Legacy of the Mist Clans Box Set (86 page)

“As ye will, lassie.”

“Kenna, when we get him into the wagon, I will need you to keep him warm and don’t stop talking to him. If he falls unconscious now, we may lose him.”

Tears burned her eyes even more, but she nodded. Suddenly, Raven’s death seemed like it had happened just yesterday, so perfectly vivid was it in her memory.

The wagon arrived and Lia moved to prepare it.

Kenna leaned closer to Aidan, whispering in his ear. “Aidan MacGrigor, I lost Raven, but if ye die in my arms as she did, I willna survive it. My heart canna bear losing ye.”

The wagon was ready, and Connell and Lachlan cautiously placed Aidan into it. Kenna realized they had done this before.

“Now, lie next to him,” Lia told her.

Kenna blinked in surprise.

Lia grinned at her. “Keep him warm. I’ll settle the blanket over you.”

Kenna did so, holding Aidan tightly, and Lia tucked the blanket around them. Kenna gritted her teeth as she started sweating, but she realized the reason for Lia’s instruction because Aidan’s gray skin was cold and clammy. He shivered but was too weak to do so with any strength. He did manage to turn toward her somewhat, instinctively seeking warmth.

“Kenna?” he called weakly.

“I’m here, Aidan,” she whispered, caressing his face. “I’m right here, and I’m no’ leaving ye ever again.”

“Are you ready?” Lia asked.

Kenna looked up, surprised to see her in the driver’s seat holding the reins. The lad who had brought the wagon sat beside her. Connell and Lachlan mounted their horses to ride with them as their escort.

Lia shocked her even more when she blushed. “My husband taught me how to drive a team,” she said softly. “I quickly realized the importance of getting wounded back to the castle not only rapidly but as smoothly as possible. If we travel too quickly, it may cause even more damage.”

“And the lassie has turned managing a team into an art,” Connell said. “I daresay even the best drivers are jealous of her.”

Lia nodded at him and released the brake on the wagon. “Get up,” she barked to the horses, and the wagon moved forward smoothly.

“MacGrigor!” the battle cry and answering roars sounded as they began to put distance between the wagon and the trees.

“Dinna worry over it, lassie,” Connell said, noting her gaze and finally allowing a smile to escape. “That be the victory.”

Kenna looked at Aidan. Now there only remained one victory to earn.

A
knock on the door brought Kenna bolting awake. She had dozed off in the chair at Aidan’s bedside again. For the past two days, his life hung by a thread, and he battled a terrible fever. Kenna blinked her blurred vision clear. The tiny room barely had enough space for a bed large enough to fit his tall frame, a small table, and two chairs along with a chest containing his clothing. Kenna sat next to him, her fingers firmly entangled with his, worry eating at the pit of her gut.

The knock sounded again.

“Enter,” she called.

Lia opened the door, carrying a cup. “It’s time for his medicant.”

Kenna leaned forward, stroking her fingers through the soft locks of his hair. His skin was still dreadfully gray. Each time it grew more difficult to rouse him to take his medicant. But after two days, Kenna had grown quite adept. She spoke softly to him and moved so he was braced against her.

Lia stepped to the bedside and held the cup to his lips. “Drink, Aidan.”

He groaned, his eyes fluttering open, but they were unfocused and glazed. Kenna doubted if he truly realized where he was. Until he looked up at her. “Sparrow?”

“Aye,” she said, smiling, vowing not to cry, but she hated seeing him like this, so terribly weak, so close to death.

“I love ye,” he murmured then closed his eyes again.

The blush burned brightly on her cheeks, and she looked up at Lia in embarrassment. But Lia’s expression was anything but mocking, in fact, she appeared as if her heart might break at that moment.

“Aidan,” Lia called. “I need you to drink your medicant.”

He somehow managed to curl his lip, his distaste obvious despite his weakened condition. Kenna found her worry easing just a bit. She held the cup to his lips and he drank it down then shivered. “Lassie,” he murmured, his voice soft. “Ye be giving me my brother’s medicant now?”

Lia smiled as she took the cup from Kenna. “Nay, that one is foul enough that it would get you right out of bed.” Kenna’s smile grew as her fingers stroked through Aidan’s thick hair. Lia had told her of the MacGrigor’s reluctance to take his daily medicant for his falling-down sickness because of its foul taste.

Aidan rested his head heavily against her shoulder. Lia touched his brow, checking his fever. “At least it hasn’t gone higher,” she said.

Kenna helped Aidan lay back down on his bed, but her worry returned. “It is still so high.”

“Aye.”

She waited a moment, but Aidan appeared to have returned to sleep.

“Kenna,” Lia said, her voice low so as to not to disturb Aidan. “Would you mind if we spoke for a bit?”

“Certainly,” she said, “but I be loath tae leave him.”

Lia shook her head. “That medicant will make him sleep soundly in a moment.” She took a chair next to Kenna. “Over the past two years, I’ve learned a bit about dealing with the MacGrigor brothers. Perhaps it would be best if you tell me everything that has happened. When Connell and Mairi arrived so unexpectedly, I was at wit’s end worrying over Aidan. Ronan took it all in stride, but when Connell told us why he brought Mairi and her bairn here, I think that gave even my husband pause.”

