Enchanted Lover (25 page)

“Lady Asilinn, Skye, what are you doing?”

Asilinn knew a moment of indecision. Was he the
traitor? Should she trust him? She had little recourse now and something in the
back of her brain told her time was of the essence. Offering a silent prayer to
the heavens, she made her decision.

“I had a vision about Jared. I believe he's still
alive but wounded. Skye and I are going to find him.”

“Out of the question, it is too dangerous.”

“You are not my laird, Liam. I will go,” Asilinn
insisted. “Tomorrow may be too late. He is not dead but he is badly hurt.”

Liam looked back and forth between Skye and Asilinn.
“I'll go with you.”

Giving Asilinn a questioning glance, Skye said,
“Liam, what are you doing in the stable in the middle of the night? Perhaps you
are the traitor my brother seeks. Maybe you were going out to find him and
finish him off.”

“Under the circumstances I suppose you'll have to
trust me,” Liam replied, saddling his horse. “Lady Asilinn and I have already
had this discussion. There is no time now to stand talking if what Asilinn sees
is true.”

Skye looked at Asilinn and shrugged. They mounted and
Liam led them out of Dunbocan by a little-used exit.

Pushing the horses, they were able to make Burnum
Woods before dawn. Once on the dark trails Asilinn gave Ailleagian his head.

“Find Jared,” she urged, talking to the huge
stallion. He seemed to wander aimlessly at first and then took off at a good
clip through the dense woods.

When they reached the site of the attack, dawn was
just coloring the sky. Ailleagian danced nervously on the narrow path. Suddenly
without hesitation, he plunged over the embankment. Asilinn was almost unseated
when he lurched forward down the steep slope. Once at the bottom he seemed
confused and walked in circles.

“Dismount and search the bushes,” Asilinn ordered.
Liam and Skye obeyed without question.

Skye pulled back some brush. She saw her brother’s
body lying bloody and bruised on the cold ground.

Asilinn rushed over. Jared's shoulder twisted in an
awkward position and dirt and blood covered his clothing. Stooping over him,
Asilinn ripped off the leather jerkin covering his shirt. The shirt peeled away
next and Skye gasped.

“He's wearing a chain mail vest!”

Asilinn smiled when she recognized the armor. “His
breath is shallow but there are only two places where the armor has been
pierced. They do not look too deep.” She studied the angle of his shoulder and
looked up at Liam. “Jared’s shoulder is dislocated. The longer it is out of
line, the worse it will be. You must pull it back into position. I dinna have
the strength required.”

She looked at Liam expectantly. He knelt beside her
and jerked Jared's arm, snapping it back into the socket. A raw scream tore
from Jared's parched throat when Liam performed his task. Jared fell back on
the ground deadly still. Asilinn brushed his dark hair away from his face and
noted the jagged wound running along his chin line.

“We must hurry.” She talked softly to him while she
bound his shoulder into place as best she could.

Jared moaned, trying hard to lift back the dark
curtain separating him from her sweet voice. He felt strong arms lift him, then
the soft warmth of his wife wrapped around him. He managed to open his eyes
briefly. “Asilinn,” he choked.

“I'm here,” she murmured.

It was no use. His eyelids were too heavy. He passed
from consciousness with one fleeting glimpse of her burning in his brain.

It was three days before the Laird of Dunbocan woke
to a dim state of consciousness. Asilinn remained constantly by his side
working her magic with a variety of cures and medicines and that only made
those around her wonder more. She ignored their suspicious nature and went
about the business of making Jared whole again.

His chest was badly bruised with two good size stab
wounds. They were not deep. She had been forced to sew stitches in the gash
running along his chin line and she was satisfied with its healing progress.
The dislocated shoulder was still bound in place to prevent him from hurting it
if he grew fitful in his semi-conscious state.

The most disconcerting injury was the blow to the
head. At first Asilinn wondered if he would ever regain consciousness, then she
worried when he did, he would have no memory. One of her father's men had
sustained a similar injury and never remembered any of his family again. She
could treat everything else, but the head was out of her hands.

