A Healer For The Highlander

Of anything the woman could say, this was completely unexpected.

‘The witch?’

‘Aye, ye ken the stories that have been told for years of the witch living above Caig Falls.’

‘I ken the stories, but have not heard mention of her since...’ Since he himself was but a lad and his best friend Malcolm claimed to have found her. ‘For a long time now.’

‘She was not a witch, but a wise woman, ye ken. She disappeared some years ago and has not been heard of since. But, a few days ago, one of the lads climbing the falls fell and a woman saw to his injury before sending him home.’ Suisan stared at him then. ‘I think she has returned.’

‘You think she could help Colm?’

‘Ye have tried everything else in yer power to try, Davidh. Why not see if she can?’

Suisan knelt at Colm’s side and smoothed the blankets over his frail form. He’d been ill for so long that he was smaller than most lads his age.

‘I will seek her out.’ Davidh smiled and nodded. He felt better knowing he had some kind of plan. The possibility that something or someone could help his son lifted his spirits for that moment and gave him purpose.

‘If ye have duties to see to, I can still tend him.’ Suisan stood then. ‘Come and join us for supper. Ye can take him home for the night then.’

Davidh watched the shallow rise and fall of Colm’s chest for a short time. It seemed even and strong enough for now and every hour that his son did not struggle for breath was a good one. Davidh nodded at Suisan. ‘I should return to the castle.’

‘Go then!’ she said, waving him out. ‘I suspect he will sleep most of the day now.’

Davidh returned to the keep, knowing that Suisan would take good and thorough care of Colm. But, with his sister married and moved to Edinburgh, his father and, more recently, his mother deceased and Mara gone these last three years, he realised this was not a solution to his problem. What he needed was a strong and healthy son.

* * *

Anna Mackenzie stood at the top of the falls, a short distance from the cottage she’d reclaimed, and stared down to the bottom. Memories washed over her, memories made more bittersweet by the knowledge that she would never see Malcolm again. Oh, she had not fooled herself into thinking that being here would be easy, but she owed it to her son...to their son.

Could she do this? Could she live here as her mother had all those years ago? The similarities she noticed over the last few years between her mother’s life and hers were a bit unnerving. Especially as she stood here now while her child explored the hillside and area around the cottage. Had it truly been ten-and-three years since she had stood here in this very place and dreamed of a future with the man she loved?

Suddenly she felt much older than her years.

Iain came around the cottage and she watched his approach. A pang of guilt rushed through her as she realised he was a handful of years off the age she’d been when she’d met his father...and loved him. Iain kenned little about Malcolm other than the barest of details she needed to tell him to pacify his growing curiosity. That interest had spurred her on to return here and seek out his father’s kin. She owed her son and his father at least that.

Anna waved the boy over to her side and pointed down to the bottom, near the pool that gathered in the waters of the falls.

‘They call that the “Witch’s Pool”. Many have tried to climb that path along the edge to reach the top.’ Anna traced the path with her extended hand, showing it to her son. ‘They never see the true path that begins over there in that copse near the large rock.’

‘And my father did?’ Iain asked.

He was at that age between childhood and manhood and hungered for knowledge of his origin. He needed a father, someone to guide him on those final steps that she could not. She’d refused a few offers of marriage since his birth, always knowing deep inside that she wanted him to know his own people. She’d always known that this day would come. Smiling at him, she nodded as she noticed that he’d gained another few inches and now stood taller than she did.

‘Aye. But not before trying the slippery one a few times.’

Iain’s laughter rang out through the trees and she once more noticed the resemblance to his father. Was it there or had she just made herself believe she remembered so many little details about the short relationship? Did her memory reveal things in the way she wanted to see them?

‘Look, Mam.’ Iain pointed into the distance at the road that led to the falls from the loch to the south.

A man rode towards the falls. She had wondered how long it would take for her presence here to be revealed when she’d helped the lad days ago. Here was her answer. She let out a sigh and shook her head. Now, they would come as they had before, some seeking the witch while others came simply for the challenge of climbing the falls.

