Distracted By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 4)

by Rebecca Preston

  "See? Imagine if you'd kept me in the loop," she said, unable to resist having a bit of a dig at him. "You'd have learned this brilliant tactic earlier."

  "I won't fail again," he said solemnly, bowing his head to her in an oddly ritualistic way. "You're a clever woman, Kay Morris."

  It was just a stupid crush, she told herself firmly as they finished their meals and went their separate ways. That was all. He was a nice, handsome man who was paying attention to her… and it had been years since she'd dated anyone properly. She was just lonely.

  Still, when she went to bed that night, she couldn't help but stay up a little later than maybe she should have, dreaming some less than appropriate dreams about a certain handsome blond-haired stablemaster with a smile that made her melt.

  Chapter 24

  She woke up bright and early the next day, already looking forward to heading down to breakfast… but as soon as she took a sip of the water on her bedside table, she knew something was wrong. The cold water seemed icy in her mouth, and when she swallowed, her whole throat stabbed with pain. What was worse, as she sat upright and swung her legs across the edge of the bed, she felt a tell-tale wave of dizziness followed by shivers that ran through her body and made her groan audibly and drop her body back into bed.

  She'd been hoping she'd avoided it. The women had all warned her, with varying degrees of sympathy and amusement, that a horrible cold or flu would strike her down soon enough… but somehow, she'd just been hoping that she was different. Maybe her Wyoming upbringing would stop her from getting sick, somehow… like she'd been exposed to the right kinds of germs that would make her immune system powerful enough to fight off the disease. But that didn't seem to be the case… and she lay back in bed with her eyes half-shut, resenting her life and everything in it for having the audacity to torture her like this.

  She drifted back off into an uneasy sleep for a while, and when she woke up it was to gentle tapping on her door — Elena, a covered tray in her hands and a sympathetic look on her face when she stepped into the room and saw the miserable patient tossing and turning under the blankets, alternating too hot and too cold as her fever climbed.

  "You poor thing," Elena said softly, taking a seat by her bed and placing the tray of food down where she could reach it.

  Not particularly hungry but knowing that food would probably help her feel better, Kay sat up straight in bed and weakly accepted the bowl of oatmeal. The oatmeal here was delicious — rich and warm, cooked with just the right amount of fresh milk, and improved even more by a little spoonful of honey that brought out the flavors just right… and, she thought gratefully, it was smooth and soothing on her sore throat.

  "I remember the flu I got when I got here."

  "How long did it last?" Kay asked, hopeful even as her voice croaked out of her like she was dying. "A day or two?"

  "A bit longer, I'm afraid," Elena said softly, reaching out to press her hand against Kay's forehead. The hand was very cold — not a good sign. "You've got a hell of a fever, babe. Better buckle in. Drink as much water as you can," she added warningly, then shook her head with a chuckle. "I don't have to tell you though, right? You're the one with the medical degree."

  "This is weird. Usually people are jumping to tell me I'm not a real doctor. You guys seem to be treating human and animal medicine interchangeably." She chuckled.

  "I'm just relying on a lot of the principles being the same. Animals with fever should be encouraged to drink water, right?"

  "Yeah, but they never do," Kay said with a shrug. "Sometimes you have to get at them with little eyedroppers…" She grinned. "I had a patient once with this cat she absolutely adored. It got an infection after surgery and was looking pretty bad for a while. I used an eyedropper to get it to drink some water."

  "Did it recover?"

  "It did. Almost outlived its owner, in the end." She sighed. "Please don't force me to drink water with an eyedropper, I'll be good, I promise." She grabbed the cup of water from the bedside table and swigged at it, wrinkling her nose at the way it rasped on the way down her throat. "I hate being sick."

  "We'll look after you, don't you worry," Elena said softly. She waited with her until she'd finished her breakfast, offered to bring her some books to read later in case she got bored on bed rest, then left her to her sleep.

