Page 65 of Her Accidental Highlander Husband

Mari was grateful to have something useful to do and turned to her task.

“Cam, can you hear me?” Kenna said, and Mari paused to see if her husband responded. A slight grunt from the bed nearly made her drop the pot. She let out a breath in relief.

She knew he was far from fine, but he had responded. There was hope.

Abagail cut off Cam’s shirt in one quick move and hummed in disapproval, only glancing at the gash before looking away.

Mari’s hands trembled as she bent to start a fire. It took a few tries, but soon there was a blaze glowing in the fireplace, and she placed the pot over it to boil. She left the room briefly to gather linens, then started ripping them into strips for bandages.

When she returned, she stayed off in a corner, out of the way. She told herself she kept back so the others could help him, but in truth she was afraid to get too close. Afraid he wouldn’t make it. She couldn’t stand to see him like this, for she was too much a coward. She’d come to need this man for much more than his protection.

Using her arm she wiped a tear from her cheek and focused on the small part she could do to help the man she loved.

Lachlan came into the room with a scowl. “How is he?” He directed his question to Kenna, who was handling the situation like a warrior.

“The cut on his chest needs to be stitched. He’s lost a fair amount of blood.”

“Check him over well. I saw him lying in the field, and before I could get to him I saw a horse run past. It may have stepped on him. I wasn’t close enough to know for sure.”

At that, Mari gasped and came back to Cam’s side. She took his hand, hoping he wasn’t bleeding internally. Many times when a horse stepped on someone, the injury was not easily seen.

Abagail added her own assessment. “A few ribs are broken. Nothing too bad. You stitch him, Kenna. You’ve a fine hand.”

Mari turned away so as not to tell them to hurry. It didn’t matter how the stitches looked—the man was already covered with scars. They needed to stop the bleeding quickly. They needed to save him.

How had she become so reliant on this man in such a short time? She’d not wanted to marry, yet now she couldn’t imagine the pain of losing her husband. So much had changed.

“Mari, open the window so we can get fresh air,” Abagail said.

She did as she was asked, feeling helpless. She wished she could take her husband’s care into her own hands. She knew a bit about healing, but unfortunately she’d been on the wrong end of it to do any good now. The few times the duke had allowed a doctor to be called, she’d been in too much pain to pay close attention to the practice.

“Mari,” Cam whispered so low she thought she might have imagined it.

When the other women looked at her expectantly, she hurried to his side. “I’m here.”

“Sorry…promise…”

It only took her a second to realize he was speaking of the promise she’d forced from him before he left.

“Shh. Don’t worry. I knew what could happen. I made you say those words so I would feel better. It was wrong for me to ask it of you. Besides, you promised to come back, and you did come back.”

He winked at her.

“Save your strength.”

“Stay,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“Of course. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

“Always.”

She smiled and kissed the back of his hand. “If that’s what you want, then fine. I shall stay forever.”

His lips moved in the slightest hint of a smile.

Moments later, guilt tugged at her heart as she recalled her words. She’d asked him to promise something out of his control, and now she’d just made the same kind of promise. She could be gone by morning if Sir Ridley returned with an order from the king.

She shivered and squeezed Cam’s hand tighter.