Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

E loise kept seeing things in her sleep. She saw the adder again, the way the snake coiled up on the tree roots then launched its head at her, propelling his teeth toward her ankle. She kept cowering back, but she couldn't get away fast enough.

Everything was too warm. There was a heat burning her skin, a thin sheen of sweat covering her, as she kept seeing the pictures morphing in her mind.

She saw Beatrice, that beautiful maid who had been so concerned with speaking to Murdoch those first few nights and sending glares in Eloise's direction. Where had she been when the adder attacked? Then the image changed, and Eloise saw Harper's frightened face.

Abruptly, she saw what had happened in a new light. She saw Harper refusing to step around the tree, digging her heels into the ground.

Why would she nae move? She could have escaped. This never needed tae happen!

Eloise blinked, trying to fight her sleep and the constant images in her mind. She had wakeful dreams, certain that she had woken at times to see something of what was happening around her.

She remembered Callie forcing some sort of tea or tonic past her lips, urging her to drink all of it, as Wilson removed her boot and plastered her wound with a cold water. Something in that liquid stung. It was like nettle water against her wound. She had a feeling she cried out in pain then and remembered catching Murdoch's expression.

Those dark eyes had never blinked. At one point, she could have sworn they were watery, as if he was the one going through such pain.

Then all had turned black.

Eloise opened her eyes properly this time. There was a darkness in the room with just one lone candle casting an amber light from the corner. Eloise turned her head toward it, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Some things were not quite in focus and part of the world was dizzy. Whatever had been in the tea that Callie had given her, she judged it had to be some heavy sedative to have such an affect.

There was a figure sitting beside her, his form silhouetted in that candlelight. His hand was wrapped around hers. Eloise knew the feeling of those long fingers and the callous skin of his palm.

"M-Murdoch?" she tried to whisper, with her voice croaky.

"Eloise?" He lifted his head, as if he had been falling asleep with his chin lolling on his chest. He inched forward, his face revealed in the candlelight. There were heavy shadows under his eyes and his hair was wild, either tousled by the wind or or from having been pulled at many times. "How are ye feeling?"

"Everything is so… dizzy," she whispered. She tried to sit up, struggling with the sheer extent of that wooziness. He reached for her waist, pulling back the covers enough that he could lift her himself, plumping the pillows behind her head. She leaned back against those cushions, her body strangely weak and tingling. The pain in her ankle was radiating up her leg now, and there was a heaviness with it too, though as it was covered by the blankets, she did not know if that heaviness came from the weight or the sensation of the bite itself. "Thank ye, Murdoch."

"Why are ye thanking me?" He shook his head, moving to sit on the bed, facing her. She reached toward him, not really thinking about what she was doing but just resting one of her hands on his arm. He moved toward her another inch, showing he would not pull away.

"For bringing me here so fast. For running tae me. Aye, I didnae expect tae see ye bursting through those trees like some great knight."

"Well, I am a soldier," he reminded her.

"Like something out of a tale, it was," she giggled, this strange lightness having an odd effect on her mind.

"Ye are talking as if ye are drunk, Eloise."

"Aye, I feel it." Her head tilted to the side, and she was in danger of slipping down the pillows, until Murdoch reached for her and pulled her further up against the pillows. It struck her just how easily he could lift her, as if she weighed nothing compared to him. It thrilled her, though she was not entirely sure why.

"I am just glad ye are awake." He raised one hand and caressed her cheek. It was such a soft touch, one so startling from a man as strong as him that she leaned into that touch, wanting more of it. She even curled up her good leg underneath her, in the effort to bundle herself closer to him.

She didn't think about whether it was a good idea or not. Her mind seemed incapable of thinking straight at all.

"Ye have had me so worried," he whispered. "God, Eloise. What are ye doing tae me?"

"Nothing," she murmured, lifting herself off the pillows and moving closer toward him. His hand slid down from her cheek and took hold of her waist. Slowly, he put her back down on the pillows. She groaned, disappointed at him putting distance between them. Her hand curled tighter around his bicep, and she could have sworn he smiled a little, though from how out of focus and blurry her vision was, she could not be certain of it.

"Ye are doing a lot." He sighed, deeply. "I still cannae believe it was ye who turned up by the loch that day when I arranged for an escort. Ye, an escort, Eloise. Everything argues against it."

"I had nae choice." She shook her head, not afraid to say the words now. Was it the effect of the tea that made it seem mad to keep secrets from him? Or how close he was to her now? She was not certain.

"What? Why nae?" He leaned toward her. "Eloise, what would push ye intae being an escort?"

