Loved by a Warrior by Donna Fletcher

Author:Donna Fletcher [Fletcher, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Highland
Published: 2011-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The next two days passed in a blur, with Trey needing constant attention. Mercy went through bouts of fatigue and not being able to keep food down, and Rand took ill, running a fever that refused to let go.

Tara, Willow, and Mara ran tirelessly amongst all of them tending them as best as they could, with Duncan remaining by his wife’s side doing more for her than anyone. The storm continued to rage outside, leaving the Picts stranded with the MacAlpin clan.

When things seemed settled, though illness continued to plague the clan, Tara took a moment to return to her cottage. She needed time to think, time to refresh not only her thoughts but her body.

She heated a cauldron full of snow so that she could wash and slip into clean garments before returning to the keep. And she worried, worried terribly that she had brought this plague of problems down upon Reeve’s clan. How to correct the situation? She wasn’t sure. She only knew that she had to do something. She hoped refreshing herself would help clear the muddled confusion in her mind and help her find a way to amend this mess.

Tara sighed and slipped out of her clothes, draping them over the chair, to be washed and dried by the fire when she was done. Getting her boot off had proven a slight chore since her ankle had swelled on and off over the last couple of days. She knew it would have done her good to have remained off it, but that hadn’t been possible. There had been too much to do.

Given time, it would heal, and she would not think anymore on it. It was, after all, the least of her worries.

The wind whipped around the cottage, trembling the timber frame and penetrating the wattle-and-daub walls with a chill. She was grateful for the roaring fire that burned brightly in the fireplace and kept the one room warm.

She hurried to wash herself with the heated water in the cauldron. She had wanted to wash her hair, but it would have taken much too long to dry, and so she had twisted it and pinned it to the back of her head with her bone comb to keep it out of her way.

She had placed a fresh change of clothes on the bed, a high-necked, long-sleeved dark blue velvet dress; though not conducive to tending the ill, it certainly would keep her warm.

The fire’s light highlighted her freshly scrubbed skin as she finished the last of her scrub. She jumped when suddenly the front door opened, letting in not only a blast of cold air but Reeve along with it.

They both stood staring at each other, a layer of snow quickly melting off Reeve’s hair and shoulders.

“I-I-I-” Reeve stumbled over his words.

“Should have knocked,” Tara scolded, her arms crossing over the front of her, trying desperately to cover herself.

Reeve flung off his cloak and dropped it on the peg by the door, though he missed and it fell to the ground.

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