Jock couldn’t help but stare at her legs as they came into view. When he’d come across her stricken form in the corridor outside his room he’d been in too much of a hurry to get her to the infirmary, he hadn’t had time to look at her properly. He could see what Alan was talking about though.
She had the thinnest fabric covering her top half and her skirts fell above her knee. No one wore such clothing outside the marital bedchamber. This situation just kept getting stranger.
He heard a noise behind him and turned to find Lachlan walking in on them. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Lachlan said. “We need to talk.”
“It can wait,” Jock replied. “I’m in the middle of something.”
“It will only take a moment, my Laird.”
“Go,” Daisy said, reaching up and squeezing his hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Jock nodded to Lachlan before following him out into the courtyard. They stood in the shadows, the starry sky above them the only light other than the weak glow of the candles in the infirmary. “Robin is holding a feast in two days time,” Lachlan said.
“So? You come seeking me out in the middle of the night to tell me this?”
“He is holding a couples’ feast to celebrate his house being finished in stone. He has sent an invite to you though he thinks you will not attend.”
“But he told me he couldn’t afford to pay his laborers.”
“Precisely.”
Jock ran his hand through his hair. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I’m thinking he might be working his way through the money he stole from the treasury before you can get it back from him. He thinks you will not attend because you have no woman to bring.”
“You really think he did it?”
“Have you spoken to your father yet?”
Jock shook his head. “Not yet. I will do so in the morning.”
“Find out about the assignation when you do. He might just give us enough information to confront Robin.”
“See what else you can dig up in the meantime.”
Lachlan nodded but showed no sign of moving.
“Anything else?” Jock asked.
“Who’s that woman in there?”
“We’re done,” Jock said with a note of finality to his voice that would brook no further argument. He turned and headed back inside.
Alan was nowhere to be seen. Daisy was standing by the bed, trying to pull her top back over her head. It had gotten stuck as she tried to twist her arm.
“Is that you doctor?” she asked as Jock approached.
He almost said yes. The sight of her pale skin in the candlelight bewitching him. He stood for a moment saying nothing, looking at the swell of her chest in that strange contraption that held her breasts in place. Lengths of fabric ran around to her back, hiding yet revealing her form.
“It’s not the physician,” he said at last, forcing himself to speak. “What are you trying to do?”
“He found grazes on my back and cleaned them up. I’ve been trying to get this back on but my shoulder’s swollen and…can you just help me or do you like watching me looking this stupid?”
Jock crossed the remaining space to her. “Hold still,” he said. Taking hold of the top, he began to pull it down, taking a deep breath as he felt the warmth of her skin on his fingers, her scent entering his nostrils and lingering there long after he was done. “There,” he said. “Almost done. Keep still.”
“I’m trying. Ouch.” She gasped as he pulled the top past her shoulder. “That hurts.”
“It’s done,” he replied, looking at her and realizing how close he was standing to her. He could still smell her. The smell was intoxicating. “How do you feel?”
“My leg still hurts. Is it cut? I can’t tell in this light. Has there been a power cut or something? Why all these candles? Where are the proper lights? Didn’t pay the electric bill?”
He ignored her nonsense words, kneeling down and examining her legs. “Only slight grazing and some bruises,” he said, standing up again, wondering why his heart was pounding so hard. “Do you recall what happened to you?”
“One minute I was in the middle of the street, the next I was here. I still don’t know where I am though. What hospital is this?”
“You are in the infirmary at MacGregor Castle.”
She looked shocked, sinking onto the edge of the bed. “How on earth did I end up here?”
“You tell me.”
“I told you. I’ve no idea.”
“You should rest. You look faint.”
“I feel fine.”
“You are not fine,” a voice said from the end of the room. Alan had reappeared with a steaming tankard in his hand. Jock noticed he had a crucifix on a chain around his neck. “You will drink this and sleep. Tomorrow, I will examine you properly by the light of day.”
He walked over and passed her the tankard. “I hope I have done what you asked, my laird.”
“For now,” Jock said, noting the man’s tone of voice. He turned back to Daisy. “If you are well enough, I would enjoy your company at a feast being held in two days time.”
Daisy frowned, taking a sip from the tankard before answering. Her eyes began to sag at once and she yawned out of nowhere. “I must decline,” she said at last, slumping down onto the bed, eyes closed.
“It works fast,” Alan said, as Jock shifted her into place, pulling the blankets up over her. “She sleeps already.”
Jock sat beside the bed, bewildered. He hadn’t thought what might happen if she said no to attending the couples feast. He’d been certain she would agree.
He made his mind up to ask her again in the morning, when she’d had a chance to rest.
She looked angelic in repose, the light of the candle casting a warm glow upon her skin as she slept on oblivious to him watching.
“I do not understand her injuries,” Alan said. “Bruises upon her leg, grazes on her thigh and a cut to her scalp. It is as if she were hit by a carriage and yet you say you found her inside the keep. None of this makes sense. You must let me speak to the priest.”
