Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
It was a half-truth.
In reality, Noah was desperate to know more about the raven-haired woman. But learning the details of what had brought her into his woods made him nervous. There was always the chance she had truly done something wrong. He didn’t like the idea that his view of her would be tarnished.
With her black hair cascading over her shoulders and her tanned skin contrasting with her wide blue eyes, it had taken everything in him not to join her on the bed.
She is the comeliest woman I have ever seen and no mistake. That is why I must get out of this room as soon as possible, he thought, as he made for the door.
“Wait!”
He turned again, frowning at her as she leaned forward in the bed, her eyes full of uncertainty.
“I think ye should ken why ye’ve brought trouble to yer clan.”
He sighed, turning to face her.
“Very well,” he replied, leaning against the door. The shoulder of her dress had come down as she slept, and he could see the golden curve of her skin. “Tell me yer woes, witch, I shall see if I need to throw ye in the fire.”
Keira sighed. Her hands went into her hair, pulling the long black strands over her shoulder and twisting them as she spoke. There were cuts and bruises all over her forearms, and the maids that attended her had told Noah that her whole body had been covered with them.
“I have been a healer for the village for almost three years,” she began. “I was trained by a woman who had lived there before, but she was due to marry and wished to teach me everythin’ she kenned.”
Her fingers began to do something complicated with the length of hair that they held. It was not just a plait anymore; it looked far more intricate. She did not even need to look at it as she worked. Noah was mesmerized by her.
“I have been learnin’ me craft for many years now, and the villagers had grown to trust me,” she paused, a haunted look coming into her eyes. “Recently, I was told there had been a fire in a neighboring village. I went to see if I could help and found a man there who was terribly burned. I brought him back to me cottage. I ken of many salves and ointments that relieve pain, and in order to ensure he dinnae lose his leg, I wished to try some.”
“I’ve been in battle lass, best to chop off the offending limb before infection sets in.”
“He was a farmer,” she said, with deep compassion in her voice. “That is his livelihood.”
Noah stayed quiet, seeing the healer come forth in her demeanor instantly. This woman cared deeply for those she tried to help; that was clear.
How on earth had they ever believed her a witch? He wondered angrily.
“I wanted to try comfrey and honey as I have seen it heal others before.”
“Comfrey?” he asked, curious despite himself.
“Aye, ye may have seen it in the forest. It has bell-shaped flowers. White or pink. Hairy leaves.”
“Ah, knitbone,” he said, remembering the term used by his man-at-arms before now.
She smiled up at him, clear joy in her expression talking of her craft.
“Aye. Exactly. It’s often used for open wounds, but I fancied it could do the same for burns.”
“How did this lead to a crowd pursuin’ ye with torches?” he asked, particularly puzzled now.
Keira’s eyes darkened. He felt a shudder of desire as she looked up at him with a demure expression, her dark blue eyes framed by her lashes. He imagined her looking up at him in quite a different situation, on her knees before him, her wild hair cascading over her bare breasts, her lips parted with desire. He clenched his fists to try to dispel the unwelcome image.
“Lucas had proposed to me.”
“The priest?” he asked, his fists clenching involuntarily at the idea of another man laying claim to her.
Ye are a fool, he thought irritably, what do ye ken of this lass?
“Aye. The same. He has done so before, but I always refused him.”
“Why?” Noah asked. The priest had been handsome, in his way, which only irritated him more. He hoped her answer would simply be that she found him repulsive.
“Because I dinnae love him, and dinnae want him,” she said simply.
Damn.
“On me third refusal, he came to me house while I was attendin’ to the patient whose leg had been badly burned.”
Noah watched as an echo of the fear he had seen in the woods flitted across her face. He wanted to take her into his arms and banish it forever.
“Lucas tried his suit again, and I said nay. Me brother hates Lucas, even though he is a man of God. He was angry that he wouldnae leave me be, hounding me every day for an answer because the one I’d given dinnae suit him. When Lucas refused to leave, Scott hit him.”
The hands creating the intricate braid in her hair were moving feverishly now.
“Lucas stormed from the cottage. He was furious. I have never seen rage like that. It took one word from him, one single word, from a man of God against a woman, and everyone turned against me. He said I had raised the man from the dead, that he had been burned alive, and I was in league with the devil. People who I have tended, women whom I helped give birth, they looked at me as though I was evil.”
There were tears in her eyes as she looked out of the window. Her fingers finally fell still as they lowered into her lap again. The braid was tied over her shoulder now. Noah wondered what it might look like with flowers running through it. He had an absurd image of lying beside her in a meadow, plucking daisies from the ground and weaving them through her hair in the sunshine.
He cleared his throat irritably.
“Sounds like it was yer brother who angered him the most. Where is he? Why was he nae protectin’ ye when ye were hounded into the woods?”
“He is only fifteen Me laird, and it was nae his fight.”
“And what if ye had taken the priest for a husband? Would yer life nae be easier?”
She looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed in a frown. She shook her head, speaking barely above a whisper.
“I dinnae expect a man who has lived in castles all his life to understand.”
“Ye think I’ve never had ta make a hard decision? I do what is right by me clan, that doesnae always mean what is right for me.”
“I ken what ye are tryin’ to say, but me life would have been much worse with Lucas. I would have had to give up healin’ and everythin’ I have worked for. He doesnae want me for a wife, he wants a prize to flaunt to the world and show he’s won me.”
Noah closed his eyes briefly before looking away and out of the window. He could imagine that was true. The priest didn’t strike him as a man capable of love. He looked back at Keira, at the intense beauty of her face. Any man might be driven mad by it.
“Ye spoke of a fire?” he asked, attempting to distract himself from the yearning in his gut.
“Yes,” she replied. “He was the last villager we found alive.”
Noah stepped forward, his arms unfurling as excitement sparked in his blood.
“The village was set alight?”
“Yes, it was already burning when I got there. But it had been set aflame by some men who had already departed. They took nothin’, just burned it to the ground.”
MacDunn . He thought instantly. Only someone as crazed as he is would set a village alight for nae reason and leave without takin’ any of the spoils.
“So he is back,” he muttered under his breath. He looked up at her sharply. “Does yer Laird ken of what happened?” he asked.
“Yes,” she nodded.
“Good.”
“Who is back?” she asked, making as though to get up from the bed.
“I have already told ye to stay where ye are, dinnae make me tie ye to the bed,” he barked, and she immediately put her legs back under the blanket. He didn’t miss the shiver that ran across her shoulders either.
He watched her settle back under the covers, quenching his own simmering desire with deep breaths that calmed his racing heart.
She had asked about MacDunn and he could see no reason why he should not tell her the truth. There was little an unknown healer from a village miles from MacDunn’s lands could do with the knowledge. He found himself interested in what she might have to say about the matter.
“Have ye heard of Laird MacDunn?” he asked.
She frowned. “I think so. He is one of the lairds close to Donaldson. Are ye sayin’ he attacked the village?”
Noah nodded. He would need to write to his fellow lairds to tell them of recent events.
“Whatever he hopes to achieve is unclear. I am workin’ with the other lairds in these parts to try and find out his motives. I shall never understand it. Setting fire to villages like a coward with nae cause. If I want to kill a man, I do it with me bare hands.”
He watched her eyes widen at that, and a look of discomfort passed across her face.
Noah shrugged. He had already revealed too much and did not like how unguarded and raw he felt around her. The sooner she was out of his sight and his castle, the better.
“A maid will draw ye a bath. Come mornin’, I want ye gone,” he said sternly.
As he crossed the room to the door, he heard her voice behind him.
“Are ye always this gracious, Me laird?”
He scowled and slammed the door behind him in answer.