Highland Sparks (Clan Grant #5) (20 page)

Chapter Thirty-One

Logan’s frustration had only grown in intensity by the time he ran into Quade again. “Anything?”

“Nay, naught. We have searched everywhere. I am ready to tear every single strand out of my head. Where the hell could she be?”

“We don’t have much time. ‘Tis almost dark.” Logan hadn’t told Quade about the bread he had found in the cottage. Eating it would have made Lily violently ill again, and would sap her strength as well. Nay, Quade didn’t need to know that. He scanned the area again, thinking, then dismounted and studied the ground. “This way. The area is so dense, I did not check it thoroughly, and it was a while ago.” He pointed to a spot in the brush. “Now I see evidence of a horse here. Let’s walk.” Quade motioned for the other guards to stay behind and search in a different area.

Quade followed him deep into the forest, each of the brothers pulling his horse behind him. They had traveled a short distance more when Logan halted.

“What is it?” Quade stopped directly behind him.

“Did you hear that?” Logan leaned in one direction.

“Nay.”

“Shhh.” He held his breath, praying to hear the sound again. Quade stared at him, the hopeful expression in his eyes forcing Logan to look away.

They listened and Logan burst into a grin. “Lily. I heard her scream.” Leaving his horse in the brush, he tore off in the direction of Lily’s voice, Quade following.

God’s teeth, he had prayed before, but he hadn’t prayed this hard in a long time. Lily had to be well, and how he hoped Gwyneth was with her. Growley barked and came running at them through the dense brush. “Where, Growley? Show me,” he yelled. As if understanding the question word for word, the big dog turned around and led the way. Finally, Growley halted ahead of him and sat down next to Gwyneth in the clearing in the middle of a copse of trees, her horse not far away.

Exhilaration flooded Logan’s body, but then a fist punched him right in his gut. Gwyneth sat holding something in her arms, her head listing over whatever she held. Nay, not his wee Lily. She had to be alive.

He yelled his approach and Gwyneth’s head shot up. A split second later, Lily’s pale smiling face rose up next to Gwyneth’s.

“Papa! Uncle Logan!”

Logan’s walk slowed as Quade rushed past him to grab Lily into his arms. A huge rush of relief engulfed Logan’s body; he had never been so happy to see two people in his life. He wondered why Gwyneth remained on the ground, but when he finally reached her side, he saw the blood pooled around her leg, the pallor in her features, and the trembling in her hands.

“Logan.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?” He knelt down beside her. “You saved my niece. You’re hurt.” He cupped her face with his hand and was shocked to see how cool her skin was. It was only then that he noticed that her eyes were glazed and her lips held a dusky color he didn’t like.

“I couldn’t get on my horse. I tried, but I couldn’t…make it. Lily is weak, and she hasn’t eaten, and I couldn’t get her back. I’m so sorry.”

Quade’s asked, “Is she well? What’s wrong, Logan? Do you need my help?”

Logan leaned down, his eyes misting as he stared down at the woman he loved. “You’re safe. I’ll get you back.” After checking to make sure the bleeding from her leg wound had slowed, he kissed her cheek and whispered, “I love you. My thanks for rescuing my beloved niece, but you are not leaving me. Neither of you are ever leaving me again.” He loosened the tourniquet on her leg and tore off a piece of his plaid to apply more pressure to the wound.

Quade overheard him. “Well, if that’s going to happen, you’re going to have to settle down.”

“We will. We’re getting married and will live in Lothian. And no one is leaving again.” He scooped her up into his arms and hugged her tight. He turned to his brother, who held Lily with her head on his chest, and kissed his wee niece on the cheek. He glanced at Quade’s face, where he saw the same concern he felt. Neither of the lasses looked good.

Quade whispered. “We need to get them to Brenna.”

“Aye.” He moved over to his horse and set Gwyneth down so she could lean against his brother while he mounted his horse. Then Quade handed her up to him and he settled her in front of him. The two guards they’d left behind joined them and soon they were headed back to the keep, Growley in pursuit.

