Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,16
of the outlying villages,” she said briskly. “I have some experience with wounds. Place a pillow under his side to prop the wound up, please.”
“I’ll not have some Sassenach touching me!” Reid bellowed.
Alec was about to say something about the man’s rudeness, but Cora didn’t even miss a beat. “Clearly your wound isn’t all that painful. If you don’t watch your mouth, I can change that.”
Reid opened his mouth again, but Cora simply pressed a cloth to the wound, and the man grunted in pain. Nodding his head, Alec dismissed the other men. “How do ye have experience with wounds?” he asked quietly.
Cora smirked. “If you’ll excuse me, Laird, I should really focus on the gentleman bleeding all over the bed. If you want to stay to help out, you’re welcome to put some pressure on the wound while I get some fresh water.”
She tried to walk past him, and he reached out and grabbed her arm. “This is one of the men who would have seen you punished for yer actions last night,” he said in a low voice. “Ye wouldn’t be wanting to take yer revenge, would ye, lass?”
“You are the one letting him bleed to death by detaining me, my Laird,” she said with a sweet smile.
Grimacing, he let her go and went to tend Reid’s wound. The bigger man grunted in pain and eyeballed him. “Ye could just let me die. One less man to worry about.”
“What fun would that be?”
The door opened, but rather than the lying English woman, it was Shane. “Sorry to interrupt, Laird. Innes Campbell is riding in.”
Didn’t the snake just leave his land? “Ride out and meet him. See what he wants. If he has more than half a dozen men with him, turn him away.”
“Aye.” Shane hesitated and nodded his head. “Reid.”
Reid nodded, and Alec watched the exchange with interest. There was some respect developing between his warriors and the MacKay men. That was good. As Shane opened the door, the auburn-haired beauty slipped back in with fresh cloths and steaming water. She pushed Alec’s hand lightly out of the way. “Let’s see what we have,” she said briskly.
Reid tried to pull away. “I said that I don’t want no—”
“Mr. Reid, you are most welcome to wait for the healer to return,” Cora said, cutting him off. “Chances are good that you’ll still be alive then, but if you wait to clean out the wound, an intense fever could set in by tomorrow. Have you ever seen someone get a fever after a wound, Mr. Reid?”
Wordlessly, the man nodded. Alec could see the fear and wariness in his eyes. Cora put a hand on her hip. “I suggest you put your stubbornness and hatred of the English aside and let me take care of you.”
Leaning back against the wall, Alec folded his arms and watched Cora win him over. It was impressive, and it did amuse him, but it also solidified something for him.
Claire, or whatever she wants to call herself, is a dangerous woman.
Finally, Reid was cleaned, bandaged, and resting. Alec held the door open and motioned for her to join him outside. “Ye did good work in there,” he said softly. “I’ve seen healers who couldn’t stitch a man up the way that ye did.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Nay,” he said softly. “’Tis naught but an observation. I just wanted ye to know that I was paying attention. How are ye feeling today?”
She lifted her chin and stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“Ye spent months in prison, and ye were punched in the stomach yesterday. I know ye are hurting. I’m just asking ye how the pain feels today?” He was close enough to lean down and kiss her, but once again, he held himself back. The desperate urge was there to taste her, touch her smooth skin, listen to the hitch in her breath.
There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes. “You don’t need to worry about me, Laird Sinclair. One little blow is not enough to bring me down.”
Alec shook his head as he watched her walk away. For an English woman, she certainly did have guts.
When Cora made her way to her chambers, she was surprised to find there was a bath waiting for her. Mary finished pouring it and smiled shyly. “Laird Sinclair thought ye might want a chance to wash up before dinner.”
“It’s not necessary, but I wouldn’t want the bath to go to waste. Thank you, Mary.”