“Eighteen,” Lottie said proudly.
Fergus could barely believe it. When he looked at Lottie, he saw her at three years old, grabbing onto his tunic and following him everywhere, sucking on her thumb.
“What were ye doin’ when ye fell ill?” Jeane asked.
“Nothin’ in particular,” Lottie said easily. “I suppose it was after Aiden and I went swimmin’ in the Loch.”
“God kens what kind of critters and illnesses live in the Loch,” Fergus groaned, but Jeane ignored him as she was wont to do.
Aiden frowned. “I told her we shouldnae—” he started, and Fergus glared at him. Aiden clamped his mouth shut.
“Ye cannae control a wee girl?”
Lottie groaned. “I’m nae a wee girl.”
Fergus ignored that comment the way she had ignored his. He focused on Aiden.
“Next time, ye tellherwhat to do, nae the other way around,” Fergus suggested.
Aiden nodded, but Lottie scoffed.
“Let him try it,” she muttered, but again, Fergus ignored it.
Aiden stood there, frowning, gesturing wildly. He knocked over the healer’s bag with the action, and it clattered on the floor, making Jeane jump nearly out of her skin.
“It’s all right,” Fergus murmured, stepping closer to the lass, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she stiffened, and he removed it.
“I cannae believe ye talked me into—” Aiden started ranting, but Fergus cut him off.
He knew how much the man fretted over Lottie. He supposed that one day, Aiden and Lottie might be married. Aiden was a good man, and Fergus was not against the idea, but he did not want Aiden getting in Jeane’s way at the moment. Not to mention, the lass was skittish. He called her “little mouse” for a reason.
“Ye go check on the horses,” Fergus said. “Mine was pretty spooked out in the forest.”
Aiden’s jaw tightened.
“I daenae want to leave Lottie. She‘s nervous about her first appointment with the healer.”
“I dinnae say I was nervous,” Lottie argued, and Aiden sighed.
Fergus glared at Aiden. “Are ye questionin’ yer laird?
Aiden stared back at him, and for a moment Fergus thought he would really stand against him, but in the end, he just shook his head.
“Nay, Me Laird. I’ll go.”
Aiden dropped a hand on Lottie’s shoulder briefly. She smiled, looking up as she squeezed it. Aiden left the room, and Fergus turned back to Jeane.
He watched Jeane as she examined his sister.
She had a magic touch, it seemed, because his side, which had been screaming all night, had quieted. The pain was now just a simple ache instead of the stinging burn it had been.
He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorjamb as Jeane pressed her ear to his sister’s back.
“And ye havenae traveled outside of the country?”
“Heavens, nay. Fergus barely lets me leave the castle. He thinks there’s an enemy hidin’ in every corner, waitin’ to grab me.”
Jeane smiled, but she tapped on Lottie’s chest, as if listening for something. She was focused on the exam instead of his garrulous sister.
