Highland Sanctuary (20 page)

"Aye, I'm verra well." She stood to her feet.

Gavin's eyes sparkled and his skin glowed in a rugged hue from the torchlight and candles. His muscles beneath her fingertips showed strength. Serena trembled with excitement.

He led her among the circle of dancers, and she stepped to the beat of the music just as he had taught her. "Why were ye leaving, Gavin?"

"I'll be honest with ye, lass. I thought Iain had secured my place. The same thing happened at the village dance. He beat me to ye, and I didn't wish to watch a second time."

"But we danced that day." Serena rushed to the center, meeting the other lasses, and hurried back to Gavin. "I'm a woman who keeps her word. It's the Highland way." She circled around him as the other women did with their partners.

"Ye're right and I'm sorry. I value yer honor. Serena, ye've a quiet, hidden strength in ye that I'm coming to admire—verra much."

Her cheeks blushed, warming her whole body. Serena glanced up at his strong profile. Gavin and his men had given her a glimpse of how things could be with people outside their village. Right now they treated her with kindness and respect. Would their behavior change once they witnessed her fits, or would they be like the villagers who accepted her without thinking her evil and possessed?

Before their arrival, Serena had accepted her life. Now, she longed for more—to be cured of her fits, to be a wife and mother, to experience the love of a husband and child. She wanted this life with Gavin, a man who could never wed a village lass even if she were perfect. Why did God allow them to come here? It was too cruel.

She blinked, attempting to clear her mind as she matched Gavin's steps. The burning desire for more was now ignited in her heart—and it ached. Somehow she had to find the strength to discourage Gavin. Otherwise, her heart might become so woven with him that she would never again find peace when he left.

"That color of green is a perfect match to yer eyes." Gavin leaned toward her ear, his breath warm upon her neck. His voice lowered a timbre. Serena's skin prickled in tiny bumps and her heart bounced inside her chest.

The music ended and they stopped to face each other.

"Make no mistake, Gavin MacKenzie, I chose this gown because ye did."

"Lass, I'm relieved to hear it." A slow grin brightened his expression. "I'm forced to part from ye for the moment, but I'd be honored if ye would accompany me to town on the morrow. I must return for the rest of the supplies we ordered."

More than anything Serena wanted to go, if only to spend the day with Gavin, but the cold reminder of why she must resist him now pressed her. Nothing had changed—only the knowledge of her feelings. A whole day in his company would not only risk him seeing one of her unexpected fits but also feed her heart more of what it craved—time with Gavin.

Serena dropped her gaze, staring at her new slippers.

"What's wrong?" Gavin lifted her chin, trying to see her better.

"I'd love to go with ye, but I canna. Too much work to be done. We'll have to set this place back in order after tonight."

"I thought ye might need to pick up supplies."

"We usually send one of Iain's manservants." Serena noticed Lady Fiona coming toward them. Her nerves tensed at the thought of having to deal with that arrogant woman again. The stress could be enough for her strained nerves to bring on one of her fits. She must make her escape while she could. "Mayhap, ye could ask Lady Fiona. I'm sure she'd be delighted to have an excuse to visit town."

Gavin turned, following the direction of Serena's nod. She chose that moment to slip away.

G
avin welcomed the cool morning air. As he guided the wagon into the cover of the forest leading through the village, his thoughts wandered to Serena. It would be quite tempting to stop by her cottage. He had timed his departure at an hour he'd hoped to meet her while on her way to the castle.

His mind drifted back to last night. Even while Serena had danced with Iain, and he with Lady Fiona, they had sought each other. Gavin respected her for keeping her word to him. A certain air of mystery concealed Serena's past and kept her at length from him. He wanted to know more about her.

The sound of a laboring beast distracted Gavin from his thoughts. He looked up. Gavin squinted to make out the motion in the distance, but the dark forest veiled the image in a black shadow. A moment later, two yellow eyes glowed in contrast to the dark. A growl echoed.

The horse grew nervous and reared. The wagon lurched. Barking ensued.

"Whoa! Easy lad." Gavin pulled on the reins.

"Gavin!" Beacon's voice carried in worry. "Is it ye?"

"Aye." Gavin glanced down at Beacon running toward him. "Can ye calm that wolf so my horse will stop balking?"

