The Healer by Allison Butler Page A

mustered to tame his sinful thoughts slipped a notch every time she gasped. The scent of lavender wafting from her silky hair and skin only heightened his sense of wickedness.
    She swiftly gathered her herbs, gently ordered Edan to rest before bidding the lad a good night and walked to the door. William reached for the latch and hesitated. Her gaze slowly travelled the length of his arm, burned a path over his shoulder and up along his neck, until her eyes met his.
    A sinful thought broke free. ‘Have you no commands or wishes for me?’
    Her gaze dropped to his chest and skittered away. ‘I suggest you rid yourself of your wet clothes...’ She stopped speaking and looked at him with shock in her wide eyes.
    The urge to smile tugged at his lips. He suppressed it. ‘Are you offering to help me?
    ‘No.’
    His mouth curved faintly as her pale cheeks turned scarlet and she clutched her satchel closely to her chest.
    ‘‘Tis as well I can see to myself then.’ He opened the door and watched her hastily cross the hall, shutting herself inside her chamber.
    Fixing the latch in place, he studied Edan’s sleeping form for a moment, before he finally stripped out of his sodden clothes.
    He stepped into the tub and sank down into the lukewarm water, relieved it had cooled. Though bone-weary from lack of sleep and mind-weary from his constant worry over Edan, the part of him that proved him male stood proud and tall, craving attention.
    Thank the saints he’d asked Mary to uncover the healer’s secrets for him. He could then learn all he wanted to know about her but only need suffer her unsettling presence each time she tended Edan. It would be safer this way, safer for him and for her.
    William groaned and slipped beneath the tepid water.

Chapter 10
    LYNELLE woke as Mary entered her room with a laden tray the next morning. She dragged herself up in the bed. Despite spending the night in such a luxurious bed, she hadn’t slept well. Her dreams had been tormented by images of a damp shirt, clinging to the muscled contours of a powerful chest, and dark eyes full of mischief.
    ‘Morn, lass.’
    Pushing her mussed hair from her face, she watched the older woman potter about, fussing with the hide draping the arrow-slit window and checking Lynelle’s boots drying before the dying hearth. The tub had been removed while she’d tended Edan the night before. ‘Have you seen Edan this morn? Is he well?’
    ‘Aye. He slept the full night and is resting in his chamber.’
    Lynelle slid her feet to the cold, wooden floor and crossed to the small round table where Mary had left the tray. ‘You should not be serving me.’
    The older woman turned and looked at her. ‘Ach! Sit and eat, lass. Start with the bowl of oats. They taste better warm.’
    Perching on the stool, Lynelle scooped up the oats with a spoon made of bone. Combined with goat’s milk, the oats were delicious.
    ‘If I didn’t bring you something to break your fast, you’d waste away to naught.’ Lynelle paused from eating the next spoonful. ‘The laird has commanded you to stay within this chamber.’
    Lynelle’s stomach tightened at hearing the truth of what she was. Although she was confined to a beautifully decorated room instead of the cold, slimy dungeon she’d imagined, she was a prisoner.
    She’d known what to expect, had believed she’d prepared for the worse. But still. Lowering her lashes to hide the disappointment she shouldn’t be feeling, she took another mouthful. The oats now tasted like ashes. She pushed the tray away, leaving the bread and cheese untouched, and sipped from her cup, swilling the cool water around in her mouth.
    She mustn’t let disappointment find her again.
    ‘Whose chamber is this?’
    Mary ceased tidying the bed. Three heartbeats later she resumed smoothing the covers. ‘This was sweet Rhona’s room. She was sister to William and Edan.’
    Lynelle’s disappointment lessened as her gaze wandered about the feminine