"Me father." Her words were but a murmur as she hung her head. Needing to focus on something, she set her eyes on the way that her fingers curled around his bicep. "He was in such debt he was afraid fer his life. The money had tae be found somewhere. I had tae pay off the creditors."

"Ye did this all to repay debts?" Murdoch's eyebrows shot up as he sidled toward her on the bed, coming so close that her right hip practically brushed his left one. "Eloise?"

"Aye." She lifted her chin, so she could meet his gaze. "I had tae. He is me father."

"Avery says yer father is an excuse of a man."

"Aye, that is true." She giggled in her lightness, but the laughter faded fast. "Yet he is still me father. I couldnae stand by if there was a possibility he would be killed by his creditors. I had tae pay them off. So… I became an escort," she whispered, tipping her head back onto the pillows. "Ye ken me secret now, Murdoch. Me shame. I walked intae this occupation quite willingly. Is that nae awful?"

He shook his head, angling his head to the side.

"Ye have done it all for another, Eloise. Ye have put yerself at such risk, pretending tae be attached tae men that were unworthy of ye, and who could have been dangerous, and all fer what? Tae protect a man that on all accounts doesnae deserve yer protection?"

"He is me father," she said again, somehow hoping that would explain everything. "Ye would have done the same, would ye nae?"

"The difference is that me father is a good man, and I could defend meself if a client turned nasty."

"Why else dae ye think I carry that dirk?"

"It might as well be a cheese knife for how effective it is."

"Murdoch!" She laughed though, and could find no irritation at all, lifting herself off the pillows. Her body was so tingly that it tipped forward of its own accord and she fell into him. Rather than putting her back on the pillows this time, he slipped his hand along her waist and across her back, holding her close. "I… I had nae choice," she whispered against hm.

"The fact that that is how ye see it is testament tae yer goodness. Ye did it all fer another." A curse escaped his lips, an angry one, though she barely paid attention to it. She was too busy thinking of the scent of him, the pine trees that lingered, and his hand across her waist as she curled herself into his chest. "Eloise, listen tae me." He used his hand on her back, trying to urge her to sit up properly. She attempted it, her head feeling strangely heavy now. "When this is over, all of this mess, I promise tae help ye and yer father."

"Ye were tae be the last one," she said, aware her eyes were closing now. "Ye offered such a sum, it was tae be the last one." She smiled. "I was tae be free at last."

"Ye are free already." He moved toward her, and her eyes closed completely. When his lips found hers, her hand tightened even more around his arm.

He is nae performing now. There is nae one here tae see us but ourselves.

She held that kiss for as long as she could, though it was chaste, merely a press of lips together. The heaviness settled over her mind and Eloise's grip softened on him.

"Time tae sleep, Eloise," he whispered, releasing her and helping her down on the pillows again.

Eloise wasn't sure, when she dreamed of holding Murdoch's hand in her sleep if it was real or not.

When Eloise's eyes opened again, it was day. The strong light of the dawn shone through the window, and she felt the chill of the morning. Her body was no longer on fire, but the blankets were tucked tightly around her body, so the chill was more noticeable on her face. Burying herself down into the blankets, she tucked her chin between the covers, trying to fight that chill.

"Ye have tae wake up sometime, ye ken."

That voice.

Eloise had heard Avery's voice so often over the years in dark moments. He was the one who had always managed to make her smile as a child when their father caused trouble. She was reminded now of waking from a fever, when she had been no more than ten years old. Her brother had sat beside her for half of the night as their father argued with the healer about whether he was doing a good job or not.

"Avery?" she whispered, pushing down the covers.

He sat beside her, where Murdoch had been the last time that she had opened her eyes. He smiled at her, bearing similar shadows under his eyes.

"Ye dinnae ken how much ye have everyone worried."

"I didnae mean tae cause such trouble." Slowly, she sat up in the bed, relieved that her body no longer tingled so much, and she had the strength move by herself.

"Here, drink this." Avery reached for a steaming cup beside him. "I am under strict instruction from Callie and Wilson tae make ye drink it the moment ye awake."

"Both of them?" Eloise asked with a smile as she took the cup from him, warming her hands through the hot metal.

"Aye. After they drugged ye yesterday with that sedative, they spent what felt like an hour cleaning yer wound together. They argued at first." Avery smiled. "With Callie, who would expect anything else? They had different teachings and learnings. Now, they are outside in the river, teaching each other what they ken about leeches and plants on the riverbank." He rolled his eyes. "There is another who has given me strict instructions though. Murdoch has told me nae tae excite ye too much."

"Murdoch?" Eloise sat forward, looking around the cobblestone cottage in search of him. "Where is he?"

