Hunting for a Highlander (Highland Brides)

by Lynsay Sands

  Geordie glanced around to see that they’d reached the garderobe. He automatically tried to reach for the door handle, but his arm merely flopped down at his side when he took it from his stomach and lap where it was resting. Mouth tightening, he muttered, “Sorry.”

  “Nay. I’m sorry. I forgot,” Aulay said quietly, and then turned slightly to catch the door handle with the hand under Geordie’s legs. He tugged it open a bit with that hand, and then shifted quickly to slide his foot between the bottom of the door and the frame, then first dragged and then shoved it open with that foot so that he could quickly carry Geordie in before it swung closed.

  By the time Aulay carried him out, Geordie had decided he was going to eat and do whatever else was necessary to regain his strength as quickly as possible. Truly, having to be helped to the garderobe was a humbling experience. He hadn’t even been able to lift his own nightshirt.

  “So, Dwyn was stuck abed with me the last two weeks?” he asked, to get both their minds on something else as Aulay carried him out of the small room.

  “Aye. But she kept busy, sewing, visiting and constantly spooning broth down yer throat. I think if she could have breathed fer ye while ye healed she would have,” he added with an affectionate smile.

  “Ye’ve accepted her as family,” Geordie said with satisfaction. While he’d known his brother liked Dwyn before the marriage, it was obvious he felt affection for her now too. That just seemed to validate his own feelings, which was nice.

  “Aye. So have the women,” Aulay assured him. “They’ve spent a lot of time up in yer room with her and her sisters, helping as much as they could with tending ye.”

  “The other husband-hunting lasses?” he asked with a frown, finding it a little disturbing to think of having that bunch of young, unmarried women helping tend him.

  “Nay, our sister and our brothers’ wives,” Aulay corrected him. “I sent the other lasses away a couple days after ye were injured.”

  Geordie raised his eyebrows at that. “Have Rory and Alick picked brides, then, already?”

  “Nay. And they were no’ going to,” he said dryly. “Both o’ them barely left yer room those first few days. Rory was tending ye, and Alick was helping, both to tend ye and to carry Dwyn around when she needed to go to the garderobe and such.” Grimacing, he added, “Keeping the women here when neither of the single Buchanans were paying them any attention seemed a waste. And then when the family started arriving we needed the bedchambers so I had Jetta send them all home.”

  “Sorry,” Geordie said on a sigh as Aulay carried him back through the still-open bedchamber door. When he paused abruptly, Geordie glanced around to see that Mavis and a couple of maids were changing the bed and cleaning the room.

  Mavis glanced over now and beamed at him. “Hello, love, ’tis good to see ye awake again at last. Ye gave the wee lass a fine scare there fer a couple days.” When Geordie managed to smile back, she turned to Aulay and said, “We’ll only be another moment. Why do ye no’ set him down in one o’ the chairs by the table and take a seat yerself. I ken Lady Dwyn’ll be up soon with food and drink. The girls insisted she have something to eat while she waited for Cook to prepare a tray. She’ll be along shortly.”

  Geordie saw Aulay nod and then his brother carried him to the table and chairs. Rather than set him in a chair though, he simply sat down with him still in his arms.

  “Ye could put me in a chair,” he growled with embarrassment as the maids glanced over at them.

  “Ye could no’ keep yerself upright,” Aulay pointed out with a shrug that jostled him in his arms. It made Geordie feel like a damned toddler, and renewed his determination to get his strength back as quickly as he could.

  Trying to ignore that he was sitting in his brother’s lap like a child, he watched the women work for a minute and then murmured, “Mavis seems happier.”

  “Aye,” Aulay said, keeping his voice just as quiet. “Acair explained he was only paying attention to Dwyn to help ye sort out yer feelings for her, and the pair made up.”

  Geordie scowled at the claim, but then let it go, too weary to be annoyed.

  “How should we arrange the visits?”