  It was Liam who brought her lunch — it seemed word had spread that she was an invalid, and after a restless midmorning of feverish sleep, it was good to see his friendly face… though she couldn't help but worry that she looked a mess. She could feel that her hair was in desperate need of a brush, and she turned away from him a little as he came in, embarrassed about her state.

  "How are you doing?"

  "I feel like I've been hit by a truck," she said pathetically, giving up almost immediately on her determination to be strong in the face of her suffering. "This cold sucks. Scottish colds suck."

  "Sorry to hear it. Hopefully some soup will make you feel better." He placed the steaming bowl on her bedside table, and she struggled upright to eat it, grateful for the attention even though she wasn't especially hungry.

  "Better be careful," she warned him. "It's probably contagious, something this nasty."

  "I've lived in Scotland all my life," Liam said with a shrug, giving her a smile. "I'll take my chances. Besides, a nasty cold would be worth it for the good company."

  She blushed to the roots of her hair at that, hoping that the red sweatiness she was feeling from the fever did a good job of hiding it from him. He stayed a while longer then left her to rest again, reflecting that maybe being sick wasn't so bad if she was going to get such nice visitors all week.

  But by the end of the first day, she was regretting thinking that. The sickness just kept getting worse, and it didn't let up when the sun rose — she was miserable, barely able to get out of bed to relieve herself, spending hours just lying in bed and shivering. Elena had brought her some books to read, but she couldn't focus on them — it was all she could do to sit up and drink water when encouraged. It was four long, miserable days of delirium and fever. She was beginning to worry that she was never going to get better — that this was her reality now — when she felt her fever begin to break one morning. Hardly daring to believe it, she went back to sleep… and this time, the rest actually felt valuable, and she woke feeling a little refreshed.

  Good. Dying of a fever wasn't exactly the way she wanted to go out.

  Chapter 25

  "I think my fever's breaking," she told Liam when he visited. The last few times he'd been by, she'd barely been able to keep her eyes open to talk to him, and he looked much reassured by her new attitude. Still, she was incredibly weak, and he urged her to eat the broth he'd brought for her from the kitchens as they talked.

  "You're feeling a little better today, then?"

  "I mean, I still feel like hell," she said, "don't get me wrong, but at least I'm not shivering anymore. I think the fever's coming down. What do you think?"

  He reached over to press the back of his hand to her forehead, and she pretended ridiculously hard that she hadn't been motivated by wanting him a little closer to her. He smelled so good… like clean hay and horses and something else, something under it that was just him… and then he grinned at her. "You do feel a little cooler."

  She groaned. "Thank God. If I had to spend another week in this room, I think I'd go completely insane."

  "You'd better rest," he said quickly. "Don't go jumping out of bed just because you're feeling a tiny improvement —"

  "I'm not stupid," she said impatiently. "Jumping out of bed. I couldn't jump if my life depended on it. I'm just glad to be on the mend again." She took a few scoops of soup, smiling to herself. "I think my appetite's coming back, too. That's good. Hey — I'm way behind on what's happening with the wisps."

  He nodded, looking a little reluctant… and she growled impatiently, reaching out to tug pleadingly at the sleeve of his tunic. "Liam, please. This is the first ti
me I've been able to think straight in days. Please give me something to think about."

  "Fine," he said, sighing. "We've been trying your idea."

  "My idea?"

  "Blindfolding the cattle. You were right — some of them dislike it, but it seems to be stopping them from being lured away like the herds have been. Cattle with the blindfolds stay where they're put… though it's a bit tricky trying to get them to keep them on."

  "That's good news," she said, smiling as she imagined the poor creatures dealing with being blindfolded at night. "So the practice is spreading?"

  "Aye, like wildfire. No herdsman wants to lose his flock. But it's only a short-term measure, like you said. It's time consuming, and not infallible — especially when the cattle get uneasy and try to remove the blindfolds themselves on branches and the like. And obviously, people can't blindfold themselves when they insist on going out at night."

  That last one was sobering, and she took a deep breath as she reflected. "Well. I'd better get well soon, so we can find a more permanent solution to these creatures, right?"

