“I am a Lathan. I only agreed to help your healers for…”
“And ye shall continue to do so, though for longer than ye expected.”
Jamie, on his feet, loomed over the seated laird. But the Keith appeared unworried. A slight sound by the doorway behind him told Jamie the Keith had prepared for his arrival and guards stood by to prevent Jamie from doing what he longed to do—wrap his hands around this arrogant man’s neck and squeeze the life from him. Then free his men, take Aftyn, and leave this place.
But he could do none of that, certainly not at this moment, perhaps never unless he wanted a war with Keith and its allies. If Rabbie and Niall had reached the Aerie, Keith might get one, very soon.
He fought not to cross his arms over his chest. “Ye have me at a disadvantage.”
“Only a temporary one. If ye swear to me, all will be well, and ye will be well rewarded. Ye have only to decide.”
“I must see to the priest who was burned.” Jamie hoped to divert him from thinking about the other Lathans. He couldn’t do anything from the abbey except finish with the priest. Even if he took Aftyn with him, he could not return to Lathan without Bhaltair and Fearchar. He would not leave them in the Keith dungeon.
“Ye may go, but with a Keith escort to ensure yer safety.”
“My safety hasna been at issue before now.”
“Until ye swear to me, that has changed. For ye, and for yer men.”
Jamie kept his hands at his side and did not allow himself to clench them into fists. The Keith knew him as a healer. Best he continued to regard him as such and underestimate him.
As soon as Jamie saw a chance, the laird would meet the warrior.
* * *
By the timeAftyn went down to the great hall for the midday meal, the keep was abuzz with the news that Jamie Lathan had gone to the abbey with an escort, and that two of his companions were currently in the dungeon. No one mentioned the other two, or any names. His companions—even Niall?—in the dungeon! Wait, only two of his companions were there. Where were the other two?
She immediately forgot any thought of food. Her stomach clenched and ice formed in her veins. Her confession had caused all of this. Jamie under guard made no sense, but he still did his best to help. Aftyn hoped the burned priest knew what a sacrifice Jamie was making for his sake. Surely Jamie had to be worried about his men. And wondering what her father would do next.
She left the great hall through the main door, desperate for fresh air before she passed out or burst into tears. She wasn’t sure which was most likely, but she was ready for either. This was her fault.
She had to get to the dungeon! Niall should not be there. His wound would get infected. He’d sicken again. Dear God, he could die! What was her father doing? Had he lost his mind?
She paced, thankful most of the clan was in the great hall eating, leaving her alone out here, save for the guards on the wall walk whose attention should be directed outside the keep, not into the bailey.
What would happen to Jamie when he returned from the abbey? Would her father put him in the dungeon, too?
She had to think of something. Jamie had done so much for the clan, the abbey, and for her. He’d made his interest in her clear through his care and concern, his kisses and caresses, and his offers to take her back to the Aerie with him. He’d said he’d take her wherever she wanted to go for training, but she hoped he meant something more, for what had blossomed between them.
The abbot had given her father just enough information to make Jamie a prize worth threatening. Even worth risking trouble with his clan. She suspected her father had offered Jamie a place as healer and Jamie had turned him down.
He was a good man. She hadn’t wanted to admit her feelings, even to herself, knowing that he would be leaving soon. But then he’d offered to stay, to protect her, and her attraction to him had deepened over time into something more real, more important, and now?
Now she would be forced to help him leave her. To defy her father and do whatever she could to keep him and his men safe, and to find a way for them to escape—and leave her behind.
16
Jamie rode back to the Keith keep with his escort. Or rather, under guard. He understood what the Keith was up to. He allowed the escort because Bhaltair and Fearchar were his prisoners. Otherwise, Jamie would have disposed of the guards, collected his men and Aftyn, and headed back to the Aerie.
The injured priest no longer needed him. He was well enough that once he woke from the healing sleep Jamie laid on him before he left the abbey, he would be able to resume light duties for a few days, until he felt stronger and resumed his normal responsibilities.
Leaving the man in good condition satisfied Jamie in a new way. This had not been the same as saving a man’s life in the heat of battle, then moving on to the next and the next. He’d spent hours with the priest over a period of days, and had become invested in returning the man to health. His talent, which he’d spurned for many years, had allowed him to give back the life the man had worked to achieve. The time Jamie spent with Niall doing much the same thing—ensuring he lived and could return to his duties as a Lathan warrior—had allowed Jamie to think a great deal about the legacy he inherited from his mother. Seeing Aftyn suffer the lack of training, of competency, that her mother should have prepared her with brought the lesson home even more clearly. The abbot thought his healing ability was a gift from God, and while he would never cease fighting for Lathan and his father’s causes, and one day his brother’s, he had a valuable skill few possessed, one that saved lives and changed lives that would have been ruined by disease or injury.
He owed Aftyn a debt of gratitude for helping him see for himself what his mother had tried to teach him. What he’d been too young and stubborn to hear and accept. What his fury at his foster father over his friend’s death had led him to reject—at least until innocent lives were at stake. He was older and wiser now, and the dedication and heart Aftyn put into caring the best she was able for others shamed him. He could do so much more than she, and he’d wanted to throw it away. He’d ignored his ability and refused to accept his heritage. No longer. He would fight when he must and heal when he could. And give Aftyn her due.
The attraction and affection he felt for her had grown into something more. He wasn’t sure what he felt, or whether he could offer her more than she needed to become the healer she wanted to be. But the thought of spending time away from her grated on Jamie. He’d solve that problem when he solved the others and brought them all away from here.
Once Jamie and the Keiths entered the keep and left their mounts with the stable master, they escorted him into the great hall and left him. Apparently he still had the freedom to roam within the walls.
