ava is well. Last night, her fever climbed again but it peaked, and she has noo started eatin’ normal again. She ate quite a bit this morning. She is still warm, but the heat seems tae be calmin’ down,” Sophia responded, as if she had taken diligent notes.

  “Vary good, I am happy tae be hearing that. Logan must be so happy to hear this,” she added.

  Sophia fumbled with the herbs on the table to distract herself from meeting Fanny’s eyes. Her face had to be red hot. “He is, he is vary happy,” she said finally. “Well, Fanny, I am here tae help if ye need me,” she added.

  Fanny nodded. Her face suddenly turned from the cheerful disposition to one of worry with creases along her forehead. “Yes, I will be needin’ yer help, since Gilbert has yet tae return.” She let out a long breath. “I have nae the faintest idea what has gotten into that man.”

  “I have no idea,” Sophia responded. “Well, what can I help ye with?”

  Fanny put her hand on Sophia’s arm and turned her toward the wall behind them. She lowered her voice so it was barely above a whisper. “There’s somethin’ I need tae tell ye, Sophia.” Fanny looked around again before she continued speaking. “Do ye see there are nae many patients here today?”

  Sophia looked around. The realization that there were only a few people in need today was one she’d already had upon walking into the great hall.

  “Aye, I thought it strange. I just assumed many had gotten well quick,” she said in a low voice. Fanny nodded.

  “Aye, t’was what I first thought, but the illness wasn’t just a minor illness, and it spread so fast!” Fanny jumped as her own voice’s volume shocked her. “I realized last night that this illness was one that was seen in the clan before. Some twenty-odd or so years ago. Tis not a true illness, but a poisoning. Mimics all the feelings of a regular illness, but it hits quick.”

  Sophia’s eyes opened wide in shock. Her mouth fell open.

  “I found it odd that no one around the people who were sick got sick themselves. Normally, at least a few people catch an illness the next day and the days after, but for everyone tae suddenly be feelin’ a bit better, and no one else tae be getting sick, it didnae add up.”

  Sophia brought her hand to her mouth. She, too, had thought this a very suspicious illness. She’d wondered how it had spread so quick. Nothing about it had made sense. The timing had also been strange. Just as their burn patients were beginning to decrease, the number of people with the new illness climbed to an almost untreatable amount.

  “What do ye think happened, Fanny?” she whispered.

  Fanny leaned in. “I think someone administered the poison and spread it round the keep. Tis the only explanation.”

  Sophia’s eyebrows shot up with a realization. “Do ye think Dillon could be behind this?” Dillon was the only explanation. The illness came right when many of the patients had begun getting well, right when the clan was finally getting their footing on the ground again. Dillon would be the kind of man to pull something like this just to further hurt the clan and better his chances of taking over. At least for now, people seemed to be recovering swiftly and healing enough to not have to visit the healers. Ava herself had improved drastically.

  Fanny looked Sophia up and down. She whispered back, “I can only say, if it was Laird Dillon, he must have help with him. The poison was administered to so many people. And now that everyone has started to recover, we know it had to have been someone in the estate, because only someone here would have access to the people, to their waters and foods.”

  Sophia nodded. Fanny was right. If it was Dillon, he would have needed help to achieve this kind of assault against the estate. There was no telling what that man would do. Sophia knew from the stories of him that he was ruthless in his pursuit of what he wanted, but she was more frightened by another fact. If he had help, that meant that someone in the estate was working with him, for him. This thought frightened her—knowing that there was someone near her who wanted to see their estate fall apart. What were they going to do?

  “With the fires, tis a smart move on the enemies’ parts. There are many who are weakened already by their injuries and the damage to their lungs. There are so many who are also workin’ night and day tilling the fields to get winter wheat planted. Whoever spre
ad the poison knew the people were weakened, and wanted tae hurt them worse ,while they were already weak. This sickness will only cause a worse crippling.”

  The two were interrupted by one man who was having difficulty recovering from the illness—or rather, poisoning. Sophia stopped her thoughts and the conversation and focused solely on preparing the poultice she had made for Sophia.

  “Are ye havin’ any other ailments with the fever?” Sophia asked him.

  “Aye, I cannae seem tae keep anything in this ol’ belly a mine. I have no appetite, and it hurts to eat,” he added solemnly. The man was already rather thin, so Sophia worried that not eating would only make him weaker. She mixed in a good deal of mint into the poultice, hoping it would help. His fever was not too high, but high enough Fanny worried.

  “This tonic should help yer fever. It is strong, but ye need a lot, so be back before dinner’s hour. I’ll give ye some more. Alright?” she asked.

  The man nodded. “I shall return then,” he replied gratefully.

  “Alright. I’m going tae apply some of this mixture to yer back and yer chest. Hopefully it’ll help yer lungs and yer belly.” She lowered his shirt and started spreading the poultice across his chest. She had him turn and began placing some along his back as well. While it set, and as she added the linens, she had someone bring down some of the broth cooking in the kitchen. The man seemed grateful, but worried by the thought of eating.

  “Thank ye both vary much,” he said as he sipped the broth. “I already feel as if I’m breathin’ better. Hopefully my stomach will listen up as well.” He smiled at them and walked off. Sophia could see he moved painfully slow. She saw the exhaustion in the hunch of his back. The man was older and already weakened with age, unlike Fanny, who only seemed to get spritelier with her years.

  Sophia and Fanny returned to their conversation. “Tis a very strange event, this sickness,” Fanny said.

  Sophia nodded. “Well, I’m glad that many seem to have recovered from it. There are so few patients here today. Seems the poison didn’t do too much lasting damage.” She smiled to herself. She knew the castle was already dealing with too much grief, and the fact that this illness was not affecting too many too harshly was a welcome respite for the time being.

