Page 73 of A Healer for the Ruthless Highlander
“Do ye nae see, me Laird?” Maxwell continued, raising his voice so that everyone could hear him. “The witch tried to murder her Laird after failin’ to cast a spell on him. And now she’s come for ye!”
“She saved me braither!” Kenneth snapped.
“I ken, and that’s why I’ve been lenient with her,” Maxwell retorted. “But I can nay longer feign ignorance when it’s obvious she’s bewitched ye, me Laird. She has turned ye into a weak and distracted man who will surely lead this clan to ruin,” she added contemptuously, spitting on the ground between them. “And I willnae allow it. Yer late faither would be very disappointedto see what ye have become… A weakling who worries about somethin’ as insignificant as matters of the heart…”
So, that’s what this is all about. He has deduced that I love Leana, and he deems it a weakness. I could expect nothin’ less from a loyal follower of me faither.
“Now I understand everythin’,” Kenneth said, smiling grimly. “Because a man without a heart can understand nothin’ about love.”
The statement seemed to surprise everyone in the crowd, even Jonas. The angry villagers lowered their torches, and a murmur seemed to ripple through them.
“So ye admit it,” Maxwell spat. “Ye admit that ye have fallen under the spell of th-that harpy.”
“One more word against her and ye will regret it,” Kenneth threatened, unflinching, fixing the man he had once considered an advisor with a contemptuous look. “I willnae allow ye to say another word against the woman I love.”
But Maxwell did not seem to be intimidated. He shook his face and spat on the ground again.
“I see we’re goin’ to have to do this the hard way. But daenae worry, me Laird. I’ll get ye out of this spell,” he hissed, snapping his fingers.
Just then, Kenneth heard screams and watched in horror as one of Maxwell’s guards dragged Leana forward, clutching her tightly as he held a knife to her throat.
“Nay!” he cried, taking a step toward her, but Maxwell stopped him.
“I’m goin’ to prove in front of everyone that this woman has bewitched our Laird!” Maxwell shouted, grabbing Leana by the arm and pulling her close to him while pointing his dagger at her. “Witch, did ye or did ye nae threaten to kill yer Laird?”
Kenneth was on the verge of madness. His ire grew further when he noticed the fear in Leana’s gaze.
And yet, even under threat, she spoke in a calm and proud voice. “I did. I’d do anythin’ to protect me family!”
“Stop this, Maxwell!” Kenneth shouted, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at the traitor.
However, Maxwell only brought his dagger a little closer to Leana’s neck. Kenneth could see a drop of blood beading on her lightly tanned skin.
If I take one more step, she will die…
“And ye admit that yer intention in comin’ here has been to cast a spell on our Laird? Say it, woman!” Maxwell cried.
Leana gave Kenneth a long, meaningful look, before stating, “If by ‘bewitching’ ye mean fallin’ in love with him, then aye, I have bewitched him. But only because he’s bewitched me first…”
Her lips curled into a small smile, almost like a farewell.
Kenneth’s heart stuttered, before starting to thunder against his ribcage. He suddenly understood that he was about to lose the only woman he had ever loved.
His senses were eclipsed by the gravity of the moment, by those words that hung in the air. And at the same time, another voice from his nightmares sounded.
“Come on, dear, daenae say that. It’s all nonsense. Because ye’d never hurt me. Would ye, me sweet?”
Standing before the man who threatened her, Leana waited for death. And secretly, she was confident that it would come quickly, without pain.
To be honest, she was not afraid of dying, but it hurt that it would be that way, especially after hearing Kenneth confess his feelings for her. She feared what he might do in anger, for she knew he was relentless when it came to protecting those he loved.
If she died, she knew that Kenneth would make everyone involved pay with their lives.
A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought, only to be replaced by the lump that formed in her throat when she heardthatvoice.
The voice of the man who had haunted her nightmares for years.
Laird Matheson, the man she hated with all her being, looked at her with eyes full of desire and triumph. He clearly found the scene most entertaining.