“Speak to him if you will but be warned that this woman is under my protection.”
Alan walked toward the door, turning back to say, “There is a higher laird than you who will judge us all eventually,” before heading out into the night.
Jock wasn’t scared of the empty threat. She was no witch. He knew that. There was something about her though and once again thoughts of demonic possession came back to him.
She tossed and turned a little in her sleep and he found himself leaning over, pressing a cool hand to her forehead. “Hush,” he whispered as she settled once more. “You are safe here.”
He sat back in the chair a couple of minutes later. Folding his arms, he closed his eyes, not sleeping but resting. His mind filled with two contradictory thoughts.
One was concern for the strange woman’s wellbeing. The other was about what Lachlan had told him. All the evidence was pointing toward Robin having stolen the money from the clan treasury.
He stood up. He could not remain beside her while his mind whirled. He went out to the courtyard and dunked his head in the trough, letting the freezing cold water shock him out of his mixed up thoughts.
When he emerged gasping from the water he was able to think clearly once again. He had a plan that seemed to have resolved itself in his mind without any conscious effort on his part. Cold water always helped.
He would speak to his parents in the morning, find out why his father had signed the rights to the clan money over to Robin.
Once he was sure that Robin had coerced his father, he would take Daisy to the feast and would get the proof he needed.
A feast meant alcohol and alcohol meant loose tongues. Then he would find out where the funds were hidden, get them back, lend some coin to the king.
Simple.
A side benefit of his plan was spending more time with Daisy. No doubt as her mind came back to
her she would remember what happened, how she came to be injured in the keep by his bedchamber.
He found himself thinking about how she’d looked with her top up around her head, the smooth skin of her body, the way it had made him feel seeing that strange strappy fabric wrapped around her chest.
He dunked his head in the trough again. When he emerged he headed back into the infirmary, just in time to receive the shock of his life.
She was gone.
Chapter Seven
When Daisy woke up, her eyes felt as if they’d been glued together. She rubbed at them with her fingers, finally able to separate the lids properly by blinking several times, the room slowly coming into focus.
As her vision cleared, she managed a smile. Finally, something made sense. She had imagined the whole thing.
The hospital room she was in was bright and airy. A nurse was talking to the patient in the bed opposite hers. To her left a window let in light from the gloriously sunny morning outside. Electronic beeps reached her from beyond the door to her right.
“Good morning,” the very English sounding nurse said, turning and noticing her sitting up. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
“What happened?” Daisy asked. “Where’s Jock?”
“Who?”
“The man who brought me here last night.”
“You take it easy. You might be a little concussed. Just rest for a while until Doctor Watson gets here. Can I get you some water?”
“No but I do need to use the bathroom. Where is it?”
“Just out there. Are you all right to walk or shall I fetch a chair?”
“I can walk, I think.” She swung her legs out of bed, frowning at the sight of them emerging from the covers. “When did I end up in a hospital gown?”
“Do you not remember what happened?”
Daisy shook her head, standing up slowly and trying not to fall as a wave of dizziness hit her. “What did happen?”
“As far as we know, you walked out into the middle of the road near the post office depot and got hit by a car. You were lucky it wasn’t going any faster or you’d have a few broken bones rather than just bruises and a concussion.”
“Hit by a car?”
“Aye. The driver said you stepped out right in front of him looking down at your cellphone and he slammed on his brakes. By the the time he stopped there you were, laid out in the middle of the road. Darndest thing, said you never even made a mark on his hood.”
“It wasn’t my cellphone,” Daisy replied, her memory coming back to her. “It was a box I’d just picked up. Where did it end up?”
“No idea. Moira, did bed four come in with any boxes do you know?”
A voice called back from the corridor. “Nope. Just her.”
The nurse continued. “You’re looking awfully pale. Do you want to lay down again?”
“No, I just need to pee.” She shuffled out of the room, wincing each time her left foot hit the ground. Her ankle was swollen and thighs were grazed but other than that, she couldn’t see much wrong with her. Certainly not enough to warrant being kept in hospital overnight. Then a dizzy spell hit and she wasn’t so sure.
Once in the tiny bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. There was a cut above her right eye and she had to admit she did look pale.
Her hair was a mess but there wasn’t much she could do about that until she got home.
She sat down on the toilet with her head in her hands, trying to make sense of it all.
What could she remember? The skid of brakes and then waking up with Jock MacGregor standing over her. That must have been a dream. Here she was in a normal, ordinary hospital.
Had her unconscious mind created the entire scene? Was her crush on him so intense he would even invade her mind even while she recovered from her injuries?
Once she was back in bed, she tried to remind herself it had just been a particularly vivid dream. She didn’t need to worry about it. What she needed to worry about was whether they would let her go home any time soon.
She wasn’t a fan of hospitals. The fact this one had proper lights rather than candles was an improvement but she would still rather be recuperating at home.
Luckily, when the consultant came to examine her, he signed her off as free to go.