  Dwyn glanced up from the stew she was eating at that question from Geordie’s sister-in-law Murine. The lovely blonde was the wife of Geordie’s second oldest brother, Dougall. She was also a very organized-type lady, she’d noticed. Murine was obviously intelligent and clearly enjoyed order in her life. Dwyn would guess that came from having the responsibility for both Carmichael in Scotland, and Danvries in England. Murine probably had to be much more organized than most to help run and take care of two keeps and all their people, Dwyn supposed.

  “What do ye mean?” Geordie’s sister, Saidh, asked now.

  “Well, do we all go up at once?” Murine asked. “Or do ye think that might overwhelm Geordie when he’s so newly awake? If so, mayhap we ladies should visit first, and then the men can visit after. Or the other way around.”

  There was silence for a minute, and then Edith, a pretty strawberry blonde, and the wife of Geordie’s third oldest brother, Neils, turned to Dwyn and asked, “What do ye think, Dwyn?”

  Setting her spoon back in her stew, Dwyn considered the question seriously, but then sighed and said, “I suspect he’ll no’ be awake fer long this first day, so ye may all want to come in for a quick word today, and then plan on longer visits tomorrow.”

  “Aye,” the other women agreed together, and then they all glanced to the stairs as Mavis led two young maids down them. Each one was carrying something—Mavis had the linens, the maid behind her had dirty clothing and the third carried a tray with various items on it, mostly bowls and glasses that had held broth or cider or mead, a few of the liquids Dwyn had been dribbling down Geordie’s throat for the last week while he lay unconscious.

  The three women had barely disappeared through the door to the kitchens when another maid came out with a tray and hurried toward her.

  “Cook put on some broth, mead, cider and a little stew in case he feels up to something more solid,” she announced brightly. “And Mavis says I should carry this up fer ye.”

  “Oh,” Dwyn said as she stood. “Well, that’s kind, but I could manage, I’m sure.”

  “Nonsense, m’lady. I’m pleased to help ye. We all ken ye’ve had little sleep these last weeks while ye tended Laird Geordie. Besides, ye’re newly back on yer feet. I’m pleased to carry this up fer ye.”

  Dwyn smiled faintly and nodded, not wanting to argue further. The girl seemed so happy to be given the task. But then everyone had been happy since she’d come below with the news that Geordie was awake. It was only then that she’d realized how worried everyone had been. Her husband was well loved by the people of Buchanan.

  “We’ll give ye a bit o’ time to help him eat before we come up,” Saidh said as she headed away.

  Dwyn cast a grateful glance over her shoulder, and was smiling as she started up the stairs. She really liked Geordie’s family. They had welcomed her with warmth and friendship, even including her sisters and father in that welcome. She hadn’t spent much time with the men, but the women had spent a lot of time up in the room with her and her sisters as she’d tended Geordie. They were good people.

  “Let me get the door for ye,” Dwyn murmured, hurrying ahead of the maid to open it, and thinking it was good there were two of them and she hadn’t tried to manage on her own. She’d have had to kick at the door for Aulay to open it, she thought as she held the door and then followed the maid inside the room.

  Geordie was back in bed, but sitting upright with several pillows behind his back and a nightshirt on. He had a little more color in his face too, she noted, though he looked a tad grumpy. She wasn’t terribly surprised at that and suspected he would be a cantankerous patient. Men rarely had much patience when ill.

  “Set it on the bedside table, please, Katie,” Dwyn murmured when the maid slowed and glanced to her uncertainly.

  Sm
iling, the lass rushed over to set it down, and then turned that smile on Geordie and murmured, “’Tis good to see ye awake and recovering, m’laird,” before turning away and heading for the door again.

  “I’ll leave now ye’ve returned,” Aulay said, moving toward Dwyn as she approached the bed. “Just give a shout does he need to make another trip to the garderobe, or do ye need him moved for any reason.”

  “Thank ye,” Dwyn said sincerely, reaching out to squeeze her brother-in-law’s arm as he moved past her. He and Rory and Alick had done anything and everything they could to help while Geordie was down. She couldn’t have managed without them, and she appreciated it.

  Aulay gave her hand an affectionate squeeze before she withdrew it from his arm, and then he was past and she was continuing to the bedside.

  Smiling at Geordie, she asked, “Are ye hungry or thirsty?”