When the man slowed on the road and glanced up at the falls, Anna drew her son back into the shadows of the thick forest here at the top. They could not be heard over the crashing waters of the falls, but if the light fell just right through the trees, they could be seen. And she did not wish that yet.

She had tasks to finish, plants to sort and the weeds to clear from the garden before she would be ready to begin offering her services to the villagers here. Her mother had taught her the knowledge of herbs and plants before she’d passed two years ago. Anna had been content to remain among the Mackenzies until that day, then the restlessness began. The news of the Camerons’ recent upheaval and new chieftain only confirmed her decision that it was time. Gilbert Cameron’s reputation as a ruthless man had kept her away, but his demise and his older brother’s installation as chieftain drew her here.

It was time.

‘Have a care, Iain,’ she warned as her son walked away. ‘Until we know if we are welcome here.’

Her son nodded and then crept off into the forest, exploring as lads did when they found a new place. No doubt he would bring home some fowl or rabbit for supper in his explorations. His hunting skills along with his ability to accept and to adjust to new situations surprised her, but she thanked the Almighty her son had them. It was easier to move as they must and not have to deal with a resistant boy of his age.

Anna returned to the cottage and began the daunting task of cleaning it. Once cleaned she could organise the rest—the plants and supplies. Time sped along as she accomplished many of the tasks she must before day’s end. The crunching of twigs and leaves outside her opened door warned her of Iain’s approach.

‘Good day.’

Anna glanced up to find a tall man standing at her door. His height and breadth almost blocked it completely as he stood there outside. As she walked closer, she realised he was crouching down to look inside the cottage door, which was too short for him.

It was the man they’d seen below, walking along the road. The plaid wrapped around his waist and over his shoulders identified him as a Cameron. From the dryness of that garment, she realised that he’d not climbed the falls to get here. That meant he knew the other path to reach this place. And that did not bode well for her and her privacy or security.

‘Good day, sir,’ she said.

Anna wiped her hands on the apron at her waist and pushed the loosened strands of hair out of her sweaty face. She must look an utter mess with her dirty gown and face. While he...was dangerously attractive.

The man had gathered his long, dark brown hair back away from his face which allowed her to see its masculine angles. And his intense eyes that were the colour of the darkest wood in the forest. And his strong chin. He was the most attractive man she’d ever met, here on Cameron lands or in the north on Mackenzie lands. She swallowed to ease the nervousness at that realisation as her throat tightened and tried to speak past it.

‘I did not mean to interrupt you,’ he said, stepping back as she approached him. ‘I have heard that you are...’ He paused then, as though not able to utter the word that most used.

‘The Witch of Caig Falls,’ she said.

Chapter Two (#u9395dc2f-8b29-5217-aaa3-1b63620cc54c)

‘I was about to say healer, but if you would prefer the other...’

She’d blurted out the reply before he could finish his sentence. He guessed it was not the first time someone had called her a witch. Davidh watched as her green eyes widened for a moment and then they sparkled as she smiled. Her full, pink lips curved into an enticing and intriguing one as he wondered if she considered the name a curse or a compliment.

She laughed then and he could not look away. The smudges of dirt across her face did little to hide the freckles on her cheeks. And the curls that had escaped her kerchief showed strands of fiery red and copper amidst the other shades of brown. His hand lifted to pull more of the locks free and Davidh struggled to stop himself.

‘Nay, healer is preferred since it is truer than the other.’

Davidh was not convinced. Mayhap she was bewitching him with some spell as she stared at him now? His mouth went dry as she stepped closer and he forgot to move back to allow her to pass. Her body brushed his as she walked away from the door and he turned to follow her movements. Something within him woke, a feeling unfamiliar for it had been so long since he’d noticed it last.

She intrigued him. She appealed to him in a way he could not describe. She aroused him.

‘’Tis the healer I came seeking, but I expected someone...older. Are you the one who saw to Tavish?’

‘The lad who fell and twisted his ankle? About two-and-ten?’

‘Aye. That one. He sang your praises to his family and to others. That is how I discovered you were here.’