Seduction of a Highland Lass (McCabe Trilogy 2)

The keep was already preparing to mourn. No one expected Keeley to live through the night.

Alaric settled into the furs and made himself as comfortable as possible on the face of the rock where he sat. He began to tell Keeley of all the things he loved most about her. How she made him laugh with her temper and her sharp wit. How she didn’t back down from either of his brothers.

He told her of his dreams of their children and how he wanted girls as beautiful and as fierce as she was and boys with her fire and courage.

Night settled in and the stars popped overhead. The moon splashed onto the loch, illuminating the pair as Alaric hung on tightly, willing Keeley not to slip away from him.

She grew quieter. He could literally feel the change in her as she grew weaker. The pain was too much for him to bear.

He laid his head atop hers and closed his eyes, wanting a brief moment of peace. When next he opened his eyes, the sky had paled with dawn’s imminent approach.

Panic stabbed through his chest. How long had he slept? He was afraid to look down. He was afraid to focus in on Keeley. What if she’d died in his arms while he slept? How could he ever forgive himself?

“Keeley?” he whispered as he shifted on the rock.

To his amazement, she moaned and moved fretfully against him. Her forehead gleamed with … sweat. With shaking fingers he touched her clammy skin and felt the sticky moisture that signaled the end of her fever.

Oh, God, he couldn’t function. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t process. He should get her back to the keep so that Ewan could look at her, but ’Twas God’s truth if he tried to stand now, he’d fall flat on his face.

He touched her face, her cheek, her eyelids even. “Keeley, Keeley, lass, wake up and look at me. Say something. Anything.”

Her lips parted the barest amount and it was obvious she tried to say something but lacked the strength. Her eyes opened a crack but she couldn’t keep them open.

“It doesn’t matter,” he soothed. “Your fever has broken. Do you hear me? Your fever has broken. ’Tis a good sign, Keeley. You’ll not die on me now, do you hear? You’ve fought this hard and long and I refuse to let you die now that you’ve given me hope.”

She whispered something he couldn’t hear. He leaned down and placed his ear next to her lips. “What did you say?”

“Brute,” she muttered.

He closed his eyes and laughed helplessly. ’Twas such a wonderful, exquisite feeling that he threw back his head and laughed until tears of relief streamed down his cheeks.

“Alaric, what is it?” Ewan demanded as he ran toward his brother.

Alaric turned to see his brother halt a few steps away, his expression wary and sorrowful. He glanced down at Keeley’s still figure and then back up to the tears streaming down Alaric’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Alaric. I’m so damn sorry.”

Alaric grinned broadly. “She lives, Ewan. She lives! Her fever has broken and she just called me a brute. Surely ’tis a sign she has no intention of dying.”

A broad smile split Ewan’s face. “Aye, ’tis a good sign to be sure. Any lass who can muster the gumption to be contrary is surely not to die.”

“I can’t lift her, Ewan,” Alaric admitted. “ ’Tis God’s truth I’m so poleaxed that I lack the strength to stand.”

Ewan hurried forward and lifted Keeley from his arms. It took Alaric a moment, but he was able to rise on shaking legs and walk alongside his brother back to the keep.

“They all think she’s dead,” Ewan explained. “Word went through the keep that you brought her to the loch to die.”

“ ’Tis a miracle, Ewan. A miracle I can’t explain but I’m so damn grateful for. She was dying. I could feel her dying in my arms. I held her through the night and I talked to her endlessly, telling her of my dreams and the children we’d have. I went to sleep and when I awoke, her fever was gone and she was bathed in a sweat. She’s still weak as a kitten but the fever has left her.”

“I’ll have a look at her wound as soon as we get her to bed,” Ewan promised. “Then we must address the issue of what is to be done about the alliance with the McDonalds. The king awaits as do the lairds of the clans who gathered here for your wedding. We cannot hold them off any longer.”

Alaric looked at his brother with all the dread in his heart. Then he nodded, knowing he must face this issue or the result could be disaster for his clan.

“As soon as Keeley is settled, I’ll go with you to meet with our king,” Alaric said quietly.

Chapter 38

Alaric left Keeley with Maddie and Christina, and Mairin checking in as many times as she could slip past Cormac, who guarded her doorway.

Maddie burst into tears when Alaric told her of Keeley’s fever breaking. “I’ll take good care of the lass, Alaric. Go do what must be done. I’ll have her washed and fed and well on her way to recovery by the time you return, I vow it.”

Alaric smiled. “I know you will, Maddie.”

He pressed one last kiss to Keeley’s lips before he eased out of her chamber and headed belowstairs to where the others waited in the hall. Caelen met him just as he stepped off the stairs.

“I heard Keeley is recovering.”

Alaric smiled. “Aye.”

“I want you to know, you can count on my support no matter what is decided this day.”

Alaric sobered. “That means a lot to me, Caelen. More than you’ll ever know.”

“Shall we go see what the king has to say then?”