Chapter Eleven #2
Once they docked and the sea gate opened, Dirk hobbled up the narrow stone steps under his own power.
The guards and Isobel followed. Keegan made sure he could catch Seona if she stumbled on the uneven steps.
At the top, Dirk was breathing hard and his face was ashen.
Although he wasn’t moaning in pain, Keegan knew he was feeling it.
Chief Cyrus MacKenzie, frowning darkly, and his brothers, met them in the cobblestone bailey.
Cyrus eyed Dirk’s lower leg below his plaid. “Saints! What on earth happened?”
“Arrow through the calf,” Dirk said. “’Twas one of Haldane’s men. We had a couple of skirmishes during our travels.”
“Show them up to Isobel’s chamber,” Cyrus told the maid standing nearby, then he turned to one of his men. “Go find the healer and send her to Isobel’s room.”
“Aye, m’laird.”
Isobel briefly greeted her brothers while the rest of their party disembarked from the small two-oared boats. Two guards helped Dirk across the bailey and toward the entrance to the keep.
Leaving Seona with Isobel and Patience, who were surrounded by several MacKay guards, Keegan followed Dirk and the two men into the corner of the almost empty great hall. He trailed after them up the narrow turnpike stair and into Isobel’s old chamber to make sure the room was safe.
The maid rushed to the small hearth to start a fire while the two guards helped Dirk into the large bed.
He sank into what had to be a thick featherbed.
Even if Keegan hadn’t known this was Isobel’s bedchamber from when she was a lass, the lacy curtains and abundance of floral embroidered pillows would’ve made it clear.
“I thank you, lads,” Dirk mumbled, his words slurred.
“M’laird.” One of the guards dipped his head. “We’ll wait in the corridor.”
“Uh-huh,” Dirk grunted, his eyes closed.
“How much whisky have you had?” Keegan asked.
“Enough.” Dirk forced a grin but his face was sweaty and pale from the exertion and pain.
Keegan had checked on Dirk several times throughout the day where he’d been lying in a hammock style bed used by the sailors.
Half the time, Dirk had been sleeping, most likely due to the whisky, or because he’d lost sleep the night before.
At least, if he was asleep, he wasn’t feeling pain.
Keegan hoped the MacKenzie’s healer could help Dirk recover.
Rebbie entered the room, his dark eyes concerned. “How is the pain?”
“No’ so bad.” Dirk winced as he moved his leg.
“You’re a bold-faced liar, my friend, but I’ll overlook it this time.”
“Aye, you’d best do that.”
“I’ll send Isobel in. She’ll cure what ails you.”
Dirk actually grinned at that. “Both of you… update Cyrus on everything that’s happened.”
“We will,” Keegan said. “Get some rest.”
“Aye.”
Keegan and Rebbie left the room, bypassing Isobel, her two maids, and an older woman, perhaps the healer, just as they arrived.
At the bottom of the steps, MacMillan approached, carrying Lady Patience, her face white, eyes closed tight, and her hand pressed tightly against her stomach.
Keegan cringed, imagining how miserable her extreme nausea must be.
But MacMillan was taking good care of her.
Keegan suspected the guard did not mind helping her.
In fact, he seemed rather taken with the lady and was greatly protective of her.
Seona followed a few feet behind them. When her eyes met Keegan’s, she gave him a brief, shy smile. He had come to depend on those to lighten his mood. He winked in return. Even in the dimness, her blush was evident.
“How is your aunt?” Keegan asked, glancing at MacMillan carrying her up the steps.
“Not so well.” Seona shook her head. “She’s very seasick and her ankle still pains her.”
“I hope she recovers from both ailments quickly.”
“I thank you. She will be wondering where I am.” Seona hastened up the steps.
He stared after her, wishing they could’ve talked longer about… anything. The topic didn’t matter to him. He simply loved listening to her light, feminine voice and looking into her eyes.
He caught up to Rebbie and they headed toward the great hall. “Lucky bastard,” Rebbie mumbled.
“What?” Keegan asked, even though he knew what Rebbie was referring to.
“I saw the way she looked at you with that seductive smile.”
Keegan couldn’t help but grin in response. “She is lovely.”
“And you are smitten, my friend.”
“Guilty as charged.” Keegan only hoped he would find another opportunity soon to talk to Seona and spend some time with her. Their kiss the night before, combined with that revealing conversation, had kept him awake most of the night.
