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.
‘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.’
‘Are you ill?’ She leaned in towards him and took in his measure, glancing over his body and then staring once more into his eyes. ‘Have you a fever?’ She lifted her hand up as though to touch his forehead and paused, her hand waiting there a scant few inches from his skin. ‘Your pardon,’ she said as she dropped her hand back to her side.
‘I have no need of your services,’ he said. His choice of words was ill made and he shook his head. ‘My son has been ill for some time and nothing has helped him.’ Davidh shrugged, fighting the urge to beg her for any help she could offer.
‘I have not unpacked my supplies yet, but tell me of his symptoms so I will know if I can help him.’
He could not help it—he let out a loud sigh of relief. Something in her expression gave him confidence that she could indeed help his son.
‘His breathing becomes laboured often,’ he said.
It took a few minutes for him to describe all the ways his son had suffered over the last year and how he seemed to worsen by the week. She nodded as though she recognised these signs and symptoms and he found himself studying the way her brow gathered when she asked him to clarify something he’d said. She was methodical in a way the village healer was not. Her questions made sense to him as she tried to understand his son’s illness.
‘Can you help him?’ he asked when he’d finished.
‘I have my suspicions about the cause of his illness, but I must see him to be certain.’ She glanced around the small clearing in which this secluded cottage sat and then back towards the falls. ‘Can you bring him here on the morrow?’
Now Davidh looked at the surrounding land and wondered if it was possible. This
