Page 12 of Reviving Her Highland Spirit

He led away the placid and unconcerned Stardust, tying her up a few feet away. She was unlikely to stamp or kick out, but it wasn’t a risk Callum was willing to take.

“Where did ye get that scar on yer hand?”

Callum froze, glancing over his shoulder. Lady Maggie was hunched over on the ground, her hand splayed out, tracing a crescent on her palm, exactly where Callum’s was.

Callum’s hand clenched into a fist. He remembered the filthy, twisted face of a soldier, holding up a rusty knife to his face. Callum remembered trying to wriggle away, but at five years old, he was no match for the grown man. He remembered the man digging the tip of his dagger into the palm of Callum’s hand. Callum heard his own childish squeals of pain and fear and the man’s cruel laughter.

Then he remembered his father, face red with righteous anger, coming out of nowhere and tackling the man to the ground. Callum hadn’t seen the rest of the fight, but he’d caught a glimpse of the man’s dead body when his father had swept him up into his arms, pushing him underneath an upturned cart to hide.

“Stay there, Callum. Stay hidden. It’s too dangerous for you out here. I’ll come back for ye.”

Those were the last words Callum had ever heard from his father, and the last time he’d seen him alive. He opened his hand, eyeing the raised, white scar, a little crescent moon on his palm.

“I don’t remember,” Callum said lightly. “It happened when I was a lad.”

When had she noticed the scar?

It didn’t matter, He needed to focus. With Stardust safely tied up, Callum turned back to Lady Maggie. She was still sitting on the ground, looking small, young, and crumpled. He felt a stab of pity for her, before remembering that he shouldn’t feel pity for any of these people.

It didn’t make the feeling go away, though.

Callum moved back over, crouching down in front of her.

“Ye were very brave,” he said quietly.

Lady Maggie gave a short laugh. “Brave? I fell.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Ye tried. Ye went further than ye did before. Ye don’t have tae do it all at once, ye ken. Tomorrow will be better.”

But Lady Maggie shook her head, biting her lip and looking away. She wouldn’t meet his gaze and had that drained, glazed expression on her face again. Whatever had been running through her head when she fell again, had done serious damage. It wouldn’t be easily shaken off, no mistake.

“This was a mistake,” she said quietly. “I should just leave it well enough alone. I can’t believe I thought I could fix myself with a little willpower and confidence. I ought tae have just given up.”

“Ye don’t strike me as the sort of lassie who gives up,” Callum said, earning himself a surprised glance. He was overstepping his boundaries again. He ought to quit while he was ahead, but just like before, Callum couldn’t stop himself. “My offer still stands, Lady Maggie. I will help ye, if ye will accept my help.”

Maggie studied him for a long moment, then dropped her gaze, sighing. She got slowly and painfully to her feet, ignoring Callum’s offered hand. He tried not to feel slighted. It was clear that Lady Maggie was the sort of woman who would help herself, and didn’t like to rely on others.

Perhaps that was why she was taking all of this so hard.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” she said quietly. “I’ve wasted your time and mine. Will ye get into trouble with the head groom?”

“Nay,” Callum lied. “At least, I don’t think so.”

She nodded. “Well, if he complains about your work, tell him tae come tae me. I won’t have ye getting into trouble because of me.”

Frustration rose in Callum again. “I want tae help ye. Why won’t ye let me?”

“You don’t understand, Callum.”

Oh, but I do. I understand better than ye could imagine. Do ye think I don’t know fear? Do ye think scenes from that battlefield didn’t flash before my eyes every night afterward? Do ye think that I didn’t flinch every time I saw a blade or heard a horse’s hooves until I learned how tae manage it?

He couldn't say that, of course. It would be too much to explain, and far beyond his remit of what he should share with people here. Callum bit his lip to prevent himself from blurting it all out like a fool.

“Well, I will be expecting ye here tomorrow morning,” Callum said, then blushed - that sounded too much like an order. He had to remember that he wasn’t giving the orders here. “If ye want tae come, o’ course,” he amended. “I’ll help ye if ye will let me.”

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Annoyance, or a rude dismissal, perhaps? But Maggie’s expression had turned strangely inward-looking. She smiled vaguely at the ground, lost in a memory. It was as if she’d forgotten that he was even there.

“Lady Maggie?” Callum prompted, a little nervous at his own daring. He could hear that voice in his head again, warning him away.