Page 35 of Highlander's Captive Bride
Bellamy squeezed her shoulders. “Ye dinnae have to go on if ye dinnae want to,” he told her gently.
But something inside her compelled her to continue. She found she wanted him to know.
“Let me tell ye everything,” she said, trying to compose herself.
“All right. If ye’re sure.”
“The castle was burning all around me, and I hid in me chambers for a while, but then, some of Keegan’s men came and dragged me out into the courtyard.” She took a deep, steadying breath. “I saw me faither there, fighting with Keegan. Keegan was taunting him, and eventually, he… he managed to wound Faither in the belly.” She paused again, not realizing she had placed her hand over Bellamy’s as if seeking comfort. “Faither tried to keep on fighting, but I knew at once he was mortally wounded.”
The past was playing out before her eyes as she spoke.
“Ach, I’m so sorry, Daisy, that must have been terrible for ye to see,” Bellamy said, his deep voice gentle.
“Aye, it was. Then it all got confusing. I broke away from Keegan’s men and ran towards Faither, but all of a sudden, me sister Delilah was there, too, right next to me. I couldnae understand how she came to be there, and then the whole place was overrun by more soldiers—O’Reid men. It was Evan, come to help us. Then, Keegan attacked Faither again. He… he ran him through with his blade, Bellamy, right through.”
She stared up at Bellamy then, deep into his eyes, implicitly knowing he would understand the scene she was trying to convey. He put an arm around her shoulders and held her gently. The warmth and comfort it gave her encouraged her to go on.
“Faither collapsed, me and Delilah were screaming, holding him as he lay there, bleeding. I tried to help him, to staunch the blood, but for all me knowledge of healing, I could do naething, naething. I kept looking around for Dominic, but I couldnae see him anywhere, and I started to believe he must have been killed, too.”
A small sob escaped her lips then. Bellamy tightened his hold on her.
“But all of a sudden, he appeared, staggering towards us, his face all burned. Me heart dropped. He was so badly injured, I kenned he couldnae fight, and that Keegan would kill him, too.”
Her heart was pounding now, recalling that dreadful moment.
“But then, a miracle happened. For just as Keegan was coming to finish Faither off, Evan just kind of bolted out of nowhere and crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. They fought, and thank God—” She paused, clenching her fists as she recalled the moment she had known they had been saved. “Evan stabbed him in the heart and finished him off for good. And good riddance to him.”
Bellamy was still holding her comfortingly as she finished the worst part of her story. “I wish ye hadnae had to go through that, Daisy. What a terrible thing for ye to witness, and to lose yer faither in such a manner,” he told her.
“Aye, but I havenae finished yet. I havenae answered yer question,” she replied.
“All right,” he said hesitantly.
“I still have to tell ye what happened afterwards with me and Dominic.”
“Aye, I’m listening, lass.”
“We found out afterwards that Evan had found Dominic unconscious inside the castle, with half his face all burned. Evan was the one who saved his life by carrying him outside into the courtyard. That was when Evan saw Keegan, with Faither wounded on the ground.
“While he was preparing to launch a surprise attack on Keegan, knowing we would be next if he did not stop him, Dominic regained his wits and stumbled over to me and Delilah. He was holding Faither in his arms as he died, just when Evan appeared out of nowhere and killed Keegan.
“After that, I tried everything I knew to heal Dominic’s burns. It became a sort of obsession to me, though I didnae realize it at the time. For the next four years or so, it was what occupied most of me thoughts. I suppose it was me way of trying to forget what had happened with Faither.
“But I didnae realize it was driving Dominic mad, me fussing over him all the time. I forgot he was the Laird, and I was forever telling him what he should and shouldnae do. I was so hurt when he finally told me I had to leave the castle, but he wouldnae tell me why. I thought he hated me, Bellamy.”
“Of course, he didnae hate ye! But I think I can understand why he wanted ye to leave.”
“Aye, he told me so later. But at the time, I really thought he wanted to get rid of me because I brought back bad memories or something,” Daisy murmured, feeling a twinge of the old pain in her heart. “And when I refused, he tried to force me out by bringing in another healer to treat him. Who happened to be—”
“Violet,” Bellamy supplied.
Daisy looked up at him, amazed by his perceptiveness. “That’s right, Violet. I was angry at first, but Violet was so sweet, I couldnae be angry with her for so long. We soon became friends, and we got into trouble with Dominic when she agreed to have me as her apprentice, for she is a great healer herself, and I wanted her to teach me everything she knew. But he still wanted me to go.”
“So, what happened to make ye leave in the end?”
Daisy gave a small laugh, thinking of her sister-in-law. “Violet, again. She taught me lots, but maybe the most important thing I learned from her is that to become really great, a healer needs to keep on learning. And that means going out and meeting other healers and learning from them, too.
“That was when I decided to go and stay with me other sister, Dakota, Lady Rottrich, and get her healer to teach me all she knew as well.” She looked up at him, able to smile now. “And ye ken the rest.”
