Page 20 of Never Fall for a Highlander

Maude turned to the table where the kitchen folk were busy at work.“Augie, bring a bathtub up to the laird’s bedroom and when ‘tis filled, stay and help the mon with his bath.”

“Donna fill it verra much,” Helena said.“Yer laird has a cut on his side that canno’ get wet.”

A lad of about fifteen summers nodded to her, then jumped up from the table where he sat, hitting the lad next to him in the head with his elbow.He hurriedly left the room, tripping over the foot of the stool.

Maude shook her head at the lad’s exit.“Why donna ye have some porridge while ye wait for the laird to finish his bath?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, but I need to go back upstairs and unwrap his wound.But after that I shall be back.”

The kitchen lad had made it to the laird’s bedroom before Helena did.He dragged the large wooden tub across the room, knocking it into a small trunk.Once it was in place, he bowed to the laird, banging his head on the bedpost.With a flaming face, he said, “I will have hot water sent up right away, my laird.”

Mackay tried to hide his laughter, but his eyes danced with mirth at the lad’s stumbling.

“I want to take a look at yer wound.”Helena said as she picked up the basket of medicants and headed to the bed.She moved the cover off him.

“Are ye still angry with me, lass?”

She smiled.“Nay.”‘Twas hard to remain mad at the laird.Even when he was irritating her, he always had that glint of humor in his eyes.It almost seemed as though he enjoyed annoying her.

The wound looked very good.“’Tis healing nicely, Laird, but ye’re still only hours since yer last fever.I still doona think ‘tis a good idea to leave the bed and work today.”

“Ach, lass.I wish I had that choice, but there are things that must be done that only I can do.My men have been out looking for the rest of the thieves who attacked us, but with no luck.If we canno’ find them, I’m going to have to send a missive to The Gunn and demand a meeting.”

He reached out and lifted her chin with his finger.“Ye look verra tired, lass.”

She nodded.“Aye, Jena is still verra weak from the birth, so I’ve been doing most of the care for Arthur.”

“And then ye come here to take care of me.Ye need to get some rest, or ye will be the next one requiring a healer, and then what would we do?”

Helena closed her eyes.She dinna like staring right into the laird’s eyes.She saw too much there.Things that she kenned would ne’er be hers.She moved her chin and continued with her ministrations.“I’ll get some sleep soon.”

Brave words, but she had no idea how and when she would sleep.She hadn’t thought sharing a room with Blair and Jena was a good idea when she’d arrived, but now with little Arthur also in the room, it was becoming quite crowded.And noisy.Certainly not conducive to sleep.

Most of her sleep time, anyway, was taken up with the bairn fussing.To allow Jena time to recover, she’d taken over the duty of walking with the bairn when he had problems sleeping.In the dark of the night, she’d rummaged in her satchel and recovered some chamomile that she made into a tea, and when it cooled, gave it to the little one.That seemed to settle his wee tummy.

Just as she finished seeing to the laird’s wound, several lasses appeared with buckets of hot water.Behind them was the lad from before carrying the last bucket of water.Helena worried that the laird would end up drowning with the help he was going to get.

As she left, she reminded the laird and Augie to no’ get the wound wet, and she would be back to re-wrap it when he was finished.

She went to the kitchen and had porridge, tea, and warm bread.That was just enough to rob her of whatever energy she’d possessed.Not wanting to disturb Jena and the bairn who were no doubt sleeping, she went to the laird’s bedchamber to straighten it up.

He’d finished his bath, was dressed and gone, most likely to his solar as planned.She picked up clothes from the floor and placed them in a pile outside the door for the lasses to pick up for washing.

Stretching and yawning, she looked pathetically at the laird’s warm, soft bed, then shook her head.Even though the laird was off to his solar, she couldna take a much-needed sleep there.

Instead, with a groan, she curled up on the wooden chair alongside the bed.

* * *

Curse that lass, Robin thought as he sat at his desk in the solar.After only several hours of work, he was unable to keep his eyes open, just as Helena had said.It angered him to be so weak.

“What has ye looking so grumpy?”Finn said he stepped into the laird’s solar.“I thought ye would be happy to be out of bed.”

“Aye, except I’m now feeling like I need to get back to bed.”

“Well, Helena said—”

“—doona say what I believe ye are about to say.I’m aware that the lass thinks she kens everything, but I doona have to hear it from ye, too.”