Page 58 of How to Woo a Highlander

She made to get up, but William stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him questioningly.

“I think ye should let them talk, Jane. I was just there, and I left them alone to discuss things. I think it is better that way, considerin’ your relationship,” he added.

Jane blushed at his mention of their relationship. She still felt somewhat embarrassed that William knew of her relationship with Alastair when she had not told him about it herself. She had forgotten entirely how clear her feelings would be known when she followed after Alastair. She had no idea how William felt about it.

“Jane, I just want ye to ken that I am in full support of yer relationship with Alastair. I ken that ye love him, and he loves ye too. I will never stand in the way of love. Ye have me blessin’. I hope to welcome ye to me lands as Alastair’s wife instead of mine,” he said.

Grateful tears sprang up in her eyes at his words. She hoped the same as he did. If only her father would agree to bless her relationship with Alastair. William gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze before getting up and limping out of the room, leaving her to her thoughts.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alastair sat on a stool in his chambers with John Baxendale sitting in front of him. The older man had just finished dressing his wounds a second time, and now he handed Alastair a tankard of ale, inviting him to drink.

The day before had been unlike any he had ever experienced. After William’s sword had struck Lain, they had been forced to stay and watch their former friend die. William’s expression had been stony, watching the light die out of Lain’s eyes.

It was after that the signal sounded, announcing Jane’s father had begun his attack on the Grant clan. Alastair had been unable to lift himself from the ground where he lay, clutching Jane’s unconscious body. There was a clear print of Lain’s hand on her face, and her cut lip was bleeding. He was sure she had lost a tooth as well. He had been more worried for her than himself.

William ordered a few soldiers to guard Alastair and Jane while he took the rest with him to join the fight. Alastair had no idea when he fell asleep, but the next thing he remembered was John Baxendale slapping him awake and yelling at the soldiers standing over them for allowing him to fall asleep.

He had been dizzy when John Baxendale forced him to drink some medicine and continued to keep him half-awake until they reached the castle. He vaguely remembered Jane’s governess screaming, thinking she was dead at first. Jane’s father had spent a surprising amount of attention on keeping him alive. He had him soak in a medicinal bath that made his injured body sting and only then did he wake up properly.

The Englishman had told him to bear the pain as it would keep his injuries from getting infected. Afterward, his wounds were bandaged after applying a medicinal salve. It was only then that the man allowed him to get into bed, and even then, he was not through, making him chew different plants and drink different medicines to help with the pain and make up for the blood loss.

He remembered asking where he had learned to heal, and John mentioned something about a foreigner from a faraway island and the plants that had helped heal him when he was injured. It was a story he planned to hear more of another time when he was sober. John had only left him to sleep when he was sure that he would stay alive.

He had come to see him that morning, along with William, who had helped him as they checked his wounds and reapplied his medicinal salve.

"You have proven to be a difficult man to kill. You know that?" John Baxendale suddenly said, taking a swig from his tankard. Alastair looked up at him in surprise. He had not expected that would be how the older man would choose to begin the conversation.

"Three arrows in the back and all three just happened to miss your vital organs. You're quite the lucky young man. Stubborn, too, considering how you still found the strength to attack the traitor after losing so much blood," he continued.

Alastair could not help but notice that the man sounded impressed. He stayed quiet, trying to decipher whether or not the conversation was going well. John Baxendale was drinking quite heavily. It was almost as though the man was trying to get himself drunk to hold a difficult conversation.

"You have been with my daughter, have you not?" the man said, causing Alastair to shrink in both embarrassment and concern. He knew that confessing he spent the night with Jane in front of her father would come back to bite him. Unable to deny it, he gave a decisive nod, downing a few gulps of ale for liquid courage.

John Baxendale chuckled, "I don't blame you, don't worry. My daughter left this castle and chased you into a warzone. That tells me everything I need to know already."

Alastair remained silent, not knowing how to respond. It was a rather funny conversation they were having as he had not spoken since they began. John Baxendale leaned forward, getting serious.

"I just want to know… Do you love my daughter?" he asked.

"Aye, I love her, sir," Alastair said immediately without even thinking for a second. At this, John Baxendale laughed, leaning back in his seat.

"That's good because she loves you. I don't think she will settle for anyone else. At first, I was following my ambitions when it came to marrying off Jane. I chose your friend because he was the most good-looking and respectable young Laird I could find. I hoped her heart would align with my ambitions. I think deep down, I knew I wouldn't have the heart to go against what she wanted in the end," he confessed.

As Alastair looked at the man, he saw how much he loved his daughter. It was impossible that he would not have questions to answer after leading English soldiers to fight a war in the Highlands for personal reasons. Yet John Baxendale had done it for Jane, without fear of the repercussions.

"You're lucky that I've come to like you, boy. I ought to fight you after touching my daughter when she was not your wife, but now I will settle for making her your wife since you have suffered enough," John said, getting to his feet. Alastair started to get up as well, but John waved him away.

"You should not be moving about so much. You are indeed lucky, but luck does not mean that you will not die if you're careless. I will leave you now. Make sure to get in bed and rest. I will go see my daughter…"

"Thank ye, Mr. Baxendale," Alastair hurriedly said as the man headed for the door. John gave him a small smile from over his shoulder.

"Take care of my daughter, boy. I'll be keeping an eye on you - just so you know," he said before opening the door and leaving.

"Aye, sir," Alastair said, even though John had already left.

Minding his injuries, which John had just treated and bandaged a second time, Alastair carried himself into bed. He was too tired to process all he was feeling. He wanted to see Jane.