  “Both,” he said on a sigh.

  Nodding, Dwyn settled on the edge of the bed and glanced over the tray. “Broth, cider or mead first?”

  “Cider,” he decided, and she helped him drink, allowing him to have more than a few sips this time.

  When Geordie said, “Thank ye,” she set the cider down and picked up the bowl of broth.

  “Aulay said ye’ve been dribbling broth and cider down me throat the whole time I’ve been sick,” he said as she scooped up a spoonful of broth.

  “Aye. I thought ye might be hungry, and ye could no’ tell me nay,” Dwyn teased, and lifted the spoon of broth to his mouth.

  Geordie eyed it with a grimace, obviously not pleased that he had to be fed like a child, but finally opened his mouth for her to slide it in.

  “Mayhap ye should just pour it in a mug and help me drink it,” he said wryly after the second spoonful. “I feel like a child having to be fed like this.”

  “It will no’ be for long,” Dwyn said sympathetically. “Ye’ll regain yer strength quickly now ye’re awake.”

  “I hope so,” Geordie sighed, and opened his mouth again when she lifted another spoonful to his mouth. After swallowing, he asked, “What happened to yer gown?”

  Dwyn paused and glanced down at herself, but the new forest green gown seemed fine. There were no small tears, or stains on it. When she raised her confused gaze to his, he explained, “The neckline’s no’ as low as I’m used to.”

  Dwyn’s face split into a wide smile at that, and she nodded. “Aye. The women and I have all been sewing while we visited. We managed to get a couple o’ new gowns done while ye slept.” She noted the dissatisfaction on his face, and frowned with concern. “Do ye no’ like this one? I thought ’twas pretty.”

  “Aye, ’tis,” Geordie assured her roughly. “The color suits ye, and the style is nice . . .”

  She raised her eyebrows in question when he paused, hearing a silent but.

  Finally, he admitted, “But I miss the low necklines.”

  “Ah.” Dwyn bit her lip to hold back a sudden grin. “Well, I still have those gowns too, and will be happy to wear them fer ye. But I am a bit more comfortable no’ being so much on display around the soldiers and the men in yer family.”

  “Oh. Aye,” Geordie said with understanding, and opened his mouth when she moved the spoon to his lips again. He swallowed the liquid almost before she removed the spoon this time, and as soon as he was able, he asked, “How are yer feet? Aulay said ye injured them again dragging me through the woods and Rory only gave ye permission to walk again yester eve.”

  Dwyn’s mouth twitched with irritation. “He was most annoying about me feet this time. I was beginning to think he’d never let me walk again.”

  She caught the grin that crossed Geordie’s face at her annoyance, and arched an eyebrow. “Ye’ll no’ be smiling when ye want to be up and about and he’s insisting ye stay abed longer.”

  Geordie’s expression dimmed at that, and then he said, “Ye should have left me in the woods and run for Buchanan.”

  “I’d no’ have left ye alone, m’laird. If the other men had come looking for the two men ye dispatched, they’d have killed ye.”

  “I suspect they did come looking,” Geordie said grimly.

  Dwyn raised her eyebrows at that. “Why?”

  “Because Aulay said their camp was empty when the men found it and they managed to escape Buchanan land before Simon and the other soldiers could catch up,” he announced, and then pointed out, “They had to have prior warning somehow, and it seems likely they may have grown concerned, looked for the two men and found them dead. That would have been enough to make them scramble off our land. Although it must have been close else I’m sure they would have pursued us, and with ye dragging me across the forest floor on a plaid, our tracks would have been easy to follow.”

  Dwyn stared at him, recalling the sound of a branch snapping behind them just before she’d heard Aulay and the other men thundering toward them on horseback. Had one or even two of the men found their comrades and been creeping up on them when they too heard the approaching riders? If so, she was lucky he or they had decided to flee rather than try to drag her off again. She was also lucky they hadn’t taken the time to slice Geordie’s throat before fleeing, Dwyn thought with horror. Dear God, she shouldn’t have left him alone even for those few minutes while she’d run out onto the path to stop Aulay and the others.

  “Lass, ye’ve gone pale. What is it?” Geordie asked with a frown.

