Page 68 of A Virgin for the Beastly Highlander

“What is goin’ on? Yer awfully jumpy.”

“It’s just nerves, my love,” Olivia said as she forced as smile and reached for Conner’s hand. “Besides, I daenae want to disturb yer work.”

“What did I tell ye this mornin’? If ye need me for anythin’ ye come to me. Yer nae a bother or a hindrance.”

“I ken.” Olivia glanced down the hallway knowing fully well where she was going. But she needed answers. “I’ll be fine though, truly.”

Conner gave her a swift nod and stepped aside to let her move freely down the hallway. Olivia could feel his eyes on her as she walked away from him. A part of her wanted to ask him how he would feel about it all. But she didn’t want to give him hope of something before it was confirmed.

The healer’s room was filled with all sorts of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling. Books were scattered about the tables and shelves. There was an odd smell to the room that made Olivia want to expel everything in her stomach.

“Tagger?” Olivia called to the room wondering if somehow she had missed seeing the healer on her initial scan of the room. A happy-faced old man popped up from the nook in the corner of the room. His cheeks were rosy against the white whiskers of his beard. He scrambled to her side and took her hand into his.

“Aw, M’Lady,” he said in a slow drawl. “I was wonderin’ when I would be seein’ ye.”

Tagger patted Olivia’s hand as his smile stretched the wrinkles of his face and exposed the missing teeth in his mouth. “What can I dae for ye?”

Olivia swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she closed her eyes. She wasn’t all entirely certain she could get the question out of her. After all, the idea was so farfetched that it didn’t seem possible.

“I am strugglin’ wit’ a headache, and I cannae seem to get my stomach to settle,” Olivia said. Tagger’s eyes narrowed for a moment as she watched them drift down her body. The smile on his face stretched further than she thought possible. Giving her a pat, he bobbed his head.

“Well, what dae ye expect?” He asked as his eyebrow arched. “But ye really should be more careful wit’ yerself, M’Lady. Especially now that yer carryin’ the laird’s heir.”

Olivia stepped back and shook her head. “How dae ye ken that?”

“Oh, my dear,” Tagger said in such a kind and gentle voice that it reminded Olivia of her grandfather. “Ye ken these things when ye’ve seen the signs as much as I have. Now, sit and let me make ye a spot of tea that will ease those butterflies that are ailin’ ye.”

Tagger escorted Olivia to the table and sat her down. Her heart swooped and soared in her chest, adding more irritation to her stomach. Although the news was shocking, she couldn’t help but feel a tad bit of happiness. After all, it was a woman’s greatest joy to bear children. She just never expected it to happen so soon in her marriage. Children were always something she pictured happening in the future.

With a small cup in his hand, Tagger moved to Olivia and helped place the cup into her weary hands. “Drink.”

Olivia looked into the cup at the liquid and sniffed it cautiously. There was a hint of mint that seemed to ease her headache almost instantly. Tagger lifted his hands up to urge her. Drawing the cup to her lips, she took in the contents. The moment the liquid hit her stomach, the knots that were grinding away were no more. For the first time she felt relief from the sour stomach and throbbing headache.

“Feel better?” Tagger asked as he tilted his head to look at her.

“Aye, I dae,” Olivia answered, feeling a bit stunned that something as simple as tea would ease all her troubles.

“As I thought,” Tagger said. “Yer wit’ child, and a boy nonetheless. The laird will be most pleased. Aye, most pleased indeed.”

“How dae ye ken it’ll be a boy?” Olivia asked as she tried not to get her hopes up.

Tagger smiled as he pressed his withered, wrinkled hand on her belly. “The mint. It eases a boy while chamomile would have eased yer stomach if it were a girl.”

Shaking her head, Olivia slipped off the table and paced as she gnawed on the tips of her fingernails. “I cannae be wit’ child.”

“Ye are,” Tagger said as he toiled about, picking up little knickknacks and placing them on another shelf. “Best get that settled in yer mind.”

“Nay,” Olivia said. “What am I goin’ to tell Conner? If I tell him, he’ll nae let another soul into the castle for fear of losin’ me. But I cannae keep this from him, he’ll find out sooner or later.”

“Best to come clean about these things,” Tagger said with a sympathetic smile.

A thought flickered across her mind so fast, but it was the one thing that caused the most damage. Her heart sank and her head spun. Tagger helped her to the examination table and sat her down.

“Easy there,” he said, patting her shoulder. Olivia stared at the healer with wide, wild eyes. Panic coursed through her as she thought of the servant’s conversation.

“What if he daesnae want a child?”

Chapter 28

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