∞∞∞
Seona entered the chamber Hugh MacMillan had carried her aunt into. Patience now lay on the bed and the guard waited a few feet away.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, m’lady?” he asked.
“Nay. I thank you, Hugh, for all your help. I don’t know how you put up with me.”
“Och. M’lady, ’tis no hardship. Would you like me to get a fire started?”
“Nay. Millie will do that. Where is Millie anyway?”
“Here, m’lady.” She rushed in from the corridor along with their other maid, Edwina.
MacMillan left and the two maids fussed over Lady Patience, preparing her for bed.
“Is there anything I can do, aunt?” Seona asked.
“Nay, I just want to rest.”
“M’lady,” one of the MacKenzie’s maids addressed Seona from the doorway. “Would you like me to show you to your chamber?”
“Aye,” she told her, happy to see she would have her own room and some privacy. “I will return soon,” she told Aunt Patience.
Her aunt waved her off as if she didn’t want to be bothered with anything. Seona followed the maid down the corridor to the next room.
“Will this suit you?” she asked.
“Aye, ’tis a lovely chamber.” Seona surveyed the blue velvet counterpane and curtains on the bed, and the finely made blue, gold and green Turkish carpet underfoot.
The maid lit a fire in the wood and peat that was already laid in the hearth. “Lady Isobel said you might want a bath.” The maid stood and faced her.
“That would be wonderful.” Seona almost sighed at the thought of sinking into a tub of hot water and scrubbing herself with a nicely scented soap.
“I will have it sent up. Supper will be ready in about an hour.” The maid curtsied and left.
Seona moved toward the small window which offered a splendid view out over Loch Alsh.
The orange and gold sunset and the blue-gray mountains reflecting in the water was one of the loveliest sights she’d ever seen.
She wished she could share it with Keegan.
He seemed to enjoy beautiful scenery as much as she did.
But of course, he could not enter her bedchamber. Although she would like him to.
What would it be like if they were married and allowed to sleep in the same bed?
She shook her head, trying to dislodge the spellbinding but impure thoughts.
One of the MacKenzies’ manservants arrived, carrying her large sack of clothing which a pack horse had carried from Durness to Ullapool. Poor animal. Well, the bag weighed no more than a hundred pounds, so ’haps it hadn’t hurt the animal overmuch.
“I thank you,” she told the servant. When he left, she closed the door.
An hour later, she was bathed and dressed in clean clothing, wondering if she should’ve asked for a tray to be sent to her room instead of going to the great hall.
Nay, she wished to see Keegan again. ’Haps he would escort her to the high table and she would get to touch him for a few moments. ’Twas one of the few joys in life.
A maid arrived to tell her supper was being served. Her heart rate sped up with excitement. But she would not get to talk to Keegan if her aunt joined them. She knocked at Aunt Patience’s door. Getting no answer, she poked her head in.
“How are you feeling, aunt?”
“Awful. Just awful!” she griped from the large four-poster bed. “I thought this blasted seasickness would cease once I got off the water.”
“I’m sure it will go away soon. Can I bring you something to eat?”
She groaned. “Nay, the very mention of food turns my stomach. I only wish to sleep.”
“Very well.” Seona exited, and closed the door. She was truly sorry her aunt was so miserable, but maybe she would get some time to talk with Keegan.
In the great hall, everyone was gathering for the meal. She paused, glancing over the crowded room, and Keegan appeared at her side, as he often had at Dunnakeil.
“A good eve to you, Lady Seona.” He offered his arm.
“Good eve.” She savored the familiar and comforting motion of sliding her hand around his arm and feeling his hard muscles.
“You look lovely,” he murmured.
She noticed his hair was still damp from a recent bath and that he’d changed into his finer clothing—a newer blue and green plaid, a clean white linen shirt, and a green doublet. “I thank you. And so do you.”
He grinned. “I look lovely, do I?”
“Indeed.” She smiled. “Astonishingly handsome, too.”
“Och. Lady Seona, you do ken well how to flatter a man.” He lowered his voice to a deep, seductive murmur. “That can get you into trouble.”
A heated blush seared her skin just as they arrived at the table. Keegan pulled out the chair beside Isobel’s and Seona sat.
“I thank you,” she told him.
He gave a wee bow and stepped down from the dais.