  Fanny frowned, however. “I did nae know how to tell ye, Sophia. Yes, there are many who are doin’ alright, but there were also some who were deeply affected. There were a few patients who had severe burns that were still healing. When they got ill, their bodies couldnae handle it. We lost five souls last night. I did all I could tae keep them around, but their bodies were too troubled to try to heal.” Fanny’s eyes began to well with tears, as did Sophia’s.

  Sophia was shocked. How could this have happened so suddenly? The poor people of the keep had already witnessed such devastating losses. To lose even more people to this illness, to this planted poison, it was a cruel and unjust punishment from the heavens.

  Sophia was furious. “I cannae believe it, so many lost so fast! Our clan seems tae be fallin’ apart without us being able tae do much.” She planted herself on the stool and sunk into herself. She was trying to remain hopeful, but each day made it more and more difficult.

  “That is also partly what I need yer help with,” Fanny said. Sophia perked up, eager for a distraction from her own heart and mind. “I need ye tae go tae the council meeting fer me.”

  Sophia felt confused about this task. A part of her wanted to go, wanted to see Logan. She also wanted to do whatever she could to help Fanny, but to be in the room again with him, to see him in front of her as Laird Logan, and not the Logan who held her so tenderly last night. It felt like a challenge she wasn’t sure she was willing to undertake.

  “I need ye tae tell him all I’m thinkin’ bout the poison, and about the losses. Here are some names and notes ye can give him.” Fanny handed Sophia the paper without waiting for her response.

  “Fanny, are ye sure ye dinnae want to go? Ye need tae get some rest, and the council meeting is nae full rest, but tis better than stayin’ on yer feet for another full day.” Sophia was reaching for any excuse not to go.

  “Sophia, dearie, I dinnae think I could go to the meeting if I wanted tae. The people here need me, and while ye are getting better at healin’, I cannae have ye treat all the patients on yer own. I am fine. Tired and spent, but fine. I will manage alrigh’.”

  “Alrigh’, Fanny. But I will do all I can tae help ye prepare the station before I leave, aye. And sit fer a moment, rest up and let me do some of the cleaning.”

  Fanny smiled. “Thank ye, Sophia. I will rest for a few moments.”

  Sophia moved around, quickly organizing the shuffled herbs, wiping down the mortars, asking for fresh water to be brought down. She did all she could to make the day easier for Fanny.

  Once Sophia had the area all cleaned up, she turned to Fanny. “Are ye sure ye dinnae want tae go?” she asked once more.

  “Aye, ye go. I’ll be here waitin’ tae hear from ye about the meeting.” Fanny smiled and gave Sophia a little shove.

  “Alright, well, I will head tae the kitchen fer a quick meal before I go. I’ll be back as soon as it ends.” Sophia turned and left the healer’s corner in the great hall. Thankfully, there were only a few patients coming in for their afternoon tonic and a new patch of poultice. Sophia knew Fanny would be alright, and that she could manage this many patients, but she felt bad leaving her there—especially given she did not have Gilbert’s help today.

  Once in the kitchen, Sophia poured herself a bit of grains with milk and honey and started eating. She had not realized how big her appetite was. Of course, after spending all day fretting over Ava, she had not had dinner yesterday, but now she could fill her stomach with something satisfying. The sweetness of the honey ribboned in her mouth, and she was grateful to have meals like this any time she needed them. The castle was so much different than living at home, where they had to make adjustments and try to make certain foods last longer by cutting back. Even with having to prepare for the winter and refilling the stores, living in the keep still provided her with more than enough.

  After Sophia finished the last of her food, she stood and went towards the stairs to the main council meeting room. She knew she would see Logan there, and her heart raced at the thought of it.

  Once inside, Sophia was reminded of just how many men there were in those meetings and how few women. In fact, at this meeting she was the only woman present. Logan arrived just as the room had filled with people. He sat at the head of the table. When he looked up his eyes met Sophia’s and he smiled. He glanced away from her and she away from him. But Sophia saw that Alrick had caught the exchange between them. She blushed, she wondered if anyone knew about the kiss.

  “Alright, shall we begin?” Logan said finally as he beat his fist against the table. The room stilled, and everyone focused their attention on him.

  “Aye, let us start!” Alrick added.

  Logan stood and began giving his speech. He recounted the latest news. He discussed the state of the stores and shared the good news that the workers were doing well in getting the fields ready for the winter wheat. Despite their original fears, the hunters had gotten a great deal of meat, and by the looks of it, they were due to have a good winter after all, thanks to much of the help from the suggestions of the first council meeting.

  Logan then moved his attention to recent news. He glanced at Sophia as if to warn her she would be speaking very soon. Sophia nodded to acknowledge that she was ready to share her information.

  “Seems we have had a bit of bad news in the last day, as well as good. Just yesterday, a great deal of people came down with an illness. There were many who were fevered with stomach ailments as well. I’ll have Sophia here give ye all an explanation, and share what the three healers have found.”

  Sophia stood and began speaking. She was nervous, her skin flushed hot. She was afraid to say all Fanny had told her, but she knew it was urgent Logan hear and th
at the other elders hear as well.

  “Well, first, I am sad tae report we lost a few souls last night. Five people passed, all people who were struggling to recover from their burns. We are hopeful the rest of the patients will heal. In fact, many seem to have recovered overnight.” People murmured. Some smiled in response to hearing about the quick healing, but knowing five people had passed, others deepened their frowns.

  “Please pass on the names tae me later on so we can prepare funeral arrangements.” Logan tried to keep his voice steady, firm, but she also heard a gentleness he didn’t normally have in these meetings.