“Nay, ye would never do that,” Rabbie teased, and Fearchar rolled his eyes.
“What will ye do today?” Niall asked, then added, “Now that ye dinna have to spend all yer time watching over me.”
“I never minded that,” she told him, sadness filling her at the lie. She’d minded thinking she’d have to cut off part of his leg. She’d minded watching him die in agony. But Niall didn’t need to know that.
“I ken it, and I’m more grateful than ye can ken for all ye did for me.”
“I’m glad Jamie got here when he did,” she admitted, her throat tight. She cleared it, unable to bring herself to say how close he’d come under her care to dying. “I planned to check on ye later, but ye saved me the visit. I’m headed beyond the village to visit a woman under my care. Where is Jamie?”
“Down in the village. Ye might see him there. He said something about the promise he made to the laird.”
Aftyn’s stomach sank at the reminder of her father’s opinion of her abilities, but she hid her dismay. The only assurance she had against her father’s claim he would find someone to replace her was that Jamie fully intended to leave in a few days. “Well, then, I’ll be off,” she told them, returned to her seat to pick up her belongings, and headed out of the keep. Would she find Jamie as she walked through the village? She had told Robena’s husband they would both come to see her today. But she passed through the village without a glimpse of him.
She needed to know what he’d done to Robena while he was there without her. She hadn’t seen him since the evening before last. When she did, she’d get the answers she wanted.
She hoped the lovely morning was a sign that she’d find Robena well. The long walk gave her time to enjoy being out of the keep and by herself. And to remind herself that Jamie hadn’t gone behind her back to care for Robena. He’d only done what he'd promised the laird. It wasn't her fault she hadn't been able to go with him.
When she entered the croft, Colin was already gone and Robena slept, still breathing more easily than she had in a fortnight. Relieved, Aftyn took a seat to rest for a while before heading back to the village to see Kayla and the new bairn. Watching Robena breathing made her happy, but before long, watching her sleep made her drowsy. She was about to get up and head back to the village when a noise outside alerted her just before the cottage door opened. “Colin?” Aftyn stood, expecting Robena’s husband.
Instead, Agatha stepped in, followed by a tall, broad shape Aftyn knew well, silhouetted against the morning light streaming in the door. Jamie! He stepped farther into the room and shifted his stance as he took in the interior of the croft in one glance, then fastened his gaze on her.
She had no time to ask why he had come back here without her.
Agatha’s eyes widened when she noticed Aftyn. “Ye! What have ye done to Robena? Is she breathing?” She took a step forward, then stopped and put a hand over her heart. “Or have ye finally killed her? Are ye waiting for poor Colin to come home so ye can revel in his grief?”
Agatha spat her hateful words so quickly that Aftyn had no chance to defend herself. “I came to check on my patient,” she explained once Agatha stopped for breath.
“She’s nay your patient. Colin said he’s a better healer,” Agatha added, gesturing at Jamie, who frowned down at her, then moved to Robena’s bedside.
Jamie nodded at the bed, then frowned at Agatha. “Yer friend Robena still needs rest. Ye will wake her.”
“’Tis good he’s here to keep his eye on ye,” Agatha continued, pitching her voice a little lower. "Ye can no longer kill her slowly with yer potions and spells.”
Aftyn gasped. “Spells?” She did her best not to express her outrage in the volume of her voice. "I dinna use… I havena harmed her,” she hissed. "I helped her…”
“Nay, ye havena. Ye let her suffer without doing anything to heal her,” Agatha cut in and pointed at Jamie. “He’s done more to help Robena in a day than ye have in all the months ye have tended her.”
That reminded Aftyn of her most pressing question. “Indeed? And what did he do for her?” She moved her gaze from Agatha to Jamie, fighting to control the agitation that Agatha’s presence always made her feel. “She still sleeps. What did ye give her?”
He hesitated, then answered, “My methods, and my medicines, are my own, lass. Ye ken that.”
She glared at him for a moment, puzzled, then realized it was true. He hadn’t given her anything of his. He’d spent his time making her mother’s cures useful to her.
Regret filled his dark eyes, regret she didn’t understand.
“I’m the healer to this keep and this village. Long after ye are gone, I’ll still have the care of these people. If ye have something more effective than my medicines, my methods, I must ken. I’ve asked ye before. I’m asking again.”
“Dinna listen to her,” Agatha snarled. “She kens a wee from her dead ma, but she’s no’ a real healer.”
“Agatha, I’ve told ye I am sorry for yer wee son, but nothing anyone could have done would have saved him.”
Agatha blanched and dropped into a chair. “How dare ye mention my wee bairn? My only son.” Her pallor didn’t ease as the sheen of tears formed in her eyes. “My husband’s only heir, and ye let him die.” Suddenly her color came back, along with the wild accusations Aftyn had become accustomed to from her. “Have ye slowly poisoned Robena all this time? Did ye do the same to my bairn?”
Aftyn clenched her teeth. How could she answer such an allegation? It made her heart sore to hear it. “I would never harm anyone.” She wanted to cringe, recalling what she'd considered doing to Niall, but she kept her expression impassive.
Jamie put a hand over hers, holding her still, then spoke to Agatha. “How was Robena when ye visited yesterday?”
Agatha cleared her throat, her expression changing from angry to abashed. “She was able to sit up in bed and eat some food I prepared for her. Colin returned home to find her there. He was overjoyed.”