The dwarf took deep breaths and laid over Phelan's back, stroking him between the ears. He whispered to the animal who promptly sat on his hind legs. "I promised Serena I'd find ye before ye leave, then I've got to hurry to the castle and tell Iain she won't be coming today."

"Why?" Alarm seized Gavin's chest as a bolt of fear shot through his gut. "What's wrong with Serena?"

"Serena's fine. 'Tis Gunna. Tomas says she needs some medicine that's only available at market. She wanted me to ask if she could go with ye today."

While Gavin had wanted Serena to join him on his trip, he had hoped the circumstances would be much different. "Aye. I'll go to the cottage while ye take the news to the laird."

"Good. The lass will be pleased." He brushed his blond locks to the side and out of his eyes. "Serena's always been so kind to me an' Quinn. I don't like to see 'er fretting."

Beacon tapped Phelan on the head and they were off in the direction of the castle. A bird whistled in the trees above Gavin, a reminder that the morning would progress without him if he didn't get moving. He smacked the reins and the horse lunged forward. The wagon wobbled over the tree roots. Gavin wished he could travel faster, as eagerness pressed against his concern for Gunna. He had grown fond of her these past few weeks.

By the time he arrived, Serena paced outside. She wore a brown dress with a plaid wrapped around her shoulders in thin stripes of red and white on woven wool. Her black hair tumbled around her worried face and down her back. She chewed her bottom lip as her wide green eyes presented a striking contrast to her pale skin.

He set the break and started to climb down to help her up, but she shook her head. "Nay, I can get in by myself. We must hurry. Gunna is bad off."

Once she was seated beside him, Gavin motioned his horse forward. He gave her a sideways glance, noticing how redrimmed her eyes were. "It doesn't look like ye've had much rest."

"I'm fine. Gunna's breathing is growing much worse by the hour. Tomas says her heart is failing." Serena dropped her gaze as her voice cracked. She folded her trembling hands in her lap, and he fought the desire to cover them with his own—to comfort her.

"Will the medicine help her heal or only ease her pain?" Gavin asked.

"'Twill only ease the pain." Serena sighed. "Gunna insists on having her wits about her, which is why she won't take aught from Tomas. He's known for giving people sleeping potions to help them sleep in comfort until they quietly pass."

"I see." Gavin let silence fall between them. He wondered if he should try to talk about something else to distract her.

"Gavin, please don't think bad of me for refusing to come today and then changing my mind. I hope ye understand."

"I could never think bad of ye, Serena. I know ye had to work, but this is different." He kept his gaze ahead. "I understand, and I'm sure Iain will as well."

"Good, because I don't think I could bear it if ye thought bad of me." She pulled her plaid tight. "I realize I've been reserved, but please believe me when I say that my reservations regarding strangers are truly warranted."

"I imagine people here aren't treated verra favorably by the townsfolk in Braighwick, especially since they dub ye as the Village of Outcasts."

"There's much ye don't know. There are outsiders who would love to destroy us."

"Serena, I realize everyone here is different, but I find it hard to believe that people would want to destroy ye for no good reason." Gavin hoped he could somehow open her eyes to see the world in a less frightening way. "Someone is trying to frighten the villagers, but don't make the mistake of believing all outsiders are like that."

"Never mind." She turned away, observing the land. He hit a bump. The wagon tilted, sliding her toward him. On instinct his arm wrapped around her. She felt perfect against his side, as if she belonged. Her soft frame brought a heated warmth that he found inviting.

"Are ye all right?" Her hair tickled his chin and reminded him of junipers.

"Aye. Just startled is all." She brushed her hair out of her eyes, and to his surprise, relaxed against him, as if welcoming the comfort of his protection.

Gavin held her a moment longer, not wanting to let her go, but propriety required him to do so. He closed his eyes to savor the moment and then released her. She shifted away and straightened her back. They continued riding in silence.

When they reached the market in town, Serena was pensive and quiet. Concerned he had overstepped his boundaries, Gavin didn't try to force her into conversation. He kept a respectable distance from her as they hurried from vendor to vendor. They found the herbal merchant, an elderly woman who was busy helping a man.

While they waited, Serena sighed. He glanced down. She licked her parched lips. He should have noticed how dry they were earlier. Dark circles now bordered her eyes. Guilt tugged at him.

