Chapter Twenty-Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

" H e has lost a lot of blood," the healer said, once they were outside of her hut, which Hannah found deep in the woods.

Felix was right. It would have taken her a long time to find it, time that would have been wasted and might have even cost Alistair his life. This way, Felix brought him to their healer without any delay.

"Will he be all right?" Hannah asked, frightful of what the healer might say. But she wanted to know the truth.

"I have cleaned his wound," the healer continued in a calm, soothing voice. She was an old lady, with long silver hair which was once as black as ebony wood. Her bright green eyes stood in dark contrast to her hair. "Now, he needs to rest."

"Can I take him home?"

"Let him sleep until tomorrow," the healer advised. "Then, ye can take him home with a carriage, but travel along the smoothest paths. His body cannae handle much commotion."

"I'll take good care of him," Hannah nodded.

"Daenae wake him for anythin'," she continued. "Rest heals not only the body, but also the soul. And take this," she offered Hannah a small pouch that smelled odd. "These are the herbs ye need to grind into a powder, mix with lukewarm water, and keep applying to his wound, when ye clean it every day."

"Aye," Hannah nodded. "I shall do as ye say."

The healer smiled, pressing her hand onto Hannah's shoulder. "That man is beloved. That much is obvious."

"I love him more than life itself," Hannah admitted. "I wouldnae ken what to do without him."

"Fortunately, ye will nae have to find out," the healer replied gently.

She went back inside her hut, leaving her alone with Felix, who heard the entire conversation.

"I shall go fetch the carriage," Felix said. "And take Olivia back with me."

"Oh, what will yer maither think," Hannah whined.

"Maither knows the kind of man Alistair is," Felix smiled. "She would be proud to ken that he tried to save a young lass from such a fate." He paused a little, hesitating to continue, but then he did. "Despite what Alistair did during the wars, he is an honorable man. Never doubt that."

Hannah smiled back. "I ken the sort of man Alistair is. I've gotten to ken him. And now, he has me heart. It is as simple as that. There is nothin' that could ever convince me he is a different sort of man than I ken him to be."

"He is fortunate to have ye," Felix nodded.

"We are both fortunate," Hannah corrected him.

Within twenty-four hours, Alistair was lying in his own bed, in his own chamber. Hannah was the one who had been by his, just watching him. She was growing more and more worried. The healer said he needed to rest, but Hannah expected him to come round by this time.

She paced through his room, turning around to glance at Alistair. There, by the foot of the bed, lay Haggis. She could not understand how the dog knew what had happened, but he knew. There was no other explanation. Because from the moment they brought Alistair back, Haggis never left his side. It was as if he was there, witnessing everything that happened, learning about this man defending his mistress. That was how loyal Haggis became Alistair's companion throughout this ordeal, staying by him while the man slept.

Hannah didn't even try to keep them apart. It warmed her heart to know that finally, Alistair managed to win over her third dog, without even realizing he had done so.

She went to the bed and sat next to Haggis. He lifted his head and gently wagged his tail.

Hannah sighed. "I hope he wakes up soon," she confided in her canine companion. "I want to ken he is well. I want to wrap me arms around him and kiss him until he can't breathe any longer." She smiled at this thought.

The events of the previous day already seemed like they happened a long time ago. She felt little remorse for the death of the man who didn't care whether they all died together with Alistair. All he cared about was his revenge, and that ended up being his own downfall.

She checked the time. She remembered that she promised Alistair's mother they would have tea together in the garden. That was the only thing capable of soothing the woman's nerves. Taking everything into account, she was holding on well. Her son was wounded, and they were all just waiting for him to wake up. Hannah admired the woman for having so much self-control.

She glanced at Alistair, caressing him gently on the cheek.

"Please, wake up, me love," she whispered tenderly. "We are all waitin' for ye."

She waited, half-expecting him to have heard her, to open his eyes and take her into his arms. But it didn't happen. Sometimes, she wondered if it would happen at all, or perhaps…

Nay.

She immediately drowned the voice that tried to pull her into the abyss of despair. She wanted to stay afloat. She wanted to be hopeful and to make plans for the future, her future with her husband.

