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Chapter One
Isle of Mull, Seat of Clan MacLean, Late February 1718
Charlotte Andrews wiped the young man’s brow as he lay on the small bed in his cottage. “He’s nae been eating, mistress, I’ve tried everything.” An old woman stood next to her, wringing her hands. Tears began to form in her eyes. “I’ve nae seen a sickness like it. What could it be?”
Charlotte leaned back in her chair and sighed. She had not seen anything like it before either, and it troubled her that she was unable to come to a conclusion. She wanted to be there for these people, showing them that she was just as good as an educated male doctor, but here she was, struggling to find the answer. The young man and a few others on the island shared symptoms. They were heavily bruised; some of their teeth were loosening and threatening to fall out; they had purple gums and a dry, almost scale-like skin.
She was afraid something was spreading around the island, but she couldn’t decipher what the symptoms meant. It wasn’t scarlet fever, or sepsis, or anything like that. She turned to smile at the old woman. “I will do my best for him, ma’am. But I am unsure yet as to what the illness could be. Keep him resting and make sure he is drinking plenty of water if you can find it. Boil it first.”
“Should we nae set the leeches upon him?”
Charlotte shook her head violently. “No, I beg you would not do that. There are much better ways of dealing with an illness. I will think on it and see what I can do for your son. I will come to you tomorrow.”
The woman nodded and showed Charlotte to the door. “I thank ye, mistress. We have nae had a healer for many a year, and the one across the water cannae be trusted tae come in time, and sometimes he doesnae come at all.”
Charlotte clasped the woman’s hand and smiled. Then she left the house and straddled the horse that was tied outside. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she steered the horse back towards Duart Castle. It was not a long ride, and Charlotte loved the beautiful path by the water, giving her an excellent view of most of the island and its mesmerizing castle. She wanted to let the worries of the illness float off of her, just for a moment.
Charlotte had arrived at the Isle of Mull a few months ago to visit her dear cousin, Julia Bradford, who was, at Charlotte’s arrival, in the clutches of her evil uncle, who was trying to force her into matrimony with one of his friends. Julia’s now-husband, Laird Calum MacLean, and his brother, Angus, had saved her and brought her back to her new home to live forever as Lady MacLean.
Julia was an orphan and had attempted to escape her uncle while they were traveling to Scotland. Her uncle had arranged her marriage to a friend of his, General George Whiteman, a fearsome, unscrupulous, and a much older man.
But now, Julia was a very happy woman indeed, married to the dashing Laird Calum MacLean. Charlotte smiled to think of it. She had never expected either she or Julia to end up where they were.
Charlotte’s mind and thoughts of marriage were always in the direction of an Earl’s or Marquess’ son. Her father was the younger son of a Duke, and Charlotte’s mother had been an Earl’s daughter, so she had aristocracy on her side.She was an only child, and so she had a good dowry. She had no desire to marry below her station, nor did her father. He had great plans for her.
Despite Charlotte’s father’s less than civil comments on the match between his niece and the Scottish laird, Calum MacLean was a good man: kind and wise, devilishly handsome, and completely besotted with Julia. It made Charlotte happy, and she was wholly in support of the marriage. After the life she’d had, Julia needed a good man. But, she knew that she could never choose such a man.
Charlotte slowed her horse as she approached Duart Castle from the side. This was her favorite part of the journey. She took a deep breath and stared in awe at the stone structure, jutting out into the shore of the Sound of Mull, its tall, imposing figure beautiful with the backdrop of a blue sky and bright sun.
In spite of their plans for Charlotte to marry a wealthy man in London and become an integral part of London society, Charlotte’s father, also a general, had decided to move to Fort William to take command after the death of the former leader, General Whiteman.
He had been there for some weeks now and was happy to let her live with Julia. But, she knew that soon enough, he might call her to come and live with him. Once she left Duart, she would be going to the fort, only a few miles away, and she would not be going back to London for some time.
But in her heart, she was content. She had never felt such beautiful freedom. She was allowed to roam as she pleased, healing those who needed it and spending time with her cousin.
The clan was working towards rebuilding after a time of stagnation and loss, and so she was assisting Julia in any way that she needed. There was only one fly in the ointment. Angus, Calum’s tall, brown-haired brother, had begun to pester her with his constant presence. He seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere, watching her with the pretense of protection.
He also gave her advice about how to behave and how to stay safe, and she was fed up with it. When she had first met him, she was dazzled by the strength and beauty of him. She remembered the feel of his strong leg and his muscled chest as she had cleaned his wounds after a small battle a few months before. His light brown eyes had watched her every movement, and she had felt a tingle in her breast at his nearness.
But now, it was totally different. She remembered back to only a week ago when she had taken the idea to go for a walk to collect winter berries and whatever hardy herbs she could find in the cold weather. She needed to restock her supply of medicines, or else she would need to travel back over the Sound to collect what she could.
She had been having a pleasant enough time, when just as she was kneeling to collect a bunch of berries, Angus appeared, his face stern. “What are ye doing out in this weather? ‘Tis a bloody ice-cold day! Ye’ll get sick, and then we’ll be without a healer.” He’d practically yelled the words at her. She had jumped in fright.
“Good Lord!” she’d cried. “Must you appear everywhere that I am? I do have business to conduct. I am here solely to collect much-needed medicines for my work. Can you not understand?” Despite her fury at the time, she was annoyed at how she’d focused on how handsome and imposing he had appeared to her, his hands on his hips, the sharp line of his jaw even more evident in the stark, cold daylight.
He’d had the audacity to march her straight back to the castle as she protested the whole way, and she yelled back, “You know I’ll just come back out again as soon as you’re not looking. This is absolutely ridiculous!” And even as she’d said it, she thought to herself, I could never be with someone like him.
Ha! As if he’d ever have a chance! Not only was he completely frustrating and controlling, but she would never lower herself in such a way, and her father would never approve. He meant to increase their station soon so that he could leave the military and live out his days as a gentleman.
She thought they would come to be friends, or at least civil to one another, after discussing how to help free Julia, but then he’d gone and saved her without any help from Charlotte. And, after that, once it was known that Julia and Calum would need to go to London for a while to attend the trial, Angus had begun to take a strong leadership role, trying to control her every movement. She didn’t understand what had happened. He had, at first, seemed slightly in awe of her, with her brazen words and lack of shyness, but now he was stoic and unpleasant, and Charlotte was not looking forward to when Julia and Calum left. She would be stuck with him.
* * *
Angus and Calum MacLean stood in the study together, Calum grinning. He was a different man now, Angus noted, and it made his heart full for his brother. He’d known that Julia was the woman for Calum the moment he met her, and he kept thanking God that he had found her that day, nearly frozen in the woods after she’d escaped from her uncle and that Calum had finally stopped being too hard-headed to notice her.
“Are ye sure ye’ll be all right when we leave, brother? Ye’ll have a lot of responsibility.”
Angus rolled his eyes. “Am I nae used tae that? After ye practically disappeared for years after Arya left?”
