A Highland Pearl (Highland Treasures Book 1) (5 page)

Maidie stood and turned to the servant. “Do you ken anything
about these small cuts on the laird’s arm?”

The servant nodded. “Yes, Madam. Angus came in earlier and
bled the laird. He said Laird Andrew’s body fluids need balancing so the fever
would leave. He’ll be back later in the day to bleed him again.”

“What! Saints above, he’s lost enough blood. What is the man
thinking? Is he trying to finish what the battle ax could no’?” The servant’s
eyes grew wide. “Dinna you let one person, including Angus, touch the Laird
while I’m gone.”

“Yes, Madam,” The
gille
swallowed hard then bowed.

Maidie rushed from the chamber. She met Davina on the
stairway. “Did you ken Angus bled your brother this morn?”

Davina’s eyes widened. “No. I had no idea Angus even saw him.”

“Well, Laird Andrew’s about to die from lack of blood. Angus
told Alan he could get out of bed and train with the warriors. Alan’s wound is
too severe to be up and about already. What am I to do? I treat the men and
stitch their wounds, then Angus near kills them with his barbaric practices.”

Davina placed her hand on Maidie’s arm. “Angus wanna listen to
me, but I ken someone he will listen to. Come with me.”

Davina grabbed Maidie’s hand and led her down the stone steps,
through the great hall, and out into the bailey. Maidie saw Angus look up from
tending one of the wounded men when the two women rushed through the great hall.
She felt sorry for the man and determined to care for all the wounded that day,
herself. Mayhap she could undo some of the harm Angus inflicted upon them.

Maidie followed Davina out of the castle gate and into the
field beyond where the warriors engaged in their daily training exercises.
Gavin evidently had tired of shooting arrows at her Cameron kertch and wrestled
a man of equal build in hand-to-hand combat. Several heads turned to watch the
women approach the training field. Maidie stopped. She spotted Alan limping
while trying to swing a claymore at an opponent. He swung then fell to the
ground. Davina took her hand again, and pulled her forward.

“Brother.” Davina called.

Gavin turned his head. His opponent grabbed the tanist’s arm,
twisted it, and flung him to the ground with a loud thud. The man laughed.
Gavin stood and glared at the warrior before walking toward the ladies.

“Sister.” Gavin addressed Davina, keeping his eyes on Maidie. “What
brings you bonny lasses out to this field of battle?” He bowed.

Gavin stood dressed in only a great plaide belted around his
waist with the long end of it girding his loins and looped into the wide belt.
His body glistened with perspiration and mud caked his legs. The shoulder
length russet hair lay tied with the familiar leather thong, and the stubble of
a beard darkened his face. Maidie felt a blush beginning at the tip of her toes
and rushing up her body when her eyes met his. He smiled at her discomfort.

“M’Ladies, what may this humble lad do for the two of you?”
Gavin turned questioning eyes from Maidie to his sister.

“The brute of a castle physician, Angus MacKay, is killing our
brother,” Davina released Maidie’s arm and grabbed her brother’s sweaty one. “You
must stop him from seeing Andrew.”

“What happened to Andrew? I thought he was in the charge of
this healer.” Gavin turned to look at Maidie with an arched brow.

Heat rose to her face under his scrutiny, but she kept her
eyes on his instead of his well-formed muscular body. “Angus came in this morn
before I awoke and bled Andrew. Now the chief lies on his death bed once more.”
Maidie’s voice grew higher in pitch as she spoke.

Davina jerked on Gavin’s arm. “You must come at once.”

“Calm down, Sister. I’ll go see to Andrew, and tell Angus to
leave the chief’s care to this lass.” He turned back to Maidie. “If that’s what
you wish, Madam.”

Maidie realized the choice of caring for the chief rested with
her. Did she want the responsibility? If he should die under her care, she
would be an outcast for sure. And did she wish to come to Fàrdach Castle each
day and subject herself to Gavin’s amorous attentions? He was a fine specimen
of a man, but his attentions made her very uncomfortable. She turned to search
Davina’s anxious face.

“Please, Maidie. You must care for my brother. He will die
otherwise,” Davina pleaded.

How could she refuse such a request? “I will care for the
chief, but only if Angus stays away from him. I can’t undo the harm if the
physician continues to drain the blood from the chief’s body, and give him
potions I dinna ken about.”