Morven was dismayed to discover she, Skye, and Liam
ventured out to Burnum Woods without his knowledge or consent. He seemed
thrilled with their success, but admonished them all for their folly. Morven
had taken up Jared's duties during his recuperation and appeared to be managing
rather well.

Asilinn slept beside her husband every night. She was
now certain she was with child and her determination to heal Jared grew. He was
her only hope to protect the child she carried from the warring clans. Her
husband had yet to show signs of wakening. Asilinn knew the longer he stayed
unconscious the greater the possibility he had serious damage from his fall.

She had just risen and dressed on the morning of the
fourth day when Flanna arrived with breakfast and heated the water Asilinn had
requested. Asilinn had gotten into the habit of bathing Jared every morning.
Somehow, it reassured her to run her hands over his strong limbs.

He had been a little more active during the night,
tossing around and mumbling at times. This gave Asilinn hope he might waken
soon. She hoped when he did, he was himself.

As usual, she began with his face carefully cleansing
the area around his jaw. He would probably have a scar there, but the cut ran
just on the underside of the jawbone. It would not be very noticeable when it
healed. He sighed with a deep exhale when she moved down his neck to his
powerful chest. His head tossed on the pillow with each intake of air. She
wondered if he was in pain.

“Jared,” she whispered, leaning forward and stroking
his forehead.

He muttered something under his breath. It was hardly
audible. Asilinn was able to make out a few words. “I have failed you,” he
said.

“No Jared, you have not failed me.”

He grew more agitated and tears formed in his
half-closed eyes. “I never meant to see you come to harm.” His voice was hoarse
with emotion.

Asilinn leaned closer and rubbed his shoulder. “I am
safe.”

His free arm closed around her and he let out another
distraught sigh. “Oh Sarah, I would change everything to have you back with
us,” he whispered as he caressed her hair.

Asilinn felt a knot forming in the pit of her
stomach. Was Liam's horror story true? She lay pinned to Jared's side, her
heart thundering erratically within her chest. She was unable to collect
herself enough to move.

He sighed again and his eyelids fluttered open. She
looked into his emerald eyes. He gave her a weak smile.

“Asilinn,” he rasped. “You were right about the
ambush.” He studied her desolate expression. “What is it? Are you unhappy they
did not succeed?”

“No, of course not,” she said, trying to pull herself
up from his chest. “I warned you, did I not?” He eyed her curiously.

“Aye and I must say I wondered why. You dinna want to
be my wife, yet you warn me of the ambush that may allow you to be a widow.” He
looked around their chamber then down at his bare body. “And now you tend me
yourself. Wife, could it be you miss the fire of our mating? To hear you speak
one would think you dinna want me but alas every time we touch you become eager
beneath me. And now you have stripped me naked whilst I slept.”

Her face turned scarlet. “I was bathing you!”

A tiny glimmer lit his eyes. “Please continue,” he
said. “Perhaps you can bring me back to life.”

“Are you a rutting stag even when you are too weak to
lift your head?”

“Mayhaps we will see when you move lower?”

Asilinn was fuming but it was clear he’d been a sweat
through the night and needed to be cleaned. She fought the urge to call Wynne
and have her do it. His desire for her was a tool she must use to ensure his
protection.

“Asilinn, cover me or wash me, it is cold in here.”

With a snort, she went to her task. He seemed very
amused by her attitude, but soon her gentle massage with the warm water
elicited contented sighs. He made no secret of the fact he was enjoying his
bath immensely. When she finished and sought to cover him, he grabbed her and
pulled her face to his, pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss. With a ragged
moan, he broke off and ran his hand over the jagged gash tormenting his jaw.

Asilinn laughed. “I fear milord will have painful
kisses for awhile. It will heal nicely, but right now it is still swollen.”

“What else is damaged?” He moved gingerly. “Why is my
arm tied to my chest?”

“Your shoulder was dislocated in the fall, but it is
back in place now. We can remove the ties if you wish. I only sought to keep
you from further damage by binding it.”

