But his mind kept drifting to Mhairi. Wondering how her day in the village was going. Whether she was enjoying the work. Whether she was safe.
After an hour of reading the same supply report three times without absorbing a single word, Alpin gave up.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered, pushing back from his desk.
He found Callum in the training yard, overseeing sword drills.
"I'm goin' tae the village," Alpin announced.
Callum didn’t even look surprised. "Tae check on Mhairi?"
"Tae... handle clan business."
"Right. Clan business." Callum's grin was insufferable. "And if ye happen tae see a certain healer's apprentice while ye're there, well, that's just coincidence."
"Shut up."
"Ye're smitten, me laird. Completely, hopelessly smitten."
"I'm leavin' now."
"Should I send guards with ye?"
"Nay. I'm just ridin' down tae check on things." Alpin was already walking toward the stables. "I'll be back before sunset."
The ride to the village was blessedly short. Alpin kept Dùbh at an easy canter, his eyes scanning the familiar landscape. Everything seemed peaceful - farmers in their fields, children playing near cottages, normal autumn activity.
But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to change.
He reached the village center just as a small crowd was gathering near the healer's cottage. Alpin's hand went instinctively to his sword hilt as he dismounted, his warrior's instincts immediately on alert.
Then he saw what had drawn the crowd.
Mhairi stood in the doorway of the cottage, her apprentice's apron stained with what looked like blood and herbal mixtures. She was speaking to a group of villagers, her voice calm and confident as she gave instructions about caring for someone who'd apparently been injured.
And the villagers were listening.
Really listening, with the kind of respect usually reserved for experienced healers, nae apprentices on their first real day of work.
Alpin felt something warm and fierce settle in his chest as he watched her. This was what she was meant to do. This was who she was meant to be.
Not some nobleman's property. Not a victim hiding in shadows.
But a healer.
A woman who helped people. Someone the community was already beginning to rely on.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
She's good with them.
Alpin stood in the shadow of the village blacksmith's shop, arms crossed, watching as Mhairi knelt beside an elderly woman examining a swollen ankle.
Even from this distance, he could see the careful way she probed the injury, the gentle questions she was asking, the reassuring smile she offered.
The woman patted Mhairi's hand and said something that made her laugh.
He should go back to the castle. Should let her work without hovering like some overprotective.
