“No!” Eliza shouted, as her own fury rose to meet Iona’s. “There is a traitor in our midst?—”
“Be quiet, Eliza,” Duncan said suddenly. He was very pale, but his eyes were dark and determined. “Go to yer room.”
He turned his back on her and began to walk to his own chamber.
“He is beginning to see sense,” Iona said smugly. “I would start packing my trunks if I were you, Sassenach.”
Eliza’s eyes filled with tears. She could have stood and argued with Iona, but she had simply been rendered too distraught by Duncan’s dismissal. She broke into a run and escaped into the solitude of her room, where she hoped she might find some peace.
As soon as she opened the door, she rushed to her bed and threw herself onto it, then burst into tears and wept until she could weep no more. She had thought that Duncan was beginning to care for her, but now she realised how wrong she had been.
15
Eliza could not sleep. Every time she closed her eyes the masked horsemen came crashing out of the trees, and she lay cowering behind the cart, listening to the clashing of blade on blade and the screams of injured and dying men.
Eventually, she rose from bed and began to pace the room. She walked over to the window, where a huge full moon was tinting the landscape silver. It looked so serene and so beautiful that she could hardly believe what had gone on down there among the trees. She could almost convince herself that she had imagined it all, except that there was a patch of Duncan’s blood staining the sleeves of her dress.
It was my fault,she thought.I should have gone home in the carriage, and Duncan would not have had to slow down to protect me. No wonder he is so angry with me. He risked his life for me, and I am absolutely no use to him.
She sighed and turned away from the window, then thought of asking for some Valerian root tea to help her sleep. She was just about to ring for Maisie, but at that moment a timid knock sounded at the door, and as if she had read Eliza’s mind, the maid herself entered.
“I am sorry tae disturb ye, Milady,” she said, her eyes downcast. “But I just heard that the Laird has shut himself in his room an’ willnae even let the healer in tae see him. She has been standin’ outside his door for a good while, but he willnae let her in.”
Eliza felt guilt stab her like a knife through the heart, but then determination came to her rescue. Duncan might not wish to see the healer, but he will have to see her, even if she had to enlist a guard to help her break the door down!
“Thank you, Maisie,” Eliza answered. “I will go and see what I can do.”
After Maisie had helped her put a robe over her nightgown, Eliza dismissed her maid and rushed to Duncan’s room as fast as she could. The healer had obviously given up trying to get in because there was no one waiting there as she reached the door and thumped it with a clenched fist.
“Duncan! Let me in!” she yelled.
When there was no answer, Eliza tried the door handle, and to her great surprise, it opened without resistance.
As soon as she stepped into the room, Duncan emerged from behind a dressing screen, and Eliza spent a few seconds devouring the sight of him. He was bare-chested, his skin glistening with sweat and his face taut with pain as he held a blood-soaked cloth to his shoulder. Despite the obvious state of distress he was in, he was a study in masculine beauty.
However, Eliza began to weep again as she realised how close he had come to death. If the arrow had been a few inches farther down, it would have pierced Duncan’s heart, and she would be to blame. If only she had not slowed him down, had not invited herself to share a horse that was only meant for one rider—she had been so selfish.
“Eliza…”
Duncan dropped his cloth and came over to her, then cupped her face with one hand, his face a picture of concern and anxiety.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping tears away as she spoke. “This is my fault, I should not have insisted on riding with you. It was silly of me; I slowed you down, and you have every right to be furious with me, so if you would like me to go, I will find a way to pay you back. But I had to ask you to forgive me.”
Duncan smiled down into her dark eyes. “There is nothing to forgive, Eliza. This is not your fault.”
Eliza gazed at him, puzzled. “But you sent me away,” she said.
“Aye, I did,” he admitted, sighing. “I had to. There were too many people watching; the guards, the elders, and worst of all, Iona. I’m sorry, I was in shock, and I wasn’t thinking straight. And I don’t trust the elders. There is something I have to tell you that I do not wish them to hear, but you need to hear it, Eliza, because despite the fact that we have not known each other for a long time, I trust you.”
He kissed her softly on her forehead and led her over to a chair by the fireside before pouring them both some wine.
There was a pause while Duncan gathered his thoughts, then he said, “I had a cousin. His name was Malcolm, and he was my mother’s sister’s son. We were the same age and we were great friends. He was half-English like me, and we had a lot in common. I loved him like a brother, and he felt the same about me.”
Duncan paused again, and Eliza could see the glint of tears in his eyes. “We went out hunting one day because Malky said that he had seen an old injured stag that needed to be put out of its misery. But just as we left the castle and went into the trees, we were ambushed by masked men. They burst out of the trees, waving swords and yelling. We drew our swords and tried to fight back, but they had the advantage of surprise. Fora moment, we thought we had succeeded when Malky knocked one of the swines off his horse.
The other thug panicked and lost control of his horse. I managed to dismount so I could attack him on foot. But he grabbed me and wrestled me to the ground. We fought until I knocked him unconscious.”
He stopped and closed his eyes, and this time it looked as though he was having great difficulty going on. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse and hardly audible.
