ye open it and possibly pull yer stitches,” he explained.
“Oh,” she murmured, thinking that wasn’t just considerate, it showed forethought. Relaxing a little against his chest, she peered at him with curiosity. “How long were ye standing outside the door?”
“No’ long,” he said with a shrug that shifted her slightly against his chest as he crossed the room.
Evina stared up at him silently and then offered a quiet, “Thank ye.”
“Me pleasure,” he responded solemnly as he paused to set her down on her bed.
Conran straightened then and hesitated, uncertainty crossing his face. “Yer wound should be checked.”
Evina stiffened, alarm racing through her. She knew he was the one who had tended her wounds up to now, and then there was the fact that he’d seen her breasts bared before. Still, she felt a great deal of discomfort at the thought of his baring her chest now that she was awake, and not an excited mass in his arms.
“But no’ by me,” Conran added.
Evina let her breath out on a sigh of relief, and then suggested, “Tildy can look at it.”
Much to her surprise, he shook his head. “I’d rather me brother did it.”
“Yer brother Rory . . . the healer,” she added grimly, some of her resentment showing. The man had taken her innocence without even telling her his true name.
Sighing, Conran settled on the edge of the bed and peered at her solemnly. “I ne’er meant to lie to ye. One minute I was cleaning up under the falls after having helped Rory collect medicinals, and the next I was struggling with a stranger, and then knocked out by a beautiful lass with red hair.”
That explained the weeds in his saddlebag that had made her think he was Rory Buchanan, Evina thought unhappily, barely giving notice to his compliment. He’d called her that before, a red-haired beauty, but . . . Well, she just assumed it one of those flowery compliments men were always throwing around to gain something. She had no idea what he hoped to gain. As far as everyone was concerned, she had to marry him. There was no wooing needed.
“And then I woke up here,” he continued. “At first, I did no’ tell ye who I was because . . . well, frankly I did no’ want Rory suffering the same treatment I had. But then when I saw how sick yer father was, I kenned the situation was desperate, and aye, Rory was needed. But I also kenned there was no way to get him here in time. So, I did what I could.”
“And let us continue to think ye were Rory,” she said quietly.
Conran nodded apologetically.
“Even as ye were kissing and touching me,” Evina added, anger beginning to writhe in her stomach. Dear God, she hadn’t even known the proper name of the man she’d let take her innocence. At least Betsy knew who she was servicing.
“That was no’ well done o’ me,” Conran admitted quietly. “But, in truth, I was no’ thinking o’ me name at the time. In fact, after first letting ye all think I was Rory, I did no’ think much on it again. Ye all called me ‘Buchanan,’ or ‘m’lord,’ most o’ the time. Even yer da mostly called me ‘lad.’ In truth, I do no’ recall any o’ ye actually addressing me as Rory.”
“I thought o’ ye as Rory though,” she said quietly. “I thought ye were Rory, and ye were Rory in me head. And now ye’re . . .”
“Conran,” he said quietly.
“Conran,” Evina echoed, testing the name and not at all sure she liked it. She was used to thinking of him as Rory. Conran felt strange in her mind.
They were both silent for a minute and then he shifted, looking uncomfortable, and said, “Should I fetch Rory to tend to ye?”
“Nay,” she said quietly. “I think I’ll let Tildy tend me from now on.”
Concern crossed his face. “Rory is really very good at healing, Evina. And yer wound is a serious one. Ye’d do better to let him tend it or at least check that I did everything right.”
Evina lowered her gaze, her mind arguing with itself. She really wasn’t comfortable with the idea of baring her chest for Conran’s brother and would rather Tildy tend it. On the other hand, Rory Buchanan was quickly gaining the reputation as the best healer in Scotland and he might have a tonic that could ease the difficulty she was having breathing, not to mention her pain.