Old Muireall approved of feeding him some of the broth Elizabeth had made, so a couple times a day, she sat behind him, with his head resting on her chest, and dribbled spoonfuls of liquid into his mouth. She could coax it down his throat, much more successfully than the first few times she’d tried. Now, he swallowed more of it than they both wore.
The outside door opened and she waited for word of what the men had discussed. When no one approached, she walked to the chamber door and eased it open. All three stood there, silent now that she’d opened the door. Dougal motioned to her to come out, so she stepped out and pulled the door behind her.
“If he does not wake in another two days, I am sending Niall back to Lairig Dubh with word of his condition,” he said.
Elizabeth nodded at his grim announcement. For Dougal to send word to the earl that exposed that he had lost his temper and caused Jamie’s condition was a serious admission to make. He would be in trouble for disobeying the laird’s commands, losing whatever status he might have and being humiliated among his clan.
How had things gone so wrong?
She went back into the chamber to watch over Jamie, but dissolved into tears when she knelt next to him. Everything had gone wrong and a simple desire to be together had now ruined more lives than she could count—and might even cost Jamie his.
All for love? She thought love would be the answer to their problems, but instead pursuit of it seemed to cause all their problems. Standing by while Ciara married him could not be worse than the mayhem and damage following their own desires had wrought. Mayhap being content in marriage was enough and seeking a grand adventure of the heart just brought pain?
She leaned her head down and let her grief and worry out for the first time. Praying that his life would be spared, she bargained with the Almighty, offering up all manner of possible sacrifices if only...if only...
“Dinna greet, lass.”
Low and raspy, she nearly did not recognize his voice, but as he touched her head, tangling his fingers in her unbound hair, she knew he was truly awake. Elizabeth lifted her head and looked into his eyes for the first time in days.
“Nothing can be as bad as that,” he whispered to her. He had no idea of how bad things were at that moment. Happy that he was waking up, she smiled through her tears.
“Not now that you are awake,” she said. Without thinking about anything else, she leaned over and kissed him. Careful not to press too hard against his torn lip, she only touched her mouth to his for a moment. Realizing he must be parched, she sat up and reached for the cup she kept there, always ready for him. “Here now, sip this,” she said, lifting his head so he could take some.
She did it in small steps, until he’d emptied the cup. When she let his head rest back, he reached out and took hold of her hand, squeezing it for a moment.
“Elizabeth, we must talk,” he said. His eyes began to droop and she knew he was falling asleep again, this time into a normal sleep so she did not fear for him. “I have to tell you...”
He never finished his words. She did not care for there would be time now to sort it all out. After watching him for several more minutes, she left the chamber to tell Dougal the news.
With the news that he’d wakened, everyone’s mood lightened and their meal included a bit of conversation that no one had felt like having at previous meals. After eating and cleaning up, Elizabeth reached for the latch to his door. Dougal stepped between her and the chamber, stopping her from entering.
“Go now, Elizabeth, and get some rest.”
“I want to sit with him, Dougal. If he wakes...”
“When he wakes, I will call you. But, if you do not get some sleep, you will make yourself sick and be of no good to him or anyone.”
When he crossed his arms over his chest, she knew she’d lost this argument. Nodding, she went into the bedchamber and lay down on the pile of blankets there. Only planning to sleep for a short time, Elizabeth was surprised when morning’s light greeted her as she woke.
Dougal watched the steely determination in his sister and understood what, or who, caused it. Murray had not forced her in any way—Elizabeth was deeply in love with him. As he observed her care of him over the last several days, it was a fact he could not miss. Not even while his temper still held sway over him. Not even when the man’s death seemed imminent. And not even now when the news he’d awakened lifted her spirits.
He sat with his back against the wall inside the small chamber, drinking some whisky and thinking on how this would all go and not liking any of it. His first time in command and it was a debacle. He’d lost his temper within seconds of encountering the two of them and nearly beaten Murray to death. He was not one to shy away from a good fight or even from killing when it needed be done, but the results of this lack of control sickened him.
Connor expected obedience from everyone who served him. Duncan and Rurik had tried to warn him, but he was too bent on avenging what he thought was Murray’s dishonoring of his sister to keep his temper under control.
Taking another swallow of theuisge beathahe considered his choices in how to carry out his orders and how they would affect his sister and the man before him. Her earlier indiscretion aside, she was his younger sibling, the only one to live through childhood, and though he and his friends tormented her endlessly, their bond was unbreakable. She probably wished him in hell right now, he knew that from the glare she gave him from time to time.
The last time Elizabeth had fallen from honor, it was because she was too sweet and too young to know a man’s game...and because he was not there to watch over her. It would have taken him no more than a breath to see the craven bastard’s plan and put an end to it—if he’d been there. But he was training and living elsewhere and Elizabeth had been drawn in with the man’s pretty words and promises. She did not think he knew about it but he did.
He could not fail her this time.
So, when word spread that she’d been taken by Murray, that he’d forced her to leave with him, he knew his chance had come. The smell of recent sex in the shieling just proved Murray’s guilt to him and he’d attacked the man—for his own failure once more.
From Connor’s comments to his wife, he fully expected Murray to marry his sister. Actually, it sounded as though he expected they would already be married by the time they were found. The chieftain had allowed his friend Tavis to marry Ciara, though in many ways, it was not an acceptable match. Ciara Robertson was higher in status, connected to powerful families in Scotland and wealthier than any woman Dougal could think on. And it was her wealth, not her husband’s.
Now that he’d time to think on it, mayhap Connor waited to give Murray time to marry Elizabeth? The earl knew where they were heading because Lady MacLerie told them about the priest. By giving them an entire day before sending someone after them, Connor knew they would have done the deed before being found. Which would give Connor less control over separating them once they were returned. A valid marriage, even in the Old Church style, was legitimate and hard to break.
But the storms arrived and delayed them in getting to the priest. And that gave him a chance to catch up with them before that marriage could happen.
