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“Maybe she wasnae the target per say, but ye.”
“Ye think Henry attacked her to get to me?”
“Think about it,” Damon said. “He wasnae too keen on givin’ up the name last night now, was he? And nay one seems to ken when exactly he left last night. Could have been waitin’ for ye to seek out that Joseph O’Mallie he told ye about. But instead, she left the castle first.”
“I want him brought to me,” Conner growled.
Damon was out of the room in a flash.
“Tell me what happened,” Conner said to Olivia. “Leave nay detail out.”
Olivia swallowed hard as she tried to settle into the pillows. Her eyes darted to the ceiling as her lips trembled. She shook her head.
“Gale,” she gasped. “She was hurt. Please tell me she’ll be alright. I cannae bear the thought of her bein’ put down. Nae after her bravery.”
“I’ll see that she is well cared for,” Conner promised as he moved to the edge of the bed. With a trembling hand, he reached to touch her foot. Looking at Olivia so helplessly on the bed made him want to cry. Seeing how her face was scratched and her legs streaked with mud, it caused anger to rumble like a volcano deep within his bones. “Tell me, what dae ye remember? Anythin’, anythin’ at all. Dae ye remember how yer attacker looked? Color of his hair?”
Olivia clutched the blanket as her breathing intensified. “There was a scar runnin’ down his face. Sandy blond hair.”
She shook her head as if trying to shake the thought from her mind. It was clear she was shaken beyond belief. Conner dropped his head as Ana entered the room. The servant girl quickly went to work, cleaning off the mud from Olivia’s legs.
“Give it here,” Conner snapped as he watched Ana cause Olivia more pain than necessary. He wanted to lash out at Ana telling her to be gentle, but he bit his tongue and snatched the linen out of the servant’s hands.
Ever so carefully, Conner brushed the wet fabric over Olivia’s toes until they were clean. Dunking the linen in the water, he moved up her leg, removing all the debris that was caked on it. With each stroke of his hand, he cleared away a bit more of her skin. His eyes lingered on the dark, red marks around her ankles and he let out a gasp. Curling his fingers around the bone of her ankle, he knew instantly what caused the markings.
“Thank heavens,” he mumbled as he noticed her legs were bruised, but not cut. “Can ye move yer legs for me?”
“Aye,” Olivia said, wiggling them to prove they were alright.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled as he noticed her fighting back the tears. “I’ll be fine, I promise. It was just, when the arrow hit Garric he had nay choice but to collapse. He didnae mean to fall on me.”
“It’ll be alright,” the healer said as he continued to clean the scratches on her arm.
Conner flexed his jaw. He wanted to scream at the old man that this was not alright. How Olivia was hurt because of him. If he hadn’t gotten into the fight with her earlier she wouldn’t have taken off without him. And if she hadn’t been alone, Conner knew this wouldn’t have happened.
It took all he had not to let the guilt ram him into the floor. Although he wished he would be crushed into nothing but pulp, he had to remain strong, at least for Olivia.
“As far as I can tell,” the healer said with a hint of a smile, “Ye’ll be fine in a day or two. Although, ye might want to drink some willow bark tea for the pain. And maybe soak a bit in a lavender bath.”
“Ana,” Conner glanced over at the servant girl. “Get a bath ready for her.”
“Aye, M’Laird,” Ana said as she gave a quick bow and flew to the door.
“Yer lucky,” the healer said to Olivia causing more guilt to be piled onto Conner’s shoulders. “If the horse would have fallen faster, or even to the right a bit more, ye would have lost the use of yer legs.”
“Then I must have had an angel watchin’ over me today,” Olivia said as she patted the old man’s hand.
“A good bath and a dram or two will dae ye wonders,” he said. “But who could have done such a thin’ to ye, lass? Who would be so bold as to attack ye?”
“That’s what I want to ken,” Conner growled as the rage bubbled in him, ready to spill out of him like magma.
“I daenae ken,” Olivia said, her lips trembling. “Garric took me to the river. We came back… There was a man. The one wit’ the scar down his face,” Olivia’s fingertips grazed over her face as Conner watched her face shift between horror and shock. He knew there was no way he could make her forget this or make it better for her. All he could do was see that justice was served against the man who had caused her so much trauma.
“I thought he was injured. He lay on the side near the trees. His horse was down, nae even movin’. But then, when I got closer, he sprang up and chased me. I tried…” Tears streamed down Olivia’s face as she closed her eyes. Conner darted to her side. He inched over the edge of the bed and scooped her head into his chest, holding her. He wished more than anything to take her pain from her.
Olivia’s body rocked as he held her tight. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his vest as she pulled him closer.
“Shh, yer safe now,” Conner whispered as the healer stepped back and gave a sharp nod. Conner watched as the old man slipped out of the room, leaving them alone.