She tiptoed quietly out of the room and closed the door behind her, intent on wolfing down that tea as soon as possible, so she could return here and if nothing else, then just hold Alistair's hand until he opened his eyes.

That touch felt unreal. At first, he wasn't certain if he dreamt it or not.

He blinked heavily. A sudden onslaught of headache made his entire body pulsate with pain. He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his breathing. He felt like his entire body was on fire, like every bone in his body had been if not broken, then at least cracked.

He tried to open his eyes again, but the light was too bright. He inhaled deeply, held the air for a moment, then exhaled. Again, he tried to open his eyes when something tickled him on his foot.

He looked down at his feet, only to see Haggis lying at the foot of the bed, wagging his tail, his head propped up, staring at him.

He frowned. "Ye?" he could barely recognize his own voice. It sounded like someone dropped him into a well, made him drink dirty, muddy water, then forced him to talk. "What are ye doin' here?"

Haggis wagged his tail happily in response. Then, he barked loudly.

Alistair looked around the chamber. He was home. That much was obvious at first glance. Only, the last thing he remembered was being at the inn, with Hannah, Olivia, Felix, and that scoundrel.

"Colby…" Alistair said his name aloud, prodding his mind to remember, but most of it was a haze. He only remembered bits.

The pistol aimed at him. Colby punching Hannah. The explosion of the pistol shot. The enormous amount of pain. Then, darkness swallowed him whole.

Haggis barked again, bringing him back to the present moment.

"Where is everyone, lad?" he spoke again, trying to prop himself up on the bed. The pain was excruciating, but he pushed through. Now, he was seated on the bed, with the pillow pressed against his back for support.

At that moment, the door burst open, and Hannah was the first one to enter. "I heard barkin' and Haggis wouldnae bark unless…" she started, but she couldn't finish her thought.

She was staring at Alistair, seated on the bed, smiling at her. At first, she couldn't move. She couldn't say anything. He was rather amused by that.

"Well?" he teased. "I went to Hell and back, and I daenae even get a hug?"

These words snapped her back to reality. Her lips widened into a smile, and she rushed over to him, pressing her entire body onto his, getting lost in his embrace. She hugged him tightly, as if this were the last hug they would ever get to have. That of course, wasn't true, but he still refused to let go of her for a long time. He inhaled her scent, watching the sunlight from the open window reflected against her coppery hair. He kissed her head softly, pressing his cheek to her.

When she finally moved away, she was still smiling.

"Daenae ye ever do that to me again, ye hear?" she teased.

"Do what?" he wondered, smiling.

"If ye try to die on me again, I'll kill ye meself," she explained her threat in a way that made them both chuckle out loud. Then, she felt the need to tell him all this more seriously. She gazed lovingly into his eyes. "I was so frightened, Alistair, so terribly frightened of losing ye."

"Ye will never lose me," he promised her, cupping her chin with the tips of his fingers gently. "I…" he started, letting go of her. He had to come clean. He had to tell her the truth. "I have to tell ye somethin'."

"Ye can tell me anythin'," she assured him.

"Colby," he started.

She frowned instantly. "I daenae wish to hear that man's name ever again."

"Ye have to," he urged. "Because… he was right to want to fight me."

"What do ye mean?" she asked incredulously.

"I did kill that man," Alistair confessed. "Only, the situation wasnae as clear as Colby made it out to be."

Hannah paused for a moment, then she urged him to continue. She wanted to know everything. Alistair feared that the truth might separate them, that knowing who he truly was would make her stop loving him. Because he was certain she did. When she jumped on Colby so fearlessly, when she reached for that pistol, she did it out of love to save him, a man who was undeserving of her love. If for nothing else, then for this reason alone he had to tell her the whole truth… come what may.

He inhaled deeply. "When I was young, I… I committed a crime. I hoped that by this time, everyone had forgotten all about it, because I meself tried to forget, although the memory of it haunted me during sleepless nights."

"What was yer crime?" Hannah asked softly. He could hear fear in her voice. Doubt. Desperation. She wanted to know whether he was still the man she loved.

"I killed the captain of the English guard at a time when I had strict orders not to do it," he blurted out breathlessly.

She looked at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. "How… did it happen?"