“You seem to remember things all right,” he said after getting her to tell him what she recalled of the accident. “Perfectly common for there to be a few gaps in memory after a bump to the head like that.”
“What about hallucinations?” Daisy asked.
“What about them?”
“Like if I thought I was in a castle or something while I was unconscious, would that be weird?”
Doctor Watson glanced across at the nurse before looking back at her. “Do you think you’re in a castle now?”
“No, I was just wondering.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Just a joke, really. Sorry, I know it’s not funny to joke about things like this. So, am I okay to go home?”
“Keep an eye out for headaches,” he replied while writing on his notepad. “And keep those grazes clean. All right?”
“Will do.”
“Have you got anyone we could ring to come and get you?”
“My housemate, Tabitha. She’s probably worried sick about me.”
“What’s her number?”
Daisy gave it to the nurse by his side. She went to make the call while Daisy changed out of the gown back into her normal clothes. She was surprised to find they weren’t torn or stained after being hit by the car.
Was she even hit by it?
Something happened when she opened the box. She remembered a bump but it wasn’t like she was hit. It was like something else.
She gave up trying to work it out. What mattered was she was all right.
Tabby arrived half an hour later. Daisy was kept company by the porter at the east entrance to the hospital, him talking nonstop about the upcoming revamp of the east wing. She nodded politely but her mind was elsewhere.
He left her when she saw Tabby pull up in her car.
“I leave you alone for five minutes and this is what you get up to?” Tabby said, holding the passenger door open for her to climb in. “What happened?”
Daisy told her, ending by saying, “It’s really weird but I could have sworn I was in the castle with Jock but then I woke up here so I dunno.” She shrugged. “I must have dreamed it.”
“Maybe not,” Tabby said. “Maybe you really were there.”
“Come on, you’re not serious. I really woke up all the way over at MacGregor Castle just so the Laird could ask me to go to a party tomorrow night? Then I fell asleep and woke up back here in hospital. You think that’s likely.”
“I’m not saying it’s likely. I’m saying it’s possible.”
“Yeah but anything’s possible if you look at it that way. A giant space badger could appear on your roof in ten seconds time.”
“Space badger?”
“Cut me some slack. I’ve just come out of hospital.”
“No, I like this idea. He’s come down from an alien planet to save mankind by growling at us and digging underground for some worms to eat.”
Daisy scowled. “You’re teasing me.”
“I’m just saying some things about your story don’t add up. You were hit by a car but you didn’t damage the car. No one saw the crash. You don’t remember getting hit yet you remember vividly what Jock said to you and what the castle infirmary looked like. Is it at all possible that you were really there?”
“In his castle? What did I do, teleport?”
“Maybe it was the key in the box.”
“What?”
Tabby signalled and turned out of the city centre, making their way along a tree lined road toward their house. “I’ve been reading about keys recently. Keys that do strange things. Maybe this is one of them. It didn’t have an M marked on it by any chance, did it? Silver key about so long.”
Daisy screwed up her face as she tried to remember. “It was silver and…I think it did have an M on it.”
“Then maybe it’s one of the magic keys.”
“Look, Tabby, I know you believe in that kind of thing but I-”
“You woke up in MacGregor Castle when you touched the key, I bet you.”
“Look, even if I did, the key’s gone so it’s academic now, isn’t it?”
“Maybe not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you when we get in.”
“Don’t do that to me, tell me now.”
“It’ll be easier to show you. Just rest for a bit. We’ll be home soon.”
Daisy sat back in her seat and closed her eyes, her head starting to throb. Beside her, Tabby hummed to herself as she drove.
“We’re here,” Tabby said.
Daisy opened her eyes. “That was quick. Did I fall asleep?”
“Snoring like a chainsaw.”
“Was I?”
“Nah, but you were definitely asleep. Muttering something about Scottish men ravishing you on the wild moors. Come on, there’s something inside I think you’ll want to see.”
Daisy opened the door and climbed out, still feeling woozy.
The fog behind her eyes vanished as soon as she stepped into the house and saw what was waiting for her on the kitchen table.
“How on earth did that get here?” she asked, walking over to the table and picking up the small wooden box that she recognized only too well.
“Funny story,” Tabby said. Tea?”
“Don’t drag it out any longer, Tabby. Tell me!”
“Well about ten minutes before the hospital rang me, I got a knock on the front door.”
“And?”
“And this really old man from the post office depot is standing there looking as if he might be about to blow away if a stiff breeze hits him.”
“White hair? Red coat, right?”
“Right. How did you know?”
Daisy lifted the lid of the box. “He was the one who gave me this just before the car hit me.”
“Oh, I see. Well, anyway he gives me the box and says he forgot to tell you. There’s been a mix up. It needs to go to MacGregor Castle for the laird. Asks me if I can arrange delivery for him, seeing as I’m a courier and all. Offered an obscene amount of money for me to do it.”
The Key to Her Heart: A Highlander Time Travel Romance Page 6
