“’Tis where he wanted to come and Captain Vance has already sent for the physician from Glenfinnan,” Annie replied. “Niall said ye were Alasdair’s brother by marriage—”
“Alasdair? Niall? Ye have a MacDonald in there?” Ian pushed past her without waiting for a response and jerked the door wide and then cursed. “God Almighty! He is near death.”
Jillian gestured toward two soldiers standing nearby. “Come here and assist.”
“Just have them get the door,” Ian said as he pulled Niall halfway out of the carriage, then stooped to bring Niall over his shoulder. With a grunt, he stood and began walking toward the house.
Annie stared after him. Niall was a solidly built man and not short, yet Ian MacLeod did not seem to be bothered by the weight. Jillian caught her look and smiled. “As laird of this branch of MacLeods, my husband also insists on being the strongest.”
“Laird? I thought the English outlawed that claim,” Annie said as she and Jillian followed Ian inside.
“Oh, they have.” Jillian smiled again. “But one thing I have learned since marrying Ian is that Highlanders do not much care what the English think.”
“But ye are English?”
Jillian nodded. “It is a long story and one which you will probably have time to hear while your…husband?…heals.”
“He is nae my husband.” Annie felt her face warm at Jillian’s inquiring look. “’Tis a long story too.”
“Then it can wait,” Jillian answered as two identical-looking girls no more than four-and-ten rushed into the foyer, trying to shout over each other.
“Who is the stranger?”
“Why is he here?”
“Was that why the carriage—”
“Hush,” Jillian said and looked at Annie. “Our nieces, Kaitlin and Kaylin. They are a rather long story, too.” She turned back to them. “I want one of you to go upstairs and get the faerie stone,then go to the glade in the forest and wait for the crone. Bring her here.”
“We will both do it!” one of them said as they rushed off.
“And no loitering!” Jillian called after them.
“The faerie stone?” Annie asked as they followed the twins up the stairs at a somewhat slower pace. “I ken of rumors that Clan MacLeod keeps the remnants of a faerie flag at Dunvegan castle on Skye, but I have nae heard of a stone.”
Jillian nodded. “The flag is part of the ancestral legend, but the stone was given to me by a young girl at the local market two years ago. It is brown with a golden streak through it, much like my hair. The child said a faerie lived inside and I could call on her for help if I needed it.”
“And ye think she spoke true? That the stone has powers?” Annie tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice, but Jillian probably heard it, because she raised one shoulder in a half-shrug.
“I can only tell you that when Bridget and I went back to look for the girl, she was nowhere to be found and no one else had seen her.” Jillian hesitated and then went on. “And, a few weeks later, when my life was in danger, a young woman appeared out of what seemed nowhere and intervened.” Jillian stopped in front of a door on the second floor. “But enough on me. It is your…um, Niall…that is in danger now. The Crone of the Hills is a healer.”
Jillian opened the door and stepped aside to let Annie enter. She looked around in amazement. In the few minutes it had taken for them to get up here, servants were bustling about. One maid stoked the fire in the hearth while another poured water into a kettle and set it in front of the fire to heat. A third ripped strips of linen into bandages while a fourth dipped a washcloth into a basin and pressed it to Niall’s forehead and then down his neck and on to his shoulders as he lay in the bed, a crispwhite sheet pulled halfway up his bare chest. All of his clothing, including the bloodied breeches, lay neatly folded in a stack at the foot of the bed. Annie frowned, wondering which one of the maids had undressed Niall. They were all young.
Ian stood in the middle of the room, an apparent pillar of stone in the midst of all the movement. The servants were evidently well-trained—not a surprise if they considered Ian their laird—because he didn’t say a word but commanded with a glance.
He did look somewhat relieved, though, when Jillian came in to take charge. “I will go and get the crone.”
“I have already sent the twins for her,” Jillian said, looking around the room with a practiced eye.
“The twins? Are ye sure that was a good idea? The healer has nae liking for the noise they make. She might well hide instead.”
Jillian shook her head. “She will come when she sees the stone.”
Ian grimaced. “Let us hope they doona lose it first.”
“They will not lose it.”
Annie didn’t know how Jillian could be so sure, but she moved away from the conversation and went to stand by Niall’s side. She held out her hand to the maid who was semi-bathing Niall. “I will do that.”
