Just as he entered the great room, he noticed several women sitting around a table at the far end of the room. Immediately, he knew Catriona was among them. Whenever the woman was out of her bedchamber, she sat at the same table. Positioned beside the fireplace, it was warm there, and protected by two walls. No one could approach the table without being seen.
The men knew better than to approach her, although some had done so without issue. However, one time, a man had approached and Catriona’s reaction had been alarming. The man, who’d been a visitor, remembered Catriona from childhood and had neared to greet her. A startled Catriona had fallen to the floor and, while screaming, had scurried to the corner next to the fireplace where she’d cowered. It had taken the laird’s wife a long while to coax her to move and get her away and to the safety of her bedchamber.
It was days before Catriona had emerged once again.
When Ewan lowered to sit at a nearby table, he felt the gaze of the women. Ignoring the pointed looks, he waved a servant over and asked for food.
“What are ye doing out of bed?” The slight hoarse tone in Catriona’s voice was like a soft balm to his entire being. That she’d walked over to him was stunning. He looked past her to the table to confirm his reaction. Four sets of rounded eyes met his.
“I am hungry. Once I eat, I will return to bed,” Ewan replied, forcing an annoyed tone to his response. “Besides, I am not sure I can stand up right now.”
He didn’t look directly at her, not wishing to alarm her. Instead, he bowed his head. In truth, the pain was growing increasingly worse. “Perhaps someone should help me to bed,” he grunted.
“Young man.” Lady Fraser neared. “Whatever are ye thinking to be out and about so soon after being cut through? Ye must go to bed at once.”
“He cannot move,” Catriona replied for him. To Ewan’s shock, her hand pressed to his forehead. “He is feverish.”
Lady Fraser tsked. “Of course, he is. The wound is fresh...and bleeding.”
Ewan looked down to find that blood had seeped through the fabric of his tunic and he moaned. “This is one of my new tunics.”
“Up with ye,” Catriona said as he was lifted from the chair by guards who’d probably been motioned forward by Lady Fraser.
At the movement, he cried out in pain. The room swayed and he gulped in air. It was as if the breath were taken from his body and he could not take any in.
“Call the healer,” someone said. The lack of ability to breath took precedence and he concentrated on not passing out when pain ripped through his body as the guards carried him to a bed.
***
Time passed, whether quickly or slowly, Ewan had no idea. Voices and faces came in and out of focus until he finally gave up trying to recognize what was happening. Feverish, he went from shivering to being so hot that he begged for water. Ewan recognized he was very ill and prayed that he would live.
Then everything stopped. Perhaps a day had passed, or even two, he wasn’t sure. What he did know was that seeing the beautiful woman standing at the window peering out was the loveliest scene to wake to.
“Ye almost died,” Catriona said as if sensing his gaze. “Perhaps this time, ye will remain abed until the healer gives instructions otherwise.”
As much as he wanted to argue the point, Ewan decided it wasn’t the time. “What day is it?”
“It has been five days since the day ye were found, and two days since ye acted so foolishly and left yer bed.”
Two days. Ewan blinked, noticing that his eyesight was normal. One good thing had come from being asleep for two days. Hopefully, it also meant his memory would return.
He let out a breath, grateful that it brought only slight pain. Not only that, but that he could breathe easily.
“Why are ye caring for me? Ye should not fret, a servant can care for me.” Ewan hated to say the words. As much as he wished to spend time with her, he didn’t want to be responsible for doing or saying something that would bring her more distress.
“Tell me, why did ye kill Laird Mackenzie?”
Chapter Two
Catriona waited, knowing that Ewan was scrambling to come up with a reply. She had so many questions. Why had he killed the Mackenzie? Why did he remain there at Clan Fraser when he had no reason to? Also, his family was on the Isle of Uist and yet he lived either at the Ross’ to the north or at Fraser Keep.
As much as she detested to be near any male, there were a few, in actuality, who didn’t bring her distress. Laird Fraser, Keithen, Broden and the healer. All of these men she’d grown up knowing her entire life. It was different with Ewan. Although she wished to flee each time he was nearby, she fought against it. Something about him called to her on a very basic level. It was as if they had shared a common experience before. In actuality, she’d only just met him. Nothing about what she felt when she was near him made any sense.
It was doubtful someone like Ewan Ross could begin to understand what she’d been through. She doubted that even if a man witnessed it happening to someone they cared for, it would never possibly be the same as actually experiencing it.
And yet, there she stood in front of him, wanting to know answers to the questions that had been swimming around in her mind for weeks.
“Why do ye think I killed him?” Ewan’s deep voice cut through her thoughts. “I had no relationship or interaction