Tears welled in Davina’s eyes. She reached for Maidie and
embraced her. On releasing Maidie, Davina smiled and swiped the tears away with
a hand. “Thank you ever so much. The entire clan will be in your debt, just
save our brother’s life.”

“I’m covered with the filth of battle, but when I’m clean, I’ll
thank you properly.” Gavin’s broad smile twinkled in his eyes. She could
imagine he would be more than willing to fulfill that promise. He turned to
Davina. “Send Angus to me. I’m certain he’s with the wounded in the great hall.
He will need to help me get them home to their families.”

“Thank you, Brother,” Davina said. “Come with me, Maidie. You
need to see Andrew.” The girl took Maidie’s hand and led her toward the castle.
With a nod and a smile, Gavin turned back to his companions.

When Davina and Maidie entered the great hall of the keep,
Angus could not be seen. Servants fed the wounded oat gruel and gave them sips
of ale. Most sat up or leaned on an elbow. The scene looked much different from
the one she faced the day before. Her heart raced with gladness to see the
warriors on the mend, but they were tough lads and taught to suffer pain
without complaint. She felt gladness over being able to help so many. Never had
she been asked to care for the warriors before the day last.

Davina stopped her. “Will you go to my brother while I find
Angus? Please dinna let Andrew die. My brothers are all I have in this world.”

“I’ll do my best, Lady Davina, but I can make no promises.”
Maidie patted the hand of the distraught girl who then turned to walk away as
Maidie made her way to Andrew’s chamber.

A movement on the far end of the passage caught her eye. The
form vanished in a second and she wondered if it were the same person she saw
the night before. Maybe the lady came back searching for Gavin and found him
gone. Maidie knocked. Andrew’s young servant opened the door. He looked dashing
dressed in full livery and bowed when she entered.

Upon reaching the chief’s bedside, Maidie noticed a small
amount of color in his cheeks, and the scar looked redder, although the stubble
of his dark beard now hid most of it. She stretched forth a hand to his
forehead. It felt cooler to her touch. His eyelashes fluttered and a strong
hand reached to grasp hers. The grey eyes opened to stare at her. He tried to
speak and wet dry lips with his tongue. Maidie quickly removed her hand from
his and took the cup of water from the bedside table. She lifted his head and
helped him drink. He clasped her hand and the cup with both of his. ‘Twas a
good sign to be sure. Andrew had enough strength to drink. He needed water to
replenish his blood supply.

He pushed her hand away, so she placed the cup on the table. “Thank
you,” he whispered.

She smiled into his eyes before they closed. “You’re welcome,
M’Laird.”

“Andrew,” came the faint answer.

“You’re welcome, Andrew,” she whispered in his ear. The
corners of his mouth turned up before he drifted away.

She didn’t say more, but watched while he sank into a restless
sleep and then rushed to her chamber to retrieve the small linen bag of willow
bark. Maidie wanted the Laird to drink white willow bark tea to further reduce
the fever.

A faint war cry came from the direction of the training field.
Maidie knew she shouldn’t venture to look, but curiosity overcame her. She hesitantly
made her way to the window. One warrior stood over another with sword in hand
as if to strike. The others circled the two men. A large framed man strode
forward, took the warrior’s raised sword arm and proclaimed him the winner. A
cheer went up from the group. Another armed with an ax stepped forward,
evidently to fight the winner. The leader struck a distance between the two men.
He dropped his arm then stood out of the way while the warriors sparred.

Gavin must have left the group. He could not be seen among his
men. Hopefully, the tanist was speaking to Angus about his treatment of Laird Andrew.
Maidie left the chamber and made her way to the kitchen to check on Sven and
have willow bark tea brewed for the chief.

***

The sun’s rays streamed through the
window and across the bed with a warm glowing light when Andrew opened his
eyes. Someone messed with his hair. He could feel warm water running along his
scalp. His head lay propped on two towel-covered pillows. An angel dressed in a
linen blouse with sleeves rolled up past the elbow stood over him. Maybe he had
died and gone to heaven. The angel ran her fingers through the strands of his
hair and rubbed his scalp. The white skin of her wet arms glistened with
droplets of water while the damp cloth of the blouse clung to round breasts,
and a smell of roses penetrated the air around her. He was in heaven for sure.
What would such an angel be called? He reached for the slender arm crossing his
face.

