Chapter Eleven

Rosalyn and Keiran exited the castle through the back door and entered the rear courtyard. Rosalyn smiled at the memory of the lessons she’d had there with the other women this morning. What would Keiran think if she told him she’d learned how to fight and defend herself with the dagger that was now strapped to her thigh in the same manner Aria wore her own weapon?

It was probably best to keep that information to herself for now, but wearing the weapon and having the knowledge to use it bolstered her confidence. She was no longer defenceless. Though she doubted she would need protection from Keiran, even as she wondered where he was taking her. “Where are we going?” she asked as they headed for a brick building near the kitchen.

“The mews.”

“Is that not where you keep falcons and other raptors?”

“Among other things since my return.” Keiran opened the door then stepped aside for her to enter.

Afternoon light passed through the slatted windows, illuminating the stone interior of the chamber. In one corner of the chamber was a barren tree branch upon which sat not raptors, but a long-eared owl with a bandage around one of its feet. Beneath the perch was a pile of hay on which rested a brown rabbit with a bandage around its middle. Keiran moved to the rabbit and bent down, allowing it to nuzzle his fingers.

Rosalyn watched as he moved about the chamber, feeding the animals. He offered bits of sliced apple and carrots for the rabbits, grain for the smaller birds, and a small fish for the owl before moving to a mother cat curled in the corner of the chamber beneath a small table with two chairs.

“’Tis all right, Midnight,” he cooed to the black and white mother cat nursing one tiny kitten. “I simply want to see how you and your babe are doing after such a challenging delivery. The wee one looks healthy, as do you, milady.”

“What do you mean ‘after a challenging delivery’?” Rosalyn asked, kneeling beside him to look at the two cats.

“I found this mama cat at midnight three days ago in a rainstorm. She was labouring hard and had delivered two stillborn babes before I found her and brought her here.” Keiran reached out and gently stroked the white streak running up the kitten’s nose. A loud purring sound filled the air. “I was able to help her deliver this wee one, and then I healed the mama cat before she bled out.”

Keiran turned to her and smiled broadly, his eyes alive with joy. The lines and furrows of the worry she had seen on his face since yesterday were now completely gone. She met his smile with her own. “It is unusual for men to bring life to the world.”

“Aye, men are usually the ones taking life.”

“Yet you save life.” Rosalyn sat back on her heels as her hand moved to her abdomen. “You heal animals and humans.”

“I help those who will accept my healing.”

“I would like to help you take care of these animals, if I might,” she said, expecting him to dismiss her as her brother always had. Instead, he nodded.

“We can care for them, together.”

She had not experienced a “together” moment with anyone since her mother died. It had been Rosalyn alone against the world, for seven long years. Her brother had frightened away any friends she tried to make or any connections she had sought. She had not one loyal friend, even within the household staff. They were too frightened of her brother’s wrath. The thought of Keiran as a friend sent a quiver of nervous energy through her.

Only yesterday this man had been her enemy, a fierce warrior. He was also the man who had restored her life and who saved kittens. Which man was the real Keiran? Did she want to find out? “What did you name the kitten?”

He turned back to look at the small creature. “I will leave that up to you. The kitten is yours if you want her.”

“I will have to think on that,” she replied. Was he asking her to take the kitten with her when she left, or was he asking her to stay? If she named the tiny beast, it would be a commitment on her part. But a commitment to what?

Keiran moved out from beneath the table, close to her, making her heart flutter. She scooted back to allow him to stand. He reached out his hand to aid her in rising. At his nearness Rosalyn lowered her gaze. Keiran was completely at ease standing among the straw, caring for the lives he had saved. Including hers. “What you do here is a miracle. You said the fairies gave you your gift. How does it work exactly? Is it magic or something more?” she asked, curious about what he had done not only to her but also these animals.

“Take a seat.”

She did as he directed and put the book she’d brought with her on the table between them. He sat opposite her, leaning his arms on the table and steepling his hands, as if in prayer, before he reached out to turn his palms up. “Place your hands palm down on mine.”

She hesitated a moment before doing as he directed. His hands were warm compared to her colder ones. He did not try to capture her fingers. He simply allowed her to rest her palms on his. She studied him in the dim light, trying to read his intentions. What would she find if she could delve into his mind? Was the desire to kiss her as strong as hers was to kiss him? She startled at the thought. The last time she had kissed someone it had cost her nothing but heartache, humiliation, and pain.

Instead of tensing and pulling away, she found herself leaning forward as the heat of his hands intensified and flowed into her body. The sensation was calming, comforting. This was magic, no matter what he claimed.

“I do not know how my gift of healing works exactly. Over the years I have found that if I touch an injured area, it responds to the warmth. The first time I used my healing powers in Fairyland, I had broken my leg while trying to keep up with the other fairies. Left alone in the mud, I straightened my leg and put both my hands on the broken bones. Immediately the pain left, and I could feel my body knitting itself back together, until I was able to stand and run again.”

“That is what I felt when you healed me. At first there was intense pain, and I felt my strength and my life force leaving my body. Then you touched me, a spark flared, and the pain vanished. I drew a breath, filling my lungs, and warmth invaded every part of me. The same warmth as I feel now.” She frowned as the heat intensified. “Do you pass this warmth on to everything you touch?”

“Nay.” He met her curious gaze. “Only things that need healing.”

She jerked her hands from his. Her breath stilled. She was not injured, not physically at least. “Enough of this.” She reached for the book. “We are here to teach you how to read.”

His brows came together as he looked at the thick tome in her hands. “Should we not start with something a little less intimidating?”