"Ye look tired. I'm sorry if I've made ye walk too much. Mayhap I should have let ye wait on the wagon."

"Nay." She shook her head. "Ye've made me do naught that I've not chosen to do. I didn't get much rest last night and I'm not quite feeling myself. I wouldn't have wanted to be left alone."

Gavin offered his arm. She accepted, leaning upon him more than usual. Her behavior troubled him, but he didn't know what to do about it. She kept pressing her palm to her forehead.

The herbal merchant finished with her other customer and came over. "What do ye need this morn, lass?"

Serena pulled out a written note from Tomas and handed it to her. The woman's gray hair was pulled back in a ribbon. Lines around her eyes narrowed, increasing the wrinkles as she held it out at arm's length to read it.

"I beg yer pardon, but I'd tell ye what it says if I understood most of the terms," Serena said.

"Even though my eyes aren't what they used to be, I can make it out well enough." She laid down the parchment paper and opened a container, dipping several wooden spoonfuls of a powdered substance into a pouch. "Ye must have a verra ill person." She glanced at Serena, then at Gavin before tying the pouch into a tight knot.

"Aye, my auld nursemaid is dying. We want to ease her pain as much as possible, but she wants to keep her wits about her."

The woman shook her head with a firm frown. "Sorry, lass, but to keep one's wits about them is to endure the pain. Ye'll have to choose one or the other." She handed Serena the pouch. "This'll definitely dull the pain, but 'twill also make her sleep. There's naught better."

Next, she poured a small vial of brown liquid and another vial of light yellow. She set it down on the table in front of Serena. "That will be three pence."

Serena dug into her skirt pocket and pulled out the coins. Instead of dropping them into the woman's outstretched palm, the coins tumbled in separate directions as Serena shook, her legs gave way, and she fell.

Gavin lunged, catching Serena in time to keep her from hitting the table. Her body stiffened in spasms so violent that it brought Gavin to his knees as he tried to maintain hold of her seizing limbs.

"Serena! Lass, what's the matter? Speak to me." Gavin turned her over to see her face. It was like someone had punched the breath out of him. Her green eyes rolled under the top of her lids until only the white part showed. Serena's pale skin faded into a purple-blue color. Her chest heaved in gasps as she chewed her tongue. A combination of blood and white foam leaked from the corner of her mouth, staining her beautiful pink lips.

The woman screamed throwing up her hands and covering her cheeks. "'Tis a demon, I tell ye! Never seen naught like it."

"Serena!" Gavin shook her. "Lord, help me."

"It's a demon!" The woman shouted. "No other explanation to describe it."

A crowd gathered around them, but no one offered to help. "Someone go for a clergyman!" A man yelled from the crowd.

Serena's color grew worse. Her throat made a strange noise, and he feared she might choke to death. Gavin leaned her over his arm and beat her back to dislodge whatever it was.

"Look!" A middle-aged woman pointed. "The demon is killin' her!"

Serena gasped, sucking in her first breath of air since the fit began. Gavin gathered her against him in relief. More blood dripped from her mouth. He pulled his sleeve down and gently wiped her lips. His heart paced so fast he could hardly keep his wits, but he realized the danger she could now be in.

"Go on. She's fine. Only choked is all." Gavin waved them away. Many cast doubtful glances at each other.

"'Twas more 'n that. I tell ye, I saw it with my own eyes. The lass wasn't eating or drinking to choke. She was fine one moment an' possessed by somethin' evil the next." The woman turned in a circle, determined to beguile an audience who would support her claims.

"My lad went for a clergyman. We'll let the kirk decide her fate."

Gavin needed to get Serena out of there—and fast. He reached for the liquid vials and held them up. "Ye sold her yer mixture before it happened. How do we know it wasn't something ye did to cause this?" He turned to the crowd. "Did any of ye see what she gave the lass?"

Some shook their heads. Others mumbled "nay."

"This lass was perfectly fine before coming here. I'm taking her back home where she can recover in peace."

"There's a demon in 'er." A man pointed at Serena.

"I hope for yer sake this lass suffers no lasting effects." He glanced at the woman, mustering a firm expression. Gavin lifted Serena in his arms.

"I've done naught." She set her chin and crossed her arms.

"And neither has she." He turned and rushed back to the wagon. Gavin hoped to gain a good head start if they decided to raise a mob to come after them.