Page 58 of Highlander's Runaway Seductress
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Dim voices cut through the fog in Damien’s head and he shifted a little. The more he focused, the more he realized that his body was not shivering anymore and there was no cold. Then, he felt warmness covering his body and as he twisted his neck, felt the scratchiness of a woolen blanket against his skin.
He forced his eyes open and sucked in a deep breath, this time there was no burn in his chest. Bracing a hand on the bed behind him, he sat up, and while his body was a bit stiff, he was relieved, death had not claimed him. The room he was in was a long one with many cots like the one he was laying on, lined along the walls and there were four men huddled a few beds over.
He sat up against the wall and rubbed his eyes.
“W-where am I?” His voice was rough and scratchy, and his throat was raw, but his voice got the attention of the men. When two of them turned, he saw the same leather armor and uniform of Laird Dolberry’s men.
One came forward. “Ye are Damien Glogow, aye?”
“Aye, I am,” he said. “How-how did ye find me?”
“His Lairdship asked three-score of his men to search around for ye days ago,” the man replied. “A tracker of ours found ye on the forest line of the banks ofLoch Mheathadaidh, and ye were half-dead from cold.”
“Where am I?” Damien asked.
“The barracks at Laird Dolberry’s north station,” the soldier replied, “We werenae sure if ye were the man so we halted on sendin’ that message to the Laird. I suppose we can now—” he turned to another soldier. “—Callum, get that bird ready and—”
“Nay!” Damien shouted, shocking the men around him. “Nae yet! Do—do ye ken if an old man is still there? Short and grey-haired and walks with a limp?”
Two of them shared a look before one replied. “I believe so, why?”
“Because that man is a traitor,” Damien said, “He tried to kill me and if ye send word that I am alive, yer newly found heiress to the lairdship might be the next in line!”
23
It was past dawn, but Amelie had no desire to move from her bed, her body felt leaden. What Ben had told her last night had hit her hard, and though the reason Ben had given her was sensible—and was probably the only answer to why Damien had gone—a part of her refused to accept it.
She had twisted and turned all night and now, Amelie felt more tired than she could have believed possible, and while she sought sleep, it still eluded her.
For all of what she knew about Damien, he was still a puzzle, but was he still that much hidden from her that he had managed to fool her into thinking that they cared for one another?
If he had been taken, she could understand that, but he had willingly left her after knowing that she wanted him with her. Well, perhaps Ben was right, Damien was a selfish criminal, too set in his ways to break out of them.
Turning over, she reached for a pillow and pressed her face into it with a sigh. She dreaded getting up only to face another day of nothing. No reports from her father’s men about Damien, and no concrete answers about why he was gone, but it felt wrong to stay in bed all day though her body begged for it.
Crawling out of bed, she slipped her feet into the fur-lined shoes and went to wash up. There was an adjoining room to her bedchamber where a mound of coals was kept smoldering in a pit, all she had to do was put a bucket of water on it and wait for it to warm. After propping up the tub on the spits she drifted back to the room to find a dress.
Laying a thick maroon one on the bed, she went back to the next room, washed quickly, and dressed. She combed her hair into a thick plait, then wrapped a thick shawl around her shoulder and went to the kitchens. There was a table and chair there that she preferred eating in instead of in the massive dining hall.
She greeted Hana and the maid quickly set a cup of warm milk before her.
“Are ye all right this mornin’, me Lady?”
“Nay,” Amelie shook her head while reaching out to grasp the cup, “I couldnae sleep much—” she flicked a look to her maid, “—I think ye ken about how I came here. One of the men who brought me to Dolberry, and to me faither, has gone missin’. I daenae ken if he went away or if he was taken, but I love him and I worry. Faither has sent out his men to find him, but…” she broke off and shrugged.
“His Lairdship’s men are very thorough, me Lady,” Hana nodded. “I am sure they will find somethin’ soon.”
“I hope so,” Amelie could only mutter into her drink.
Hana placed a trencher in front of her, bearing thick buttered flaky brown bread and stewed lamb that Amelie ate only half of. She asked Hana to store the rest for her next meal as she hated seeing anything going to waste or thrown away.
She had decided to find her father, as she had passed half the morning away in her room.
She took the staircase back to her fathers’ chambers but did not find him there. After a quick look outside—and the thick snow fluttering there— it told her that he was not outside, so, where was he? She left the private rooms and since there were so little servants in the castle, she went to Hana.
“Hana?” she asked while entering the kitchens. “Would ye mind tellin’ me where me faither is?”