  Dwyn opened her mouth, and then paused and glanced to the door when a knock sounded. Sighing, she shook her head and set the bowl back on the tray, surprised to see that it was empty. Standing then, she moved to open the door, unsurprised when Geordie’s siblings and their mates greeted her.

  Managing a smile, Dwyn backed up and let them in, realizing only then that she hadn’t thought to warn Geordie they were all coming up to visit him.

  Chapter 14

  “I noticed the rushes were growing a bit stale last eve when I brought up the sup fer yerself and Laird Geordie, and I was wondering did ye wish me to collect ye some fresh ones? Or mayhap some wildflowers to scent the ones ye have? Or both?”

  “Oh, thank ye, Katie.” Dwyn smiled at the maid as they walked up the hall toward the room she shared with Geordie. “Fresh rushes and some flowers to scent them would be nice. ’Tis kind o’ ye to think on it.”

  “Oh, well, Mavis most like would have thought on it the next time she came above stairs,” Katie assured her easily. “She just has no’ been in the room since the first day Laird Geordie woke.”

  “Ye’re right,” Dwyn agreed, thinking the room had been too full of Geordie’s brothers and sisters for Mavis to get into the room the last three days. They’d had company with them in the room nonstop since shortly after everyone broke their fast until after the sup every day since Geordie had woken. Dwyn had seen Mavis look in on passing a couple times though, and suspected the first time she saw the room empty, or at least with less people, the woman would stop in for a visit. While Mavis had stayed in the background while the other would-be brides had been at Buchanan, once they were gone and Geordie’s siblings and their mates had arrived, she’d sat at the high table with them and visited often. It was how Dwyn knew the Buchanan brood saw Mavis as something of a second mother. She also knew the woman loved each and every one of the Buchanan brothers and their sister like their mother. It actually made Dwyn envious. She wished she’d had someone like Mavis as a child.

  “Here we are,” Dwyn said, pushing those thoughts away as she moved ahead to open the door for the maid.

  “Good morning, m’laird,” Katie said cheerily as she carried the tray to the bedside. “How are ye feeling this morning?”

  “Better, thank ye, lass,” Geordie said, but his gaze was on Dwyn as she followed the girl.

  Smiling at him, Dwyn let her gaze move over his newly shaved face and damp hair. She’d been concerned when he’d asked her to fetch Rory and Alick up to him when she’d woken this morning, and had waited anxiously in the hall, afraid that there was s
omething wrong. She’d been pleasantly surprised though when Rory had stepped out and explained Geordie wanted a bath and had been asking if that would be all right, and if they couldn’t perhaps aid him with it. Dwyn couldn’t help but think that was a good sign, and had gone below to speak to Mavis about arranging one.

  When the woman had suggested she might like one too, and said she’d have a second bath sent up to her sisters’ room for her to use if she’d like, Dwyn had nodded with relief. She hadn’t wanted to trouble the servants with a request like that. They were already doing so much for her and Geordie, but she hadn’t bathed since a couple days before Geordie woke. She’d been making do with washing up at the ewer since then, but had longed for a bath and the opportunity to wash her hair. She’d enjoyed that bath like none other, and had been grateful for Katie’s assistance in washing and rinsing her hair. The maid had even brushed it by the window where a warm summer breeze had helped speed the drying. Dwyn had left it down to help it finish drying, and knew it wouldn’t take long at all. It was already swinging around her rather than lying wet and limp.

  Her gratitude made the smile she gave the maid a little wider than usual as Katie passed her to leave the room and pulled the door closed behind her.

  “Yer brothers shaved yer face,” Dwyn said with a grin as she approached the bed.

  “Did ye no’ like me with a beard and mustache, then?” Geordie asked with amusement.

  “Actually, I did,” she admitted, her lips curving up as she settled on the edge of the bed next to him. “At least at first. ’Twas short and gave ye a sexy wild man look. But it did prickle a bit when we kissed.”

  “Aye, which is why I shaved it off. I wanted to kiss ye without scraping yer sensitive skin,” he admitted, and then said, “Kiss me, lass.”