Highland Champion Read Online Free Page A

with him?”
    “Och, nay. He was a wee bit uncertain about my cousin at first, but I had a wee talk with him. He wasnae going to leave ye. Nay, not e’en when we brought ye in here. I had to bring him inside so that he could see that ye were settled safely. Still, it took nearly two days to convince him to go to the stables.”
    “Ye brought Gilmour inside?”
    “Aye, he was fretting.” She turned her attention to mixing him a tankard of cider strengthened with healing herbs.
    Liam looked at a grinning Brother Matthew and laughed softly. That hurt, but he ignored the pain. For the first time since waking up in the cottage, he felt sure he would live. He did not believe he would be so amused if he had one foot in the grave.
    “Ah, weel, ye are laughing,” said Keira as she set the tankard of herbed cider down on the small table by his bed. “’Tis a good sign.” She sat on the edge of the bed with a bowl of broth in her hands. “A dying mon doesnae find too much to laugh about.”
    “Unless he is too dim of wit to ken he is dying,” Liam drawled.
    He swallowed the broth she spooned into his mouth. It was thin but rich with the flavor of herbs and vegetables. Liam did hope it would not be long, however, before he could eat something that required chewing. The fact that the simple chore of swallowing the broth and the drink exhausted him made him realize that it would be many days before he was recovered enough to actually argue over what he was being fed. He sagged against the pillows as she took the empty bowl and tankard away.
    “Liam, do ye ken who did this to you?” asked Brother Matthew.
    “I have my suspicions,” Liam replied, “but I am nay sure. Things were said as they beat me, but I think it may be a while ere I recall any of it. There isnae much chance that will help, though.”
    “An old enemy, mayhap? One of your clan’s?”
    “Nay, I think not.”
    “Weel, ’twill come to ye, I am certain. Do ye want us to send word to your family?”
    “Nay, not yet, not until I am more certain of who did this and why. I dinnae wish to lead trouble to their door.” He frowned. “Mayhap I should leave here.”
    “And go where, my friend? Nay, ye will stay here until ye are healed enough to travel. Now rest. Naught helps a body to heal as much as sleep does.”
    Liam nodded faintly in reply and closed his eyes. When he heard Brother Matthew and Keira move away, he opened his eyes just enough to watch them. He felt weak, but was not quite ready to go to sleep. His pain had been eased by whatever herbs Keira had put in the food, and he wanted to savor that for a little while. He was also curious about this woman who had saved his life because of a dream she had had. Although he believed in such things, more or less, and Brother Matthew clearly accepted it, Liam felt a need to remain wary. There was no ignoring the cold fact that if she had not found him because of some vision, the only other possibility was that she had known about the attack. He loathed the idea that she had had any part in it, but one thing he had learned in his time at the royal court was that it was dangerous to trust anyone too quickly. That was especially true concerning bonnie lasses who could stir a man’s lusts.
    “Do ye need help in the garden today, Cousin?” Keira asked as she took the pot of broth off the fire and set her pot of mutton stew in its place.
    “I think ye must needs stay here, dinnae ye?” Brother Matthew sat at the small table set near the fire. “If it willnae be too much trouble, I did bring some clothes that need mending.”
    “Nay, ’tis no trouble,” she assured him as she sat down across the table from him. “’Twill give me something to do whilst he sleeps. Aside from a wee bit of cleaning, tending my mutton stew, and having a bath, there isnae much else for me to do.”
    “Have ye finished all that needlework ye were doing? Ye were making some gifts, aye?”
    “Aye. I finished the shift for