Highland Champion Read Online Free Page B

Mama. I must needs decide what to put on the one for Grandmere. And there are months left in which to finish those. S’truth, if I hadnae bought all the linen and thread from Lady Morrison, I wouldnae be making gifts now anyway.And all of that lovely lace,” Keira murmured and shook her head. “I felt most guilty o’er how little I paid for it all.”
    “She needed the coin, and ye didnae cheat her. Many would have once they kenned how desperate she was. She was most thankful for what ye gave her.” He glanced at the pot upon the fire. “Mutton stew, did ye say?”
    Keira laughed. “Aye. Plan to sup with me now, do ye?”
    “Aye. When ’tis a choice of what is fed to us at the monastery and your mutton stew, I fear my will to resist temptation is verra weak. Mayhap a game of chess, too?”
    “Do ye think losing to me will be penance enough for enjoying my stew?”
    “Such arrogance.” Brother Matthew tsked and shook his head. “I could win.”
    “Aye, ye might,” she murmured, and they both grinned.
    “Weel, I had best return to the monastery,” he said as he stood up. “Do ye need me to come back here, say, at about midday?”
    “To tend to him?” she asked as she followed him to the door, and he nodded in reply. “Nay, I can manage him. I did before.”
    Brother Matthew frowned and hesitated just outside the door. “’Tisnae right.”
    “I am a healer, Cousin. He is a battered mon who still has one leg tied down on the bed. And I tended him myself ere he woke. Go, tend to your work. I will be fine. Why, I shall probably e’en find time to make some honey-sweetened oatcakes.”
    “Wicked lass to toss such temptation before a mon of the cloth,” he said, shaking his head again as he turned away.
    Keira laughed then, and leaving the door open so she could hear if Liam should call out, she began the tedious chore of drawing the water for her bath from the well. It was undoubtedly improper to even think of bathing with a man sharing the tiny cottage with her, but she felt a strong need to bathe. A blanket or two hung up around the tub should provide her with enough privacy. Thinking of Brother Paul, she decided she would also bar the door.
     
    Liam blinked and bit back a groan as full awareness of his various injuries returned upon waking. He could not recall falling asleep. One moment, he was listening to Keira and Brother Matthew talk, and the next he was rousing from a deep sleep. He suspected whatever she put into the cider or even the broth not only eased his pain but also nudged him into sleep, whether he willed it or not.
    Glancing around the dimly lit cottage, he wondered how long he had slept. Keira sat near a tiny window at the rear of the cottage, sewing what appeared to be a woman’s shift. A quick glance at the neatly folded monks’ robes set on a stool by the door told Liam that he had slept long enough for her to finish that chore.
    He studied her as she sat so quietly plying her needle and tried to recall all he had overheard before falling asleep. She and Brother Matthew had sounded just like the cousins they claimed to be, speaking of people they both knew and teasing each other. Liam felt a pinch of guilt over his wariness. The woman had obviously been caring for him for days. If she meant him harm, she had clearly had ample opportunity to inflict it. No one would have questioned it if he had not survived his injuries. After all she had done for him, he would not be foolish to trust her.
    There was, however, at least one thing that made him hesitate to trust in her. Why was she living here in a tiny cottage on the grounds of a monastery? From what little hadbeen said, Liam got the feeling she had been living here for a while. Even though her cousin was here, it was an odd place for a woman to take refuge. Why did she not return to her family? Everything he had ever heard about that clan told him the Murrays were closely bonded and deeply loyal to each other. He doubted there was