  "Sounds good to me," Liam said warmly. "I'll leave you to get some rest."

  As her strength slowly returned over the next few days, she let it be known that she was well enough to take visitors… which was why, to her surprise, she found not only Liam but Maggie sitting by her bedside the next morning. The little old woman looked a little out of place in the castle, for all that she peered around it imperiously as though she owned the place.

  "How're you doing then, lassie?"

  "Not too badly, thanks, Maggie," she said, smiling as she sat up a little straighter in bed. The little woman peered at her closely, those bright eyes shining among their nest of wrinkles, and then she clicked her tongue, reaching into the satchel that was slung around her waist. Liam's eyes widened a little as she withdrew what looked like a little vial of a strange green liquid, and Kay glanced at him, not quite sure what was happening.

  "I brought you something to break the fever, but it seems you beat me to it," Maggie explained, sounding a little impressed. "So this is to bring your strength back a little quicker."

  "What is it?"

  "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?" Maggie asked sharply. "It's herbs. It's good for you. Tip it into your cup of water and drink it down. Quickly, mind. It's good for you, but it certainly doesn't taste it." She cackled.

  Kay accepted the strange potion, a little hesitant… but what choice did she have? As instructed, she poured it into her half-full cup of water, wrinkling her nose a little at the odd smell that rose up from it. It dissipated in the water and she lifted the cup to her mouth, held her breath, and swallowed it in one gulp.

  As Maggie had warned her, it tasted revolting. Her whole body rebelled against it, her throat clenching, her stomach shuddering. But she fought against it, mostly for Maggie, for whom she felt a respect that bordered on fear… and also because she didn't want to throw up in front of Liam. It was bad enough that he'd seen her this sick and miserable — some images were hard enough to scrub out of your memory, let alone the image of her hurling her guts out.

  But eventually, the green sludge settled in her stomach, and she was able to breathe normally again. Maggie had been watching her intently the whole time, and she patted her vaguely on the hand, clearly pleased with her for drinking whatever the stuff had been.

  "Maggie's herbal remedies are legendary around here," Liam explained, giving the woman a smile. "We all suspect she could bring someone back from the dead if she was so inclined, they're that good."

  "Ah, why would I go bothering some poor dead soul?" Maggie asked dismissively, waving a hand. "I wouldn't haul anyone back from the hereafter just because people here weren't quite finished with them. But when it comes to a nasty sickness like the ones you girls keep getting when you come through… well, a little dose of Faerie magic won't go wrong." She tipped Kay a wink, and her eyes widened.

  "Magic? Truly?"

  "Maybe! Or maybe it's just some very well-selected herbs. I won't tell." Maggie chuckled, her eyes twinkling.

  Kay had to admit, she was already feeling a lot stronger. Maybe it was the placebo effect, but she frowned a little, turning her head back and forth experimentally. No dizziness… no vertigo… no trace of fever.

  "I can already feel it working," she said to Maggie, her eyes widening. "If that's not magic, it's certainly close. Are you sure you won't tell me what's in it?"

  "Not on your life," Maggie said, with a slightly frightening grin.

  Wisely, Kay decided to drop the subject altogether.

  Chapter 26

  "Now, how are you going with the wisps?" Maggie wanted to know, turning back to Liam.

  Kay explored her new sense of wellbeing. After feeling so miserable for what felt like an eternity, the feeling of being well again — of strength returning to her limbs — was filling her with so much joy that she almost didn't listen to Liam as he began to give Maggie an update on progress with the wisps. But soon enough, she tuned in, curious despite herself.

  "Well, Kay had the brilliant idea of blindfolding the creatures. She figured that it was the light that was drawing them close, so why not try blocking out the light? Sure enough, every herd it was tried on has been safe."

  "Clever girl," Maggie said approvingly, turning her beady eyes to Kay. "How did you figure that, exactly?"

