Page 78 of A Virgin for the Icy Highlander
Hunter didn’t hesitate to take Ellie from his friend. He cradled her, inhaling the scent of her rain-soaked hair.
“Where did ye find her?” he rasped, too many emotions at once clogging his throat.
Most of all, a great wave of relief crashed through his veins. It was so all-consuming that he didn’t notice—or didn’t care—that the kitten had snuck in and was climbing his leg to reach Ellie.
Madeleine pushed past Oscar. “You need to rally your men and saddle your horses, right this minute!”
“Nay, lass, he needs to be with his daughter,” Oscar retorted as he pulled Madeleine back. “Andyeneed to calm yerself. What’s done is done.”
Madeleine’s eyes flashed with fury. “You have no notion of what you are talking about. You do not know my friend. You do not know the first thing about her, and if you think that she would?—”
Oscar put his fingers on her lips, and shock rippled across her face. “I’llspeak to Hunter. Ye need to sit and have a nip of somethin’ strong to ease yer nerves.” He paused, looking around until he found the healer. “And Ailis, if ye wouldnae mind, I think Ellie could use yer assistance.”
“What do ye mean?” Hunter asked, a chill running down his spine.
Oscar patted his friend on the arm. “It’s nothin’ to worry about. I think she was given somethin’ to make her sleep, and I ken that Ailis will have somethin’ to wake her up again.” He smiled reassuringly. “She’s breathin’, she’s alive, and she’s unharmed. Dinnae fret.”
“Give her to me,” Ailis said, coming over.
It was the last thing Hunter wanted to do, but he found himself handing her to the healer anyway.
Ailis carried the girl to the feasting table and laid her down. Leaning over the child, the healer began to sniff, like a dog tryingto catch the scent of a rabbit in the bushes. A moment later, Ailis rested her ear against Ellie’s chest, listening with a frown.
“Is she all right?” Hunter asked, his voice tight.
Ailis looked up, nodding. “Aye, she will be. She’s had a sleeping tonic. It smells like magnolia bark. Nae strong, but strong enough to knock a bairn out for a while.” She scooped the girl up again. “I have somethin’ to wake her up, but I’ll have to take her to me chambers.”
“I’m comin’ with ye,” Hunter said, making to follow.
Ailis turned and shook her head. “I dinnae want ye fussin’ when she’s perfectly fine. Besides, ye’ve got work to do, bringin’ all yer men back.” She paused and offered a smile. “I promise, all will be well.”
“Ye cannae keep me from me own daughter,” he growled.
The softness vanished from Ailis’s face. “And the last thing she needs when she wakes up is seein’ ye with that… haunted look on yer face, so I suggest ye have a nip of whiskey, concentrate on bringing yer soldiers back, and let me do what I do best. I’ll send for ye when she wakes up because—although ye may be the Laird—ye’re nae the ruler of me chambers. I need peace and quiet.”
“Actually, Hunter, that might be a good idea,” Oscar interjected, cutting the tension between Laird and healer, aunt and nephew. “There’s somethin’ I need to talk to ye about anyway.”
“I should say so!” Madeleine snapped.
She no longer resembled the calm and collected young woman she usually was. Her face was ghoulishly pale, her eyes feverishly bright, and her breathing ragged, though it didn’t seem like she had been running.
Oscar glared at her. “Would ye let me deal with this?”
“I might, if I thought you had a lick of sense,” Madeleine shot back. “You don’t understand what has happened here, because everything you have said, everything you have told me, everything youlethappen—it is impossible, Laird Muir. Completely impossible.”
Ailis elbowed Madeleine in the side. “Perhaps ye ought to come with me and Ellie. I have a tonic for nerves in me chambers.”
“There is nothing wrong with my nerves!” Madeleine countered. “It is Laird Muir’s mind who needs a tonic to kick some awareness into his head!”
But Ailis wouldn’t be deterred, apparently sensing that it might be better to leave Hunter and Oscar alone. “Maddie, will ye fetch that kitten for me? Ellie will want it close when she wakes up.”
“What?” Madeleine frowned and shook her head.
“The kitten,” Ailis commanded, her tone wielding all the authority of a stern but fair governess. “Let us leave these mento talk, and once Ellie is awake and ye’ve had somethin’ to clear yer head, ye can say yer piece to His Lairdship. How does that sound?”
Muttering something rude under her breath, Madeleine crouched down to pick up the kitten. Holding it against her shoulder, where it gently nuzzled her neck, she flashed a vicious look at Oscar before striding out of the room.
Ailis left a moment after, closing the door behind her.
