“And breakin’ your skull open because ye are too weak to stand does nae help either.” The housekeeper tilted her head to one side to study him. “But I suppose I might as well be talking to the wind.”
“I am sure your broth will give me enough strength nae to fall on my face.” Niall gave her another smile. “It smells delicious.”
She colored slightly. “I had the cook put in a few extra herbs.”
“I appreciate that,” Niall answered. “It should hit the spot, then.”
“Aye, well. ’Tis nae much.” Mrs. Cameron sounded a bit flustered. “I’ll just go and find out what is keeping the lads with your hot water.”
“Thank ye,” Niall said again and tore into the bread before she was hardly out the door. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he said the broth smelled delicious. Right now, it tasted as good as anything on a feast table. He was already beginning to feel his strength build. It took a good half hour to finish bathing andwashing his hair with the water the kitchen lads finally brought up, but by the time he did he felt like a new man.
He needed to thank Ian for the hospitality and the healer as well, but the first thing he needed to do was make sure Annie was safe and well.
Opening the door, he nearly ran into her.
****
Annie lowered the hand she’d raised to knock on his door and stared at him standing there dressed in breeches and a tunic that was half-open. His face had returned to its normal color. His hair was slicked back from washing and his gray eyes were clear.
The transformation from him lying still as death and white as the linen sheet was nothing short of amazing. She closed her eyes momentarily, hoping she wasn’t having a distorted vision like she’d had with the healer. But when she opened them, he was still standing there, looking hale.
“Mrs. Cameron told me ye had awakened.”
Niall stepped back and motioned her inside. “Aye, about an hour ago.”
“Someone should have come and gotten me.”
“I told Mrs. Cameron to let ye rest,” Niall said, “and I needed a bit of time to put myself to rights.”
Annie nodded. “Ye have nae been conscious for nigh three days.”
“The last thing I remember is standing on the deck of a ship.” Niall sat down on the edge of the bed. “Mrs. Cameron told me we have reached the MacLeod, but how did it happen?”
Annie took the housekeeper’s chair and filled Niall in on what had taken place and how they’d feared for his life until the crone had come with her healing herbs. Annie left out the part that she thought she’d seen the old woman transform into a young girl. Niall would think she was the one fevered if she toldthat story. “What is most important is that the healer’s poultice seems to have drawn the poison out.”
“I hope I can thank her. Is she still here?”
“Nae. Jillian said she lives in a cottage in the hills.”
“Then perhaps I can ride over there tomorrow,” Niall said.
“Tomorrow?” Annie asked, not quite sure she heard correctly. “Saint Peter was all but holding the pearly gates open for ye only an hour ago.”
Niall smiled. “Are ye sure ’twas Saint Peter and nae Lucifer?”
“’Tis nae jest,” Annie answered, although now that he mentioned it, the black stubble that shaded his jaw did make him resemble a dark angel somewhat… She pushed the errant thought aside. “Ye are in nae condition to ride anywhere.”
One eyebrow rose. “Are ye questioning my stamina?”
“Your…” Annie felt herself blush as she remembered how his manhood had reacted to her bandaging his thigh on the ship. “I… Oh.” How stupid could she be? Niall was asking if she was questioning his ability to ride. A horse. Tomorrow. He was not asking whether she questioned his virility. Which she didn’t. She already knew… At that thought, her face heated even more. Maybe she had taken a fever too. Why else would her mind be racing in such a direction? She attempted to answer once more. “Nae, but I am questioning your sanity.”
His brow went higher. “My sanity?”
“Aye. Your leg is nae healed.”
“It does nae pain me.”
Was the man daft? “Just because it does nae hurt, that does nae mean ’tis well enough to ride.”