He wanted to be the man she loved, the man she trusted. He could only be that if he told her the whole truth. So, he continued. "I went against direct orders. I ken there is nothing that would speak for me defense, but I was put in a situation where it was either kill or be killed. I wouldnae have harmed the man if he had not attacked me first. I had to do it."

He paused for a moment. The memory of what happened was flooding back, and it was difficult to talk about it. He hoped by the end of it, the burden would be slightly easier to bear. Then, her voice broke through the memory, pulling him back to the present moment.

"That isnae yer fault, Alistair," she said softly, tenderly. He so desperately wanted to believe her.

"It was a direct betrayal of me king. I went against his orders."

"Ye were in danger," she shook her head. "Ye reacted like any of us would."

His heart was slowly filling with hope. He wanted her to know the rest of it as well. "Only when the deed was done did I notice someone runnin' away, someone who saw the whole thing. I never knew who it was, but I knew that there was a witness. I tried to find him, but it was difficult. Now, I realize that man was lookin' for me the entire time. Eventually, he found me and… well, ye ken the rest."

"I daenae think ye did anythin' wrong," Hannah immediately rushed to tell him. "Ye were merely defendin' yerself. I could never hold that against ye."

He smiled. "Ye have a kind heart, me love. But… can ye forgive yer own brother?"

"Hunter?" Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Did he have somethin' to do with that?"

"Nae with that," he clarified. He wondered if he should simply keep this part to himself and discuss it with Hunter alone. But he wanted to be completely honest with Hannah, if they were to start a life together, a life without any lies. "He interrogated some people Colby told his tale to, and Hunter found out me secret. That is how we ended up getting' married."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Hannah pulled back, shaking her head. "Ye mean to tell me Hunter blackmailed ye into marryin' me!?"

"Aye," he smiled. He loved how riled up she was getting. It reminded him of himself.

"Why, I will kill him with me own bare hands!" Hannah exclaimed, shocked and embarrassed, blushing to her very core. Alistair had to admit he had never seen anything more endearing in his entire life.

"Ye shall do no such thing, me love," he told her. "Because if he hadnae blackmailed me, I wouldnae have had anyone to rescue me from Colby like ye did. So, ye see, I owe ye me life. It is yers to do with it whatever ye see fit."

She calmed down immediately. A smile danced in the corner of her lovely lips, which he wanted to kiss so badly.

"I have to think about it," she teased.

"Ye have all the time in the world for that," he replied. "As long as ye keep me by yer side while ye're thinkin'."

She chuckled. "All right, I thought about it. I ken what I wish to do with yer life."

"And what is it?" he asked, hopeful and filled with the strangest concoction of emotions he had ever felt.

"I want us to grow old together," she said. "I want to have bairns with ye. I want– "

"Bairns?" he tilted his head mischievously, while looking at her. "I could give ye bairns."

"I'm certain ye could," she laughed, as he pulled her close to him, pouting his lips playfully. She couldn't stop laughing. "But not now, ye silly man! Someone might come in! And ye're still not healed!" She pretended to be pushing him away, but in fact, it was obvious that there was nowhere else she would rather be than in his arms.

For the first time since he saw her, he felt comfortable enough to tell her exactly how he felt. He smiled at her, drinking in the sight of her eyes.

"I love ye, Hannah," he said simply, without any adornments to his words. That was how love should be, simple and lasting. "I've loved ye from the moment I saw ye."

"I love ye, too, Laird McCann," she smiled back.

Just as they were about to kiss, Haggis barked loudly. They turned to face him, as he stared at them, wagging his tail joyfully.

"I think someone else loves ye, Alistair," Hannah laughed.

"Is that true, Haggis, me lad?" Alistair could not believe it. Haggis barked one more time in agreement.

"Then, it is true," Alistair said, unable to take his eyes off Hannah, who at this point resembled an angel descended to earth to bless his life with her presence. "I have all the love I could ever possibly need in life."

He pressed his lips to hers when she quickly pulled away.

"What is it?" he asked, instantly growing concerned.

"Yer maither!" she gasped.

"What about her?" he asked, even more concerned now.

"She told me to tell her immediately when ye wake up," Hannah explained. "I have to go get her!"

With those words she rushed out of his room, and several moments later, there was an onslaught of people rushing into his chamber, welcoming his back to life.