Page 7 of Highlander's Captive Bride
Things were peaceful for about the first mile or so, which gave Bellamy time to reflect on what had happened in the woods. Some said this healer was a witch because of her ability to cure folks when they could not be cured. He did not believe in the supposed powers of witches—that superstitious nonsense was for bairns and old women—but the lass had seemed to exert some power over him in the woods.
Something buried deep within him told him that the pull he felt towards her was more than just simple lust. Any woman was his if he wished it, and they usually wanted more of him than he was willing to give. That was the way he liked it. And that was the way he intended to keep it.
At the same time, he had to admit that this lassie’s warm curves pressed against his back and her slender arms wrapped around his waist as they rode on were distracting, to say the least. The feelings she was stirring inside him were unexpected. And disturbing, too.
He resolved not to let her weave her spell over him again.
“Why did ye have to kidnap me? I mean, why me? I’m needed urgently at home. I was on me way there in a hurry, to treat me sister-in-law, who’s very poorly. She needs me. There are plenty of other good healers in the Highlands. Why did ye nae kidnap one of them?”
The question broke suddenly through his reverie, demanding his attention.
“Because I heard ye’re the best,” he answered simply. “And I need the best.”
“Why? Why d’ye need me services so badly?”
Bellamy thought for a moment. “If I tell ye, will ye stop with yer questions until we get to me home?”
There was silence from behind, and then she said, “I might not. Then again, I might.”
He grunted through his smile. “Very well.” He paused to choose his words carefully. “I have a wee bairn—a daughter. Seven summers is all she is. She’s right bonny, but a week or so back, she suddenly started getting sick. There’s something wrong with her stomach, for she cannae keep a morsel down, that’s if ye can get her to eat anything.
“She says she feels sick all the time. And she’s lost a lot of weight, even in that short amount of time, and she’s as pale as a sheet. Sometimes, she has a terrible fever, too, and convulsions…”
He began to hear in his voice the weight of his sorrow for Elodie and stopped speaking.
“And?” The prompt came softly, encouragingly.
Bellamy took a deep breath. “I’ve tried three healers already, from within me lands, but none of them can come up with an answer as to what is the cause of it. And they certainly cannae do anything to ease her pain or cure her. Then, I heard about ye and what a great, wise healer ye are, that ye can cure people of things…” he trailed off, suddenly unsure of what to say.
“When they shouldnae be curable,” she finished for him with a sigh tinged with sadness.
Why should that make her sad?
“Aye, that’s right. I made it me business to find out about ye. Then, I heard from me sources that ye’d be traveling from Castle Rottrich back to yer braither’s castle at a certain time yesterday. Well, I couldnae waste the chance to grab ye and bring ye back, to see if ye can help Elodie,” he said, determinedly unashamed of his actions.
“Elodie. That’s a bonny name,” she said reflectively. “The poor wee lassie. I’m so sorry she’s suffering.” Her gentle words touched his usually stony heart in a novel way, and hope for his daughter sprang up in his breast anew. Then, she added in a harsher tone, “But ye didnae have to kidnap me and kill all those men like a brute. Ye could have just asked me, like a normal person!”
“Ach, woman, do ye always have so much to say for yerself? Can ye nae be quiet for a minute?”
Bellamy was irritated, with himself as much as anything, for her words hit home. And even as he spoke, the niggling feeling that he ought to do something to put things between them on a more civilized footing overwhelmed him.
“Fair enough. But I didnae ken that at the time. I had to make sure of getting ye. Would ye even have come if I’d asked ye nicely? Ye said ye were on yer way to treat yer sister-in-law back at yer braither’s castle. Would ye nae have refused me on her account?”
He felt her physically bristle behind him, but the urge to justify himself was strong.
“I love me sister-in-law, and ye ken very well that I was on me way home to help her—”
He nodded his head. “Ye see? I was right, ye would have said nay.”
“Let me finish,” she huffed. “But when a healer has to choose between helping a sick child and an adult, well, the child has to come first, whatever they may feel about it. At least, that’s me rule.”
Again, her words touched him in a way he had never felt before. She had integrity as well as grit.
“All right. What if we make a deal?” he offered, thinking fast.
“What sort of deal?” she asked, sounding doubtful.
“Well, ye come and help Elodie and do yer best to make her well. And if ye succeed, I’ll compensate ye handsomely for yer time and artistry.”