He was so happy to have Gwyneth in his arms again. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her, but she didn’t respond. Had she fallen asleep…or had she passed out?

“Gwyneth?” Logan shook her, but she didn’t awaken. He needed to get her back to the keep and fast.

***

Gwyneth was running through a meadow chasing someone. Nay, she was chasing two people. Her brother, Rab, ran in one direction beckoning to her, while Logan called to her from his horse in another direction.

She would have to choose, and she didn’t know how she could possibly do it.

Someone caressed her arm and her eyes flew open. Logan sat in a chair at her bedside, concern in his gaze. When she stared at him, a slow smile crept across his features. His eyes sparkled while he leaned over to kiss her cheek. She tried to push herself up in bed, but fell back against the pillow because she didn’t have the strength.

“Stay there, love. You are in nae condition to move.”

She tried to remember where she was, but the cloud in her mind wouldn’t clear. “Something to drink?”

Logan jumped out of his seat and filled a goblet for her, then yelled out the door for Brenna before he returned to her side, helping her sit up and sip the ale he brought her. The room filled in a hurry, first with Brenna and Quade, then Lily, Torrian, and Lady Ramsay.

She couldn’t understand why they all stared at her so. It was unusual for so many people to come to a bed chamber, wasn’t it? Finally, Rab walked in the door and she could read the relief in his eyes when he looked at her. He carried a cross in his hand and his bible. What was going on?

Lily popped up on the bed beside her and kissed her cheek. “My thanks for rescuing me, Aunt Gwyneth. May I call you that now? Uncle Logan says you are getting married right away.”

Rescuing her? She nodded at Lily in answer to her question, then glanced at Logan in the hopes he would help her clear the fog from her brain, but he never said a word.

Brenna set Lily back on the floor and sent her out the door.

Torrian, who’d been standing next to his parents, came up to her next and said, “Thank you, Aunt Gwyneth.”

From his position next to the wee lad, Quade leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Nice to see you awake again. Many thanks to you.” He stepped out of the room with Torrian, following Lily.

Rab still stood by the door, tears in his eyes as he gripped his bible to his chest. “You are well, sister?”

She could only shrug.

Brenna sat on the side of the bed and checked her wound briefly before standing and patting her hand. “I think you are on the mend. I’ll let you spend some time with your brother, then I shall return with some broth for you. You are still weak, so I don’t want you getting out of bed. Logan, keep her here.” She stood to leave.

Before turning to join her, Lady Ramsay grasped Gwyneth’s hand in hers and said, “You have my undying devotion, my dear.” Then the two of them stepped out of the room.

Rab and Logan were the only remaining visitors.

“I’ll leave you with your brother for a minute,” Logan said, glancing between the siblings. “Then I’ll return.” He clasped Father Rab’s shoulder before he left, closing the door behind him.

“Rab? What has happened?” She peered at her brother, hoping he could help her remember.

Pulling a chair up to her bedside, Rab sat and held her hands, first offering a prayer of thanks with his eyes closed, then a blessing.

“Rab?”

He kissed his cross and said, “You don’t recall? You saved Lily on your own. According to Lily, you climbed up a verra tall tree to rescue her from her bonds and carried her down on your back.”

Gwyneth rubbed her forehead as the memories returned to her. “Aye, now I recall. The board and the trees. It was terrible, Rab. I was so frightened.”

“But you conquered your fear of heights. Lily said you even dodged the board when it came hurtling down through the branches, and that if you hadn’t swung the two of you to the side of the tree, you would both have been hit in the head.”

Gwyneth groaned when she tried to lift her leg. “Aye, I have a wee gash on my leg. I was bleeding…”

“Wee gash? Hardly. You bled and bled, ‘tis why you are still so weak. Brenna was worried about you, but no more so than Logan and I. But you are better, I think.”

