Page 15 of A Highlander's Bride

One of the guardsmen ran toward the small bothy set in the back of the keep where the healer lived. Daniel took the steps into the keep two at a time. When he entered the great hall, Laird and Lady Chisholm, Lady Alice and Laird and Lady Munro sat at the table, talking.

Lady Munro jumped up her eyes wide. “What has happened to Beth?”

Daniel continued toward the stairs to the bedchambers and spokeover his shoulder. “She was thrown from her horse. The healer is on her way.”

Lady Munro covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my goodness.” She moved quickly away from the table to join him.

“That’s why my Alice doesn’t ride. ’Tis verra dangerous, and not an appropriate thing for young lasses to do.” Lady Chisholm had to get her opinion in. Ignoring the woman, Daniel continued upstairs.

Lady Munro arrived right behind him and opened the door to Beth’s bedchamber. He carried her to the bed and gently laid her down. Her mam pushed the hair back from her face. She had a few scratches on her cheek, but no other visible injuries.

“What have we here?” The healer, Emma, hustled into the room.

“Lady Beth was riding and jumped over a hedge and was thrown from her horse.”

Lady Munro laid her hand on her chest. Then she twisted her hands together and looked at the healer. “Will she be all right?”

Emma looked at Lady Munro. “Ye are her mam?”

“Aye.”

“I need to remove her clothes so I can examine her.” She looked at Daniel. “Ye will have to leave, my laird, and wait in the great hall. I will send word to you when I ken more.”

He was reluctant to leave, but knew he could not stay in Beth’s bedchamber, especially with Lady Munro undressing her, but he was truly worried about the lass. “Aye, but please do send word once ye’ve finished yer examination, or when Lady Beth awakens.”

“I will, my Laird, now if ye would please leave so I can help the lass.”

He nodded and turned to leave the room, feeling guilty for allowing Beth to take that second jump. Although with the lass’s determination, he would not have been able to stop her, anyway.

*

Beth groaned withthe pain in her foot. She had no idea what was going on, but a woman she didn’t know was slowly moving her fingers over her foot. “Ouch, that hurts.”

“Where does it hurt, lassie?”

She whispered, thinking the less she used any part of her body the more it would make the pain ease. “My ankle.”

The strange woman clucked. “Aye, that’s what I thought.”

Beth groaned. “Who are you and what happened? Why does my foot hurt so much?”

Her mam appeared at her bedside and took her hand. “Ye fell off your horse and it appears ye hurt yer ankle.”

Beth frowned and spoke even though it hurt to even move her mouth. “I never fell off a horse in my whole life.”

Her mam walked to the other side of the bed so the woman who was most likely a healer could continue to tend to her.

“Dear, according to the laird, ye were jumping and was thrown.”

Beth closed her eyes and groaned. “I can just imagine what Laird Mackenzie will have to say about it.”

“Actually, he was verra concerned about ye, and wanted a report once Emma examined ye,” her mam said.

Her mam then proceeded to undress her as carefully as she could. When she was down to her last petticoat, the healer took over. As gently as she could, she ran her hands over her body. When she reached the foot that hurt so much, she placed her hand over her ankle and gently squeezed.

Beth jumped. “Ouch. That hurts.” Her eyes filled with tears.

The healer looked at her with sympathy. “Tis sorry I am to hurt ye, Beth, but I had to be sure the bone wasn’t broken.”