As the residual heat from her hands vanished, her thoughts cleared. “It is better to start with something interesting so you will want to keep reading. I was hoping you would find Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships by Jonathan Swift interesting. It is the story of a man who travels to fantastical lands. It is full of satire and interesting characters. My brother has this book in his library, and I have secretly read it at least three times.”

Keiran’s brow cleared and interest brightened his eyes. “Your brother does not allow you to read his books?”

“He would prefer I do nothing but embroider his handkerchiefs with the letters HD.”

“You like embroidery, then?”

She rolled her eyes, making his mouth pull up in a grin. “No. I hate it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then let us read this forbidden book and enjoy every moment of these interesting characters in fantastical lands.”

She could not help but smile. “Here, you look at the book while I prepare the classroom. You will need to know the letters and what they sound like before you can start reading.” She stood. “First, I need to find something with which I can write on these stone walls. I will be better prepared tomorrow when we meet at sunrise, but for now, this will do.”

He opened his sporran and handed her a piece of flint. “This should work.”

She accepted the flint, moved to the wall opposite the door, and began to scratch the letters of the alphabet onto the stone. Instead of looking at the book, Keiran watched her write each letter, so she named each as she progressed. After she said the letter, he repeated it. As he did, she noted the soft burr in his tone. A tone that was warm and inviting, reminding her of the kitten purring as Keiran had stroked its nose.

She wrote another letter then turned and spoke it aloud. “T,” he responded, his lips firm. The throaty sound warmed her almost as much as his hands.

She turned away, inhaling. She was supposed to be teaching him, not losing herself in the nuances of the attractive man before her. Rosalyn hurried through the remainder of the alphabet, and when she had finished, she asked him to start over from the beginning, this time without her aid. He did not miss a single letter. “You are a very quick study.”

His lips turned up in a smile. The effect was devastating. His features brightened, his eyes warmed, and against her will, her heart fluttered again.

Rosalyn cleared her throat and turned her attention to the book on the table. “Let us look at the words in here and try to pronounce them so you can see the correlation between letters and words. Chapter One. My father had a small estate in Nottinghamshire; I was the third of five sons.” And so, the book continued, introducing Lemuel Gulliver, and setting the stage for his adventurous life as a sea captain. She had had to help him with most of the words, but by the end of the chapter, he was starting to recognise most of the two- and three-letter words on his own.

She shut the book. “That is remarkable progress for your first lesson, Keiran.” His advancement was due more to his ability to learn than her own teaching skills, but today he had given her a different gift than his healing. He had given her back a glimmer of hope that her life might amount to something as a tutor.

Instead of the smile she expected at her praise, Keiran shrugged. “I had to learn quickly in Fairyland. It was either learn and survive or fail and die.”

Rosalyn flinched. “It is hard to imagine the uncertainty and danger you faced. How did you escape?”

“Aria and Graeme came for me.” His brows lowered as he regarded her. “I believe you had similar experiences.”

“I was ignored, lonely, but never in physical danger, at least not that I knew about until coming to Scotland.”

“Enough about the past.” He stood. “Now it is my turn to teach you something about being Scottish. Since you did such a stellar job for our first lesson, my task is made all the harder.”

A smile came to her lips. “This is not a competition.”

He arched a brow. “It can be if we make it one.”

“I understand the benchmark for you. When you can read and write, I will know I have succeeded. How will you know if I have fully embraced my Scottish half or not?”

“I will know and so will you,” he said with confidence.

Seemed a little ambiguous but who was she to argue? Her goal could be easily attained. “What about the stakes? I have little left to give.”

“You wish to be a tutor, do you not?” Keiran said, his voice gentle.

“It is the only skill I have that might help sustain my life,” she said honestly. “After my success with you, I hope to find a permanent position here in the Highlands, for England will never accept me in society again after my misfortune.”

“You did not cause your misfortune. The aristocracy would understand that, would they not?”

“The aristocratic ladies will call me a whore and their husbands will try to corner me in empty rooms if I am admitted to any social gatherings,” she said tartly. How could he know such a thing, having lived most of his life until now in a fantastical land of his own?

Keiran’s gaze turned thoughtful for a moment before his brown eyes held both amusement and a silent plea. “Here is what I propose. If I win our challenge, then you will stay at Dunvegan as a tutor to Alastair and Gwendolyn’s children.”

She frowned. “Good heavens. They are but infants.”

“They will grow, and in the meantime, you could function as their nanny. Gwendolyn does not get much sleep. She could use your help.”

“You would want me to stay here?”

He nodded. “Much has happened to us both in our pasts, and I feel a surprising kinship with you.”

Since the moment he first took her into his arms to heal her, she had felt the same, but was that reason enough to stay? “And if I win?”

“I will ask Alastair to help find you a position with one of our neighbouring clans, and for myself I would take a kiss.”

“One kiss?”

“Aye, but not just any kiss. It must be a meaningful kiss.”

She crossed her arms, thinking. With what he offered, she would take a prize if she won or lost this challenge between them. All she had to sacrifice was one kiss. She swallowed roughly. One kiss had led her here to Scotland. Would kissing Keiran lead to a similar disaster? Yet even as the thought took hold it was not fear that sent her heart racing. “I cannot deny your proposal has appeal,” Rosalyn said. “We would both be taking a great leap of faith, for we scarcely know each other.”

“Or do we know each other better than either of us is willing to admit?” He stared hard into her eyes. “Do you accept?”

She uncrossed her arms. “I accept.”

He smiled and gestured to the door. “Then let us go back to the keep so that I may start you on your journey to becoming a Scot and find my own Scottish roots along the way.”

“I can be a formidable opponent,” she said.

His smile grew. “I would expect nothing less from you.”