“Aye, I am still tired, but I will be fine. You are well?”

“Other than the two years of my life you have frightened off me, I am fine. Gwyneth, Logan does love you. I was able to see just how much over these last few days. You still wish to marry him?”

“Aye, I do, Rab. But will you ever be able to forgive me for leaving you? I like it here. I don’t want to be in Glasgow anymore, with all the reminders of
before
. His family is wonderful, his clan members are wonderful. I think I would like to stay.”

“I certainly will support you in whatever you want, and I must tell you that Quade and Lady Ramsay have invited me to stay and be the priest for his clan. They have a lovely small chapel, and Logan, Micheil and Quade have promised to build a small room on the back for me to live in. If you agree, I would like to accept. Mayhap someday I will have a niece or nephew to love.” He smiled, awaiting her answer.

She reached for her brother and gave him a hug. “Aye, Rab. Naught would make me happier than to have you here with me. I think ‘twill be good for both of us.”

Rab chuckled and kissed her cheek. He stood up and said, “I love you, Gwyneth. You have made me verra proud and happy. I will take my leave. I know Lady Ramsay would like to speak with you in private.”

Gwyneth’s brow furrowed, and all she could think was,
What have I done wrong?

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lady Ramsay strode into her chamber. Her head held high, she sat on the chair next to Gwyneth’s bed, adjusting her skirts just so before folding her hands in her lap.

Gwyneth had no idea what to expect from the woman.

“My dear, I hope you do not mind that I asked to speak with you alone. This is not something I would say in front of my sons, so I hope you will keep my confidence.” She cleared her throat before meeting Gwyneth’s eyes.

Gwyneth nodded, not knowing what else to say.

“When you first came here, I was happy to have you in our lives because of the light you have brought to my son. I have always worried about Logan. He is a strong man, aye, but I know that his heart is often soft. As his mother, I knew why he wandered, and I didn’t think he would ever be able to stop.

“Logan was overjoyed to be an uncle to both Torrian and Lily. When Torrian took ill, Logan took it verra hard. He adored his nephew and wanted to make him well again. He struggled with his inability to help the bairn. Then Lily came along and fell ill to the same sickness.” She glanced at her hands as she struggled to control her breathing. Gwyneth guessed she was close to tears.

“Along came Brenna Grant, who gave me my grandchildren back. How I have enjoyed them since she has conquered their sickness. Aye, they can become ill occasionally, but never in the way they did before. And Brenna pulled my firstborn back from a verra low place. I will always thank her for that.

“Enter a new terror, Iona, who ripped all of our hearts again by kidnapping our precious Lilykins.” She paused to wipe a tear from her face. “I am here to thank you for what you did, because I don’t think you exactly realize what you did.”

Gwyneth stared at her, confusion keeping her from speaking.

“When everyone returned,” Lady Ramsay continued. “I heard the same thing from both of my sons and from many of our guards. They had given up, believing they’d searched every area where Lily could possibly be hidden. Aye, Logan had dealt with Iona, but he had not found his niece.

“But not you. Gwyneth of the Cunninghams continued on where all the men had failed. Only you, a lass, were clever enough to find my granddaughter. And Logan and your brother say that you have a debilitating fear of heights… I am amazed at what you have accomplished.”

Tears slid down her cheeks and she pulled a linen square from the folds of her skirt to mop the dampness from her cheeks. “I was going to fight you about marrying my son in your leggings and your tunics. I thought I could convince you to dress appropriately, at least for the wedding. But no more.”

She stood from her chair abruptly. “If anyone has anything to say about how you dress, they will have to deal with me.”

Gwyneth stared at her soon-to-be mother, shocked, but didn’t dare interrupt her.

