looked down. “We are all gifted, though in different ways. I’m the best healer, though the others can manage simple wounds. Kylia can also see the past, and on occasion, look into the future. What’s even more impressive, she can look into a man’s heart and see good or evil. Then there’s Gwenellen…” Just the thought of her youngest sister had Allegra smiling. “She has not yet discovered her gifts, though I’m certain she will in time.”
Merrick seemed most interested in Kylia’s gift. “You say your sister can look in a man’s heart. What if she sees both good and evil?”
“She would see both, but would not judge him. Kylia is far too sweet to ever judge another.”
“And what of you, Allegra?” The name rolled off his tongue like honey and startled him for a moment, for it was the first time he’d said it aloud. His tone softened. “Are you sweet like your sister, or are you a witch to be feared?”
She looked up, and he felt the smoldering heat of her anger. “Are you like all the others, my lord? Eager to use my gift when it suits your purpose, then resorting to cruel names to brand me different?”
He reached for his goblet, avoiding her eyes. Her words were too close to the mark, and shamed him. But he’d be damned if he’d ask forgiveness of this…this tart-tongued female. “We waste time talking, woman. We’ll eat, and then you can return your attention to my son.”
Allegra shivered as the cold settled into her bones once more. Whatever tenuous truce they’d attempted, it had dissolved like the wisps of fog that often drifted over the Enchanted Loch until banished by the sun.
The man across the table was once more the demanding lord. And she, like it or not, his unwilling captive.
Chapter Four
Merrick sat brooding while Allegra finished her meal in stony silence. Why should he feel guilty for calling her a witch? Isn’t that what she was? Still, she’d looked so hurt. A hurt that had now turned to stony anger. He couldn’t help comparing that with the way she’d looked when she’d been speaking of her family. There had been such sweetness about her. A light had come into her eyes that made them glow as green as a Highland loch. And for a moment high color had bloomed on her cheeks, making her as fresh and colorful as the flowers in her garden.
It was natural that she missed her family. Didn’t he miss his home whenever he was off fighting a battle? Of course, the choice to stay or leave was his alone to make, and she’d been given no such choice. But this was different. Fate had backed him to the wall and he’d had to fight his way out. If he felt a twinge of guilt about taking her far from her home, he quickly brushed it aside. He couldn’t afford to care about anyone but Hamish. If the witch healed the lad, she would soon enough be back with her sisters in the Mystical Kingdom.
What a strange place it had been. Lush and green, with brilliant flowers that grew taller than a man and the air perfumed like a lover’s chamber. It wasn’t only the air that was sweeter. The light there had been touched with such amazing color, gilding everything with gold and precious jewels. Even the drops of water in the Enchanted Loch had glowed like pearls.
He’d caught glimpses of creatures there that he’d never seen anywhere else in the Highlands. Winged horses, small and delicate, yet big enough to carry a woman or child. At least, he’d thought they were horses. One minute he saw them, the next they vanished from his line of vision. He’d also spotted tiny fairies flitting through the tallest branches of the trees. He’d seen a halo of light around them, and had heard their voices, whispering and giggling. But like the horses, one minute they were there, the next they were gone, and he’d wondered if he’d actually seen and heard them, or if he’d only imagined it.
Then he’d caught sight of Allegra tending her garden, and he’d been oblivious to all else around him. At first he’d refused to believe what he saw. Why would a witch tend a garden in an enchanted land? Couldn’t she simply command that the crops grow, and her wish would be granted? But there she was, lost in her work, giving him time to bask in her rare beauty.
Her gown of rich green, shot with gold threads, appeared to have been spun by angels. It had draped the most perfect body, all willow slender and softly rounded curves. Fiery hair hung down her back in one long fat braid, twined with green ribbons. On her feet had been dainty kid slippers. But the hoe in her hand had been plain and serviceable. And she’d worked it with all the fervor of a peasant. That only added to his fascination.
It seemed incongruous that one so lovely could work until her hands were calloused and blistered.
For a moment he’d been so taken by her beauty, he’d nearly fallen under her spell. But the thought of Hamish, and what he must do to save his son, had hardened his heart.
It had almost happened again just now when he’d carried her to the table. The press of that body to his had him thinking things that were better left alone. Thoughts of lying with her, of pleasuring himself with her, had been nearly overpowering. And when her mouth had barely skimmed his throat, he’d found himself drowning in sensations.
Even now she seemed a contradiction. All buttoned up in that prim night shift, while her hair flowed about her face and shoulders and spilled down her back like a veil of fire.
He would have to remember to protect his heart from this woman. After all, despite her pretense at innocence, this was no ordinary maiden. She would know every trick to steal a man’s mind, his heart and finally his soul. For the sake of Hamish, Merrick knew he had to be strong.
He had no fear of her. After all, he was a seasoned warrior. He knew how to do battle against his enemy.
He looked up with a start when he realized that she’d spoken. “Forgive me. I was deep in thought.”
She inclined her head. “I said now that Cook’s fine meal has restored my strength, I’ll do what you brought me here to do. It’s time I saw to your son.”
He pushed away from the table and snagged his ale before following her across the room. There he slouched in a chaise, his long legs crossed at the ankles, watching with keen interest as she perched on the edge of the boy’s pallet.
She smoothed the balm over the lad’s forehead, then gently lifted his head and spread more at the base of his skull.
Merrick felt his skin prickling, and found himself wondering what it would be like to have her touch him like that. He could almost feel those long, delicate fingers moving over him, caressing, arousing.
Annoyed, he put aside such thoughts to watch and learn the ways of this witch.
She touched her fingertips to Hamish’s temples and closed her eyes. She remained that way for so long, Merrick began to wonder what it was she was feeling. Her expressive face showed such a range of emotions. One minute she was smiling, the next her brow furrowed into a frown of deep concentration. She was relaxed for the space of a heartbeat, and then her face was twisted in pain. So much pain.
Merrick felt a jolt of understanding. Could it be that she was experiencing everything the lad was experiencing?
Suddenly she opened her eyes, staring down at Hamish as she began to chant in an ancient tongue.
The words were meaningless to Merrick, but he found them oddly soothing. Her voice, naturally low in pitch, was mesmerizing. He had to fight the urge to close his eyes and let that rich voice wash over him.