Jared gazed down at his discolored chest. “Your
father saved my life with his gift.” She could feel his eyes turn back to her.
“Asilinn, what's wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said her thoughts again on Sarah and
Liam’s terrible story. Standing she covered him with the blankets.

He gripped her hair and pulled her face back to hover
over his. “Dinna lie to me.”

“I will wait to discuss it until you have regained
your strength.”

“Now – God knows I can do little else but talk.”

She sat back. “If you insist, I want to know about
Sarah.” She straightened her back and lifted her chin defiantly. “Tell me about
Sarah so I might understand how you have wronged her.”

Jared's eyes went cold and he looked away from her
steady gaze. “How did you hear of Sarah?”

“You called out for her a few minutes before you
woke. Your words would make one think you wronged Sarah somehow.” She looked
down at her hands. She couldn't bring herself to explain the story Liam had
told her, to do that she would have to tell all, and possibly see Liam punished
for his candor. “Did you love Sarah?”

His eyes clouded over in an expression anything but
comforting. “I will only speak of this once,” he said. “Sarah and I grew up
together. Her parents were killed and she was sent to live with my family.”

“How old was she?”

“Maybe ten.”

“Did she like living here?”

“Aye, we had some happy years together… Morven, Liam,
me and Sarah."

“You act as if that changed.”

“Everything was fine when my father sent me to the
English courts. I was gone for over two years and returned to find my father
dead. The very night I arrived, Sarah came to me and asked for my protection.
She told me she had agreed to marry Liam and now found herself unable to go
through with the marriage.”

“Was she in love with you? Is that why she wished to
change her mind?” Asilinn asked. Liam's accusations rang in her ears.

“No,” Jared whispered, anguish crossing his face.
“She was like a sister to me, but her request placed me at odds with Liam. He
returned from a battle I should have been fighting to find I now kept him from
the woman he loved.”

“How did you fail Sarah?”

“Is that what I said?”

“Aye.”

“Sarah took her own life while under my so-called
protection. I was busy trying to make order out of the chaos after my father's
death. I failed to notice Sarah needed my attention. My father’s passing hurt
me but Sarah's death cut me to the core. I should have seen something was wrong
and helped her. To this day I have no idea why.” He sighed and fell silent.

“You need to speak with Liam about this.” She
believed Jared, but now she wondered who had told Liam Jared had raped Sarah,
perhaps the true culprit. It would explain much. Maybe it hadn't happened at
all. Was it just rumored by some discontent clansman? It was impossible to know.
Right now, she needed to guard her husband's health. “How about some food?” she
suggested.

She collected the soup she had kept close at hand in
the event he wakened and urged him to eat in spite of his sore jaw. He was able
to get down more than she expected.

When she was finished, he grasped her wrist as she
rose from the bed. “Now it is your turn to answer, sweet Asilinn. Why do you
tend like me some treasured husband when I know I am nothing of the sort in
your eyes?”

His words scorched her like burning embers. “Milord,
would not your first wife have done the same?” Why couldn’t she keep herself
from antagonizing him? She needed him to protect her and the child she carried,
but she couldn’t bring herself to be nice.

“Bloody hell, you know my first wife was little more
than a whore. Just answer the question.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of
someone clearing their throat. Asilinn whirled around and stared at Osred in
disbelief. “How dare you enter our chamber without knocking?”

“But, Lady Asilinn, the door was ajar,” Osred said.
“I didna mean to intrude. I thought only to inquire about Laird Jared. I see he
is much improved by your magic potions.”

Jared scowled at the man. “It is not magic. It is
medicine.”

“Whatever you wish to call it, Milord,” Osred
replied.

A light rap on the door alerted them to another
visitor. Morven entered the room with a smile on his face. “Milord, good to see
you awake. Lady Asilinn feared you might never wake. She has stayed by your
side night and day.”

Jared looked at Asilinn. “Aye, we were just
discussing that when Osred arrived.”

Osred's expression was somber as he observed them.

“Laird Jared has just awakened. It is too soon for
visitors,” Asilinn announced. “I'm sure when he has regained his strength he'll
feel more like talking.”