“Ach! You’re awake,” bright blue eyes smiled into his.

“How can a mon sleep with an angel scrubbing his hair?” Light
encircled the angel’s golden tresses that were tied back with a kertch of Munro
colors. Her face shone with a health rosy glow. White teeth glinted between the
pink lips that smiled at him.

“Have I died and gone to heaven? Surely heaven can be no finer
than this moment.” Water dripped from the wet arm to his bare chest. She
quickly jerked her arm away and wiped his chest with a towel.

“Nae, M’Laird. You’re in bed at Fàrdach Castle recovering from
a battle wound.” Her voice sounded like tinkling bells.

Aye, now he remembered the skirmish with the Camerons and
MacKenzies. The vermin were stealing cattle from his tenants, and he took a
band of men to put a stop to their reiving. One large warrior who wore the
Cameron colors slashed at him with an ax. He remembered no more.

“How long have I been in this bed?” He tried to sit up. A
sharp pain shot through his belly. “Saints in heaven.” He lay down again,
pulled back the sheet to look at the bandaged wound, and closed his eyes in
pain. “I remember the pain now.”

“You have a verra bad wound on your belly, M’Laird. Please
dinna try to get up again, and let me finish rinsing the soap from your hair.”

The angel straightened his hair over the pillow. She took a
bowl from behind his head and threw the soapy water out of the window. On
replacing the bowl behind the pillows, she took a pitcher of warm water and
poured it through his hair, guiding the flowing water with her free hand.
Andrew’s mind turned from the burning in his abdomen to the soft touch of the
woman’s hand. The sudden onset of pain brought his thoughts back to earth, but
this lovely lass running her hands through his hair was indeed, heaven on
earth.

When the pain subsided once more, he asked, “Who are you,
lass?”

“I am Maidie Munro, M’Laird. I’m a healer in the village and
the widow of your cousin, Kenneth Munro. I’ve been taking care of you.”

“Did you stitch my wound, Maidie Munro?” He hoped she had been
the one to suture the large gash. He vaguely remembered asking for her. She did
a fine job on Davina’s arm, and he wanted the same on his belly.

“Aye, I did. The time has come to change the dressing.” She
searched his face with those large eyes. “If you’re up to it, M’Laird.”

“I’m up to it if you change the dressing.” A good reason to
keep this angel and her tender touch close.

“I’ll change the dressing, M’Laird.” She gently lifted his
head, and took a fresh towel from Colin. She wrapped the towel around his head,
rubbed the water out of his hair, then removed the wet towels from the pillows.
Maidie handed Colin the towels and bowl of rinse water. She removed the towel
from Andrew’s hair, took a comb from the table and began combing the tangles
from his hair. Never had his hair been given such fine treatment. A man could
get use to such service.

When she finished combing, he caught her arm before she walked
away. “Thank you again, Maidie Munro. Never has my hair had such fine and
gentle handling. I think I remember asking you to call me Andrew.” He smiled at
her discomfort.

“Aye, so you did.” She looked out of the window, clearly ill
at ease.

“Why do you turn from me?” He pulled on her arm. “Look at me.”

“I dinna turn from you, Andrew. I only feel uneasy calling our
chief by his given name.” She looked into his eyes again. Hers grew dark. “I-I-It
seems too familiar for our relationship. I hardly ken you.”

“You saved my life. That’s a very intimate relationship. Now,
I owe you a life for the one you saved.”

“You owe me naught, M’Laird. I am a healer, and I tend the
wounds of any who need me.”

“But you will call me Andrew?” He pressed the fair arm.

“If you request it. I will.” She pulled her arm free and
backed from the bed.

Andrew could converse with the woman no more. His throbbing
head and belly allowed no more conversation. His eyes closed for a moment’s
rest. What was happening on the other side of his chamber door? Had Gavin been
in to see about him? He needed to see his brother and hear a report on the
injured and the outcome of the battle. Andrew opened his eyes and searched the
chamber. The woman was gone. Colin stood quietly beside the bed.

“Colin, help me up from this bed. I need to see about the clan’s
business.” He turned with excruciating pain and put his feet on the floor.