Kenna thought for a long moment. “We didna mean tae vex ye.”

Lia’s lips twitched. “The brothers are always vexed with each other.”

Kenna smiled. The more she grew to know Lia, the more she liked her. She had a strength within her that reminded Kenna of Raven and a nobility of heart that Kenna admired.

“I barely ken where tae begin,” she said softly. She looked down at herself. She now wore a dress made of finely homespun wool. Lia was so tall that none of her clothing fit Kenna, but a serving lass had matched Kenna in size, and even though it belonged to a servant of the castle, the weave was equal to Kenna’s station as a laird’s daughter and a far finer make than her father had permitted her to wear—unless she was greeting a potential suitor, one that her father wished to toy with.

Her gaze fell on her clothing from the trail that had been cleaned and neatly folded. Atop it sat her biodags. The glittering steel caught and held her attention. Since Raven’s death, she’d had no other to confide in aside from Aidan, no one to trust. Tears blurred her vision and one dripped down her cheek.

“Kenna,” Lia said gently and gripped her hand with surprising strength.

Kenna looked up at her and saw not the condemning gaze of a laird’s wife but the care and compassion of a woman devoted to healing.

“Perhaps it would help if I tell you a bit about myself,” Lia said. “I was not raised as nobility.”

“Aidan said ye were a foundling.”

Lia nodded. “I’m sure he told you a bit since it was the truth of my inheritance he sought when he first met you. But from the time Sueta found me when I was seven, I was taught to be a healer. Kenna, it’s important that you understand: I do not always know how the rules of society work. I know healing, not stations or politics.”

“Aidan said that be why ye turn no one away. All are equal in yer eyes, they are only souls in need of help.”

She smiled, her hazel eyes sparkling. “That’s exactly right, Kenna. I never knew any brothers or sisters. If I had any, I do not remember them, but Aidan is my brother and I absolutely adore him.”

“I . . . ” Her voice cracked and she drew a breath to steady herself. “I never had any brothers or sisters either . . . until I met Raven.”

“Raven? One of Aidan’s birds?”

Kenna nodded. “She was with Aidan when they saved me.”

“Saved you? From the knights-errant?”

“Aye. Because of her, I learned how tae fight.”

Lia’s fingers tightened on hers. “Tell me, Kenna.”

Kenna drew another deep breath and the story came pouring forth. She could not stop it. She left nothing out, and only when she finished the tale did she realize she was sobbing against Lia’s shoulder. Lia held her tightly, gently stroking her hair, speaking soft, soothing words.

Kenna slowly pulled her wits about her and was suddenly grateful for Lia’s caring nature. No wonder she was such an accomplished healer.

A soft knock on the door interrupted them. It opened, and the MacGrigor stood at the threshold. He carried a parchment in his hand. “How be he?” he asked softly.

“His fever is still too high,” Lia said honestly. “But he is coherent enough to harass me about the foul taste of his medicant.”

The MacGrigor’s worried expression eased. “Now that be more like my brother.”

“He will defeat this,” Kenna said firmly, taking Aidan’s hand in hers.

“He is fighting with everything he has,” Lia said in agreement. “But I sense there’s more to this.”

“More?” Kenna asked in confusion.

“It is as if there is something holding him back, but I can’t define it.”

Kenna stared at her. Aidan had said she could work miracles, but did this woman have the gift of the Sight?

Lia caught her look and smiled. “’I’ve seen that expression before. Nay, I don’t have any mysterious powers. I just do all I can to understand my patients.” She paused and looked at her husband as he crossed the room and took her hand in his. “There are many factors in healing the body, and the heart is one of them.”

The MacGrigor gazed upon his wife with so much love in his eyes it brought a new surge of tears streaming down Kenna’s cheeks. Oh aye, the brothers were so very much alike. Aidan had gazed upon Kenna in the exact same fashion.

“He asked tae marry me,” she whispered. She snapped her jaw closed when both MacGrigor and Lia looked at her in shock.

That was the wrong thing tae say,
her thoughts screamed. Tears of pain clouded her vision just as her ragged emotions clouded her thinking. She rose, fighting back sobs, and fled the room.

“Kenna,” Lia called, following her through the door. “Kenna, it’s all right.”

Kenna sprinted blindly down the corridor but somehow missed the stairs and found herself at a dead end near the door to the MacGrigor’s solar.

“Forgive me,” she choked out as Lia caught up with her. She suddenly found herself in a strong embrace as Lia hugged her.

“Kenna, it’s all right,” she said again.

“I spoke out of turn. Forgive me.”

Lia stepped back enough to cup her face in her hands and force her to look up. “He loves you,” she said firmly, “and you love him.”

Kenna nodded, still fighting to control her tears.

“Then that’s all that matters,” Lia said. “The walls of this castle are always great enough to house the love of family.”

“Lia, a word with ye,” the MacGrigor said as he approached.

Kenna found herself terrified of his tone. She saw the glare his wife shot him, but he returned her gaze evenly.