“For I know, if it had not been for you, we may have lost our darling Lily. If you had not been dressed as you were, you would not have been able to scale that tree or carry my granddaughter down. You would not have been able to cut her free or pull her out of the way of that board when it fell. Truth is,” she stared at the ceiling, fighting the tears that threatened to overflow and slow her voice, “Had you not come along when you did, Lily says she would have catapulted to the ground…or been left to hang there with her hand still tied to the tree.” The woman broke into a sob.

Gwyneth felt she needed to say something. “Lady Ramsay, you do not need to continue. What happened, happened.”

She jerked her head up to stare at Gwyneth. “Oh, but I do. Had it not been for you, my granddaughter would be dead. My sons would not have made it in time. Even Brenna says she was close to death when they brought her here.

“So I pledge to you, my new soon-to-be daughter, that I will never again question your judgment. Wear a tunic, dress as you will. You have made all of us verra happy, especially my son. Welcome to my family, and may God bless you.”

She collected herself before leaning over to place both hands on Gwyneth’s cheeks. “I thank you for being who you are, and I am pleased we have found a new priest to stay with us and bless our clan.” With that, she kissed Gwyneth’s forehead and spun around, closing the door behind her.

***

Logan paced the corridor while his mother spoke to Gwyneth. He didn’t know why his mother had asked to speak to her alone, but he trusted her to do what was right. That wasn’t what caused him to pace.

He paced because he had something to do, and he needed to do it soon. He felt he needed to be honest with his wife to be, and he would let her decide whether or not she still wanted to marry him. Aye, he loved Gwyneth, but could he handle what life could bring to his loved ones?

He had always been able to control most of his life until wee Torrian had become ill. How he loved his family. Watching Quade and his mother be ripped apart by Torrian’s illness upset him beyond belief. And when Lily had come down with the same thing? He had been so low, he hadn’t known if he could pull himself out. So he had run away.

He ran and ran whenever he couldn’t control a situation—just like he had felt in the middle of the forest when Iona had died without telling him where Lily was. All the guards in his clan hadn’t been able to find Lily, and after all his efforts, he had been ready to give up.

He was willing to give up on his niece, the wee lass that had a smile that could light up an entire room had needed him and he had given up. Did he have the right to marry someone? How could he protect his wife and his own bairns if he was a quitter?

The door flung open and his mother strode out with a red face, swollen eyes, and a linen square in her hand. She hugged him without saying a word and left.

Logan put a smile on his face and headed into Gwyneth’s chamber. He kissed her cheek and sat on the chair next to the bed. “All went well with my mother?”

“Aye.” She glanced at him and said, “What’s wrong?”

He stretched his smile wider. “Naught. May I ask you something?”

Her brow furrowed and she said, “Of course.”

“How did you do it? How did you fight off one of your biggest fears?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your fear of heights. You are petrified of climbing trees. How did you climb up and get Lily down when the doing of it must have made you ill?” He had to know.

“I had no choice. There was a wee voice whimpering in a tree begging me to climb up and get her. She was tethered to the tree. The only way she could get down was if I went up.”

“But what made you come to that decision, that you were the only answer?”

“Well, I did try something else. I told Growley to go find you, because I knew you could climb up there without any problem.”

“And?”

“Big help he was,” she snorted. “All he did was stare at me and wag his tail every time Lily spoke.”

“That’s it? Growley wouldn’t leave, so you climbed the tree? There must have been something else driving you.” He leaned forward, awaiting her answer.

“Nay, Logan. Lily begged me. What else could I do?”

“How difficult was it? You must have done it quickly.”

“Nay, I was not as fast as I should have been. I had my moments of nausea and dizziness where I wanted to go back down the tree, but there was no alternative. I did what Da taught me long ago. I took the first step, trusting the rest would follow. He was right. I knew Lily was too weak to come down on her own even if she hadn’t been tethered. I could hear it in her voice.”

He leaned over and cupped her face, then brought his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. When he pulled back, she gave him a confused look.

“Are you having second thoughts?” she asked.

“I’m doubting myself, not you.” He settled back in his chair. “I just don’t know if I would make a good husband and father.”