"He spent most of the night here." He gestured down to the chair where he was sitting. "He didnae let anyone else in here. He didnae want yer sleep disturbed."

Eloise's lips parted in shock. It seemed Murdoch was watching over her, just like the knight she had called him. She closed her eyes in embarrassment, remembering just how strange she had been acting and all that she had revealed to him.

He kens all me secrets now.

"Well, Murdoch has been a wonder tae watch, I'll tell ye that." Avery took her shoulders and urged her back onto the pillows once again.

"What do ye mean?"

"Come off it, Eloise." Avery waved a hand dismissively in the air. "When I saw ye and Murdoch together that first night, ye must have kenned how hard it was for me tae accept, even believe." The way he had perceptively seen through them had Eloise's hands stiffening around her cup.

Yet is it all an act now? Murdoch and I kissed last night without anyone around tae witness us together.

"Ye are so quiet and mild mannered sometimes that kenning what yer heart feels is hard enough as it is," Avery muttered, resting his elbows on the bed and placing his chin in his hand. "As for Murdoch, he's closed off tae the world."

"He's yer friend."

"Aye. Because of that I ken he doesnae reveal his heart tae many people, and doesnae talk much about his past at all. Take all of this." He nodded at their surroundings. "Who would have guessed he was the son to Laird Gordon?"

"I ken." She nodded slowly.

"Yet after yesterday and last night, I cannae doubt it anymore." Avery rearranged the pillows around her body, trying to keep her warm and comfortable.

"Doubt what, exactly?" she whispered.

"The way he looks at ye." Avery paused in his task. "When ye screamed yesterday, Murdoch ran fer ye as if there was a fire at his heels. Ye should have seen the him when I demanded tae see ye and he insisted we had tae follow Callie and Wilson's orders of allowing ye tae sleep, tae have undisturbed peace. He watched over ye like a guard dog."

"Murdoch? A guard dog?"

"A bloody good one." Avery smiled in humor. "If I had forced my way through that door, I think he would have hurt me fer it. So, aye, fair enough. It seems he does love ye, fer all my doubts on the subject, he does."

"Wait… is this ye giving us yer blessing, Avery?"

Eloise felt lost. It was not possible. Murdoch didn't love her. This was all an illusion, a lie. Had he not said repeatedly he was content to have a marriage of convenience and nothing more?

"Perhaps." Avery winced. "Let us just say I understand a little more now what is between the two of ye." He looked at Eloise with such penetrating eyes that she didn't dare move, in case he saw the truth in her expression. "Now, drink up. If ye dinnae drink that, Callie will take her revenge out on me."

Eloise smiled and lifted the cup to her lips, taking a large sip. The mint and chamomile flavor was so strong that she grimaced.

"It is strong," she murmured, placing the cup down in her lap again.

"Drink up," Avery said with mock firmness. She laughed and raised the cup to her lips again.

"I will recover then?"

"Aye, Wilson and Callie think ye'll be fine. They say each person can respond differently tae an adder bite, but ye have responded well and the wound looks better than it did yesterday. They rebandaged it this morning whilst ye were fast asleep. Aye, ye'll be fine."

"Thank God." Eloise rested back on the pillows, her fingers wrapped around the steaming cup.

"How did it happen exactly, Eloise?" Avery leaned forward, his brows furrowing deeply. "One minute, all was quiet, then ye were screaming."

"Harper was frightened by the snake. Petrified tae the spot, she refused tae move." Eloise shook her head slowly, thinking back to the moment and the strange dream she'd had of Harper. "Why would she nae move? It would have been so simple fer her tae step away. In truth, she angered me."

"Ye and I both ken that fear can dae strange things tae people."

"Aye, I suppose. I just wondered if there could be another reason. Some other possibility as tae why she didnae move," Eloise whispered, afraid to say the words aloud.

"Yer mind is overactive in yer state. That is all." Avery assured her with a soft smile. "Harper was very upset by everything. She's been tearful. Aye, it was fear."

"Aye, I am sure ye are right." Eloise nodded. She decided it was her own anxieties and fears after being bitten that were making her look into a situation that offered up no further explanation. "It was an unfortunate incident. Aye, that is all."

"Good, I am glad ye agree." Avery nodded at the cup. "Now, remember what I said and drink all of that. Callie says ye are tae stay in bed fer at least another day, so ye take the pressure of the ankle. Tomorrow, if ye still continue tae feel better, ye can walk again."

"I could try now?" Eloise insisted, leaning forward, but Avery offered a stern glare.

"For me own sake, dinnae try. If Callie sees I let ye out of that bed, there will be hell tae pay."

Eloise laughed softly and raised her cup to her lips again.