Bound to the Highlander(91)
She was so happy at that moment she was certain she would have agreed to just about anything. “Of course,” she said.
Three people entered the room. A giant hulk of a man moved to her first and introduced himself as Fergus MacKay. Something about the look of him was familiar, yet she was unable to place it. Barbarian? No.
A second man appeared and introduced himself as James’s brother, Calum. He embraced her much longer than James appeared comfortable with and broke them apart. “Hug your own woman,” James said.
James’s comment brought a chuckle from both Calum and the woman standing behind him. The third figure from her tormented dreams moved into view.
“I’ve seen you. I mean, I’ve dreamt about you. Are we well acquainted?”
The woman nodded, tears filling her eyes. As they spilled onto her cheeks, she rushed into Aileana’s arms. To her surprise, Aileana embraced her back.
“I am Gwen MacGregor, my lady. Your maid and dearest friend,” she whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.” Gwen sobbed into her hair.
Aileana pulled back from the embrace and looked at all the eyes fastened on her. She caught a flash of Fergus’s brooch pin and focused hard on it.
The room went dark.
She was in a small crofter’s cottage with several men and one wearing a similar pin. She was tied to a chair and a man placed a woollen blanket over her.
She awoke sometime later in a warm, soft bed covered with many blankets and James sitting beside her and speaking to another man she didn’t recognize. Her eyelids were too heavy to keep open so she closed them again.
“The shock of seeing everyone at the same time was too much, but I assure you she appears in full health. The bairn appears to be growing fine as well and that may add to the fainting.”
“A babe?” James’s voice cracked.
“You weren’t aware of her pregnancy?”
“Can you tell? I mean, do you know how long she’s been with child?”
“I can’t say exactly, but I would suspect about three months.”
Boots hit the floor and moved across the room. Aileana opened her eyes a crack as Gwen entered. The mattress dipped as the woman sat on the bed and stroked her hair. The motion was soothing.
“How is she? How is she really?”
“Well, as I just informed her husband, besides being pregnant, I would say her body is perfectly normal.”
Aileana’s eyes opened a little seeking James. His fists were clenched and his teeth bared. He looked like hell.
“Three months. You don’t have to ask, I’m guessing you didn’t know either. The lass has been through an enormous ordeal to be sure, but I see no reason why she won’t make a full recovery in time. It appears by all your accounts she may have only recently begun remembering events and people. That’s because she’s had no exposure to anything which could trigger her memory. Now that she has all of you in her life again, it should only be a matter of time before most of it comes back.”
“How much time do you think it will take?” Gwen asked. James still said nothing.
“There’s no way to know that. It could be months or years. Some parts of her memory may never come back, but as I said, her prospects are good.”
The physician left the room and she fell back into a deep sleep. When she woke again the sky was much darker and James was nestled into her.
“Do you want me to sit up?” he asked.
“No, you’re warm, please stay.”
“Aileana, I know you don’t remember much of our time together but you remember me right?”
“Aye, I think so. I dreamed of you. I dreamed you kissed me and we walked with our daughter. Where is she? She’s so beautiful and I want to see her.”
His brows drew together.
“My love we don’t have any children. A babe grows in your belly. Maybe it is of that child you’ve dreamed.”
There was sadness in his expression and she anticipated what he was thinking.
“Gawain never touched me. Not once. I don’t know why he didn’t bed me, nor do I care as I am glad he didn’t. He convinced me I was his wife and if he’d insisted, I couldn’t have refused him. I knew I didn’t want him, especially after I started dreaming about you. The child growing in my belly is yours.”
She wiped her tears away as she told him all about her time with Gawain. She wanted him to know every detail, but she needed him to know that she had not been invaded by another man.
“Hush, love, you don’t owe me any explanation. You’re not to blame for anything that happened. ’Tis I who was careless. But I will make you a promise. I shall never be careless with you ever again. You, our child and our future children will always be protected. This I vow to you.”