  "Well, I figured it made sense," she said with a shrug. "The lights are what was appealing. I…" She hesitated, not sure whether she wanted to let Liam in on this particular secret. "I saw them, actually."

  Liam's face dropped — he couldn't have looked more shocked if she'd told him she was pregnant, and he was the father. "You did? When?"

  "My first night staying here," she said, biting her lip. "I had trouble sleeping… terrible nightmares… so I went for a walk around. I ended up on the roof. And I could see the wisps from up there… to the north of the castle, right? About the same distance as the village?"

  "Aye, that's where the swamp is." Maggie cackled, looking utterly delighted by all this. "You could see them from the castle's roof? There must be hundreds of the creatures."

  "You went onto the roof? In the middle of the night? After being warned that you were likely to catch a nasty cold sooner or later? Kay —"

  "If I was going to catch it sooner or later anyway, a bit of cold air wouldn't have hurt," Kay snapped. "Besides, it's an old wives' tale that getting physically cold makes you more likely to catch a cold."

  "Still, you shouldn't have —"

  "Sorry, are you my boss?" she snapped, a little irritated with how cloying he was being. "It's not your responsibility to control where I go and what I do, last time I checked."

  Maggie was cackling, but Liam went very still, clearly thinking about this. He nodded once, simply, spread his hands. "You're right. I'm sorry. I've just been very worried about you these last few days. I don't know what things are like where you're from, but illnesses like this… well, they take people's lives pretty regularly."

  She took a deep breath. She hadn't considered how worried he may have been about her. To Kay, a cold or flu was an inconvenience. But to people in the medieval era… well, it was quite literally a life or death matter. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't realize you were that worried."

  "There's a lot of iron around here," Maggie said impatiently, gesturing vaguely around the room. "I can smell it through the walls. Especially in the armory. It sets my teeth on edge. Please get on with the story so I can leave."

  "Sorry, Maggie," Liam said contritely.

  Kay caught the smile he shot her, and knew they were okay. That gave her a surprising rush of relief — she was a little shocked by how much she'd disliked being at odds with him, but she was glad she'd stood up for herself. She was a strong believer in the idea that you taught people how to treat you — and she wasn't going to let him fuss over her like she was some scrawny child with no idea what she was doing or ho
w to handle herself.

  "Anyway, I was up on the roof and I saw the lights. I must have stared at them for… oh, ten or fifteen minutes, barely noticing that the time was passing. Hypnotic, right?"

  "Aye," Maggie said softly, looking at Kay very sharply. "Very much so. It's good you were a safe distance, or they might've lured you right off the edge of that castle roof."

  Liam looked extremely unhappy about that prospect, but Kay didn't give him a chance to make a comment, not trusting herself not to snap at him if he felt it necessary to point out how dangerous what she had done had been.

  "Anyway — I eventually had to blink, and that was when the spell broke. So I figured — it must have something to do with the act of seeing the light, not some unrelated magic or whatever that the wisps do."

  "Good thinking," Maggie said brightly. "Shame we couldn't have blindfolded those two damn fools who went missing last night."

  A cold feeling settled into Kay's gut. She sat up a little, poured herself another glass of water to wash away the lingering foul taste of the green-tinted potion. Liam didn't look surprised — there was a grim expression on his face, like he'd been waiting to get to this topic of conversation. Her heart sank. It seemed there had been an unpleasant new development in the case.

  "What happened?" she asked, almost not wanting to know.

  "Despite all the rumors and warnings that have been passing around," Liam explained heavily, "it seems that we still have trouble. Tradesmen and travelers, people who think they can just stick to the road… and of course, youths who steal out under cover of darkness to get up to mischief. The two young men who are missing were seventeen and eighteen years old, respectively. Two guesses what they were up to."

  Maggie chuckled darkly. "No good, I'd warrant. Bad time to choose to be rebellious, though."

  "Aye, that it is. They haven't been seen since last night, and it's not looking good for the recovery of their bodies — there are teams out searching the bog now, looking under all the cattle bones for human ones."