“Don’t you start with me,” Lia growled.

Kenna blinked. She had opposed Aidan on occasion, but she had never witnessed such powerful defiance from a woman in the face of her husband’s displeasure. But Lia bowed up like a cat. Displeasure from her giant of a husband didn’t intimidate her one whit.

Then to Kenna’s shock, the MacGrigor’s angry expression eased and a smile nearly cracked his face.
“Tha gaol agam ort,”
he said in Gaelic.
I love you.

Lia still glared at him, but her cheeks reddened slightly.
“Je t’aime,”
she said.

It sounded like French, but Kenna had never been taught the language, so she wasn’t sure.

The MacGrigor finally grinned then looked at Kenna. “Forgive us, lassie, but I need tae speak with my wife for a moment.”

Kenna nodded and dashed away her tears, hurrying back to Aidan’s room.

HHH

Lia exploded through the door to the solar, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to scream in fury and heartbreak. She spotted Alba as she gently rocked Maeve’s cradle. Alba looked up at her and held her finger to her lips, then her eyes widened in alarm when she noticed Lia’s expression.

“Alba,” Lia said, barely managing to keep her voice low. “If you will excuse us.”

“Of course,” she said and hurried from the room.

Ronan closed the door behind her. “Lia—” he began.

She rounded on him. “He loves her.”

Ronan blinked as if that was the last thing he expected her to say. “I ken that, lass.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Lia, in his youth, Aidan vowed he wouldna marry.”

“Until he met a bird who sang a song he couldna resist,” Lia said, mimicking his brogue. “You said it yourself on the eve of our wedding.”

“I did,” Ronan agreed, stepping closer. “But Lia, there be more tae this than we’re seeing.” He held up the vellum he still gripped in his fingers. “Ye ken when Connell returned with Mairi and her bairn saying Aidan forced him tae leave him behind that I sent Gordy out looking.”

“Aye.”

“My brother, as usual, has gotten himself into a fine mess.”

She frowned and Ronan handed her the vellum. In the past two years she had learned to read quite well. She scanned the words and blinked then stared at Ronan in shock. “The Bruce sends a herald this way?”

“Aye. Gordy fears the Bruce has learned the truth about Mairi and her bairn. He comes tae demand we give them over. In turn, the Bruce will forgive the crimes of my brother.”

“Crimes?”

“He lied tae the Bruce about wee Adam, and he slew Laird Stewart and some of the Bruce’s men. Even if my brother recovers from his injury, he will hang for his crimes.”

Lia covered her mouth. “Ronan we can’t—”

“Lassie,” Ronan said in gentle rebuke, “ye ken me better than that. The Bruce will have tae go through me tae get tae my brother.” He paused and looked at the cradle in the room. “And I will ne’er allow a wee bairn tae be used in a political game if I can stop it.”

“What are we going to do?”

His harsh expression eased and he smiled at her. “That’s why I love ye.”

“What?”

“Ye always say ‘we’ and ne’er let it fall solely on my shoulders.”

“Ronan,” she scolded but returned his smile.

“I dinna ken, lass,” he said, his smile vanishing. “But the herald approaches.
We
have three days tae determine a solution.”

HHH

Kenna heard a crash and felt the table next to her lurch. She blinked open her eyes in confusion, realizing she had fallen asleep in her chair next to Aidan’s bedside again.

“Aidan, what are ye doing?” she cried as she realized he had pulled himself from his bed and collided with the table. She leapt to her feet and caught him before he fell.

“We must ride,” he gasped, shaking violently. He staggered against her.

Kenna barely managed to keep him from falling. She tried to angle him back toward the bed as his knees threatened to buckle. He was covered in sweat, his hair and bedclothes soaked.

The door flung open. “Lassie?” Connell called. He took one look at Aidan and crossed the room in a heartbeat. Kenna sighed in relief as Connell pulled Aidan’s arm over his shoulders and helped him back into bed.

“Connell?” she asked. “What are ye doing here?”

“We all have been taking turns standing guard outside the door,” he said and carefully lowered Aidan onto his bed. “Lia feared something like this might happen.”

“And it did,” Lia said as she rushed through the door.

Aidan muttered incoherently, but Lia approached and felt his forehead. Her shoulders relaxed and she smiled. “His fever breaks, that’s why he’s confused.”

“Thank God,” Kenna said, sinking into her chair.

“Aye,” Lia said then turned to her, scowling. “But you, my dear, need to sleep somewhere other than a chair.”

Kenna grinned up at her ruefully. “Aye, but I canna—”

“Leave him,” Lia finished for her. “Connell, if Ronan is still entertaining Maeve, will you ask Alba to fetch some fresh bedding?”

“Of course, lassie.”

“Don’t worry, Kenna,” Lia said smiling. “Give him a day or two, and he’ll be on his feet again.”

HHH

Two days later, Aidan’s fever had vanished, but he was in a surly temper, hating being stuck in his room. Lia finally gave him leave to sit in the great hall for a spell, but he was still in pain and struggled to stand. Connell had to help him down the stairs while Kenna hovered worriedly right behind.