Katherine blinked and tried to look around. The movement caused her head to swim and she wanted to retch again, but she said, “Home.”
“Aye, lass, ye’re home,” Niall said, his voice husky.
Katherine closed her eyes for a moment. Why was the midwife here? She opened her eyes again and managed to ask, “The baby?”
“Is fine,” answered Effie. “But ye have a nasty bump on your head from the fall.”
“I fell?” asked Katherine. She closed her eyes again, trying to remember. Images began to flood her mind as her memory returned. She moaned again. “Malcolm slashed my mount’s side and the poor thing threw me.”
“That’s right, sweetling, but ye will be fine now,” said Niall, with a hint of desperation in his voice.
Effie brought her a bowl with some broth in it. “Try to drink some of this, my lady.”
Katherine swallowed a few sips before, overcome with exhaustion, she slipped back into oblivion.
~ * ~
When she awoke later, the room was dark save for the light from the fire. Niall held her in his arms, but he was not asleep. “Back again?” he asked, his voice still think with concern.
“Aye,” Katherine answered. Her head hurt less than it had earlier and she felt hungry. “Is there any more broth?”
Visibly relieved, Niall answered, “Aye, sweetling, there is.” He helped her drink a little more, and she ate a few bites of bread as well before giving in once again to the powerful urge to sleep.
~ * ~
The next time she woke, sunlight streamed in through the window, and she felt considerably better. Niall slept beside her, but woke instantly as she stirred. “Good morning, love,” he said, and kissed her gently.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Ye were thrown from a horse.”
“I remember that. What happened here? What happened with Malcolm and Eithne? And how did I get back here?”
“Whoa, sweetling, there is plenty of time to tell ye everything. For now, I will tell ye Fingal arrived at the same conclusions ye and Matheson did. He brought Laird Chisholm here to defend Duncurra, and was holding Malcolm off when we arrived. Malcolm fled, as ye are aware, because he managed to get his clutches on ye. After ye were thrown from the horse, I brought ye back here. Ye slept for almost a full day, waking for the first time yesterday afternoon.”
“But what about—”
“That is enough for now,” he said firmly.
For the next couple of days, Niall refused to let Katherine leave their chamber and do little more than rest and eat. He gave her very sketchy details of events prior to her capture and none of what had happened since. Finally, on the third evening, she insisted on dining in the great hall. She wanted to hear the full story before she did, and, grudgingly, Niall agreed. He told her what Fingal had learned from Eithne and Malcolm.
“Sweet Mary,” she said, “What a shock for Fingal.”
“Aye. Apparently many MacLennans either knew or suspected Malcolm was his father. It is easy to see the similarities now we know, but no one here ever suspected.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, because he is so much like ye.”
“Katherine, my sweet, other than our height, Fingal looks nothing like me. Everyone always assumed his looks came from Eithne.”
“I didn’t say he looked like ye, I said he is like ye. He is a strong, competent warrior, but he is also gentle and tolerant. He is fair and kind, and protects those who need him. He is proud, unfailingly loyal, and he would sacrifice his life for this clan. He is so much like ye that no one who truly knows ye both would ever deny he is your brother.”
Her pronouncement took Niall aback. Everything she said about Fingal was true. He found it endearing that she also applied those traits to him. However, the fact that she believed others drew the same comparisons was, quite frankly, humbling. Furthermore, she had referred to Fingal as his brother in the present tense. He certainly still considered Fingal his brother, and was glad she did as well.
“How is he handling all of this?” Katherine asked after a moment.
“He is upset, as ye can imagine, but worse, he feels guilty.”
“Over what?” Katherine demanded.
“Over the fact that Malcolm and Eithne told him they did all of this for him.”
“What a load of nonsense. Malcolm and Eithne are the two most self-serving people I have ever met, even surpassing my Uncle Ambrose. Having Fingal as a son was a convenient excuse, but that is all.”
“I’m sure ye are right, but Fingal is determined to return to Chisholm. It is one of the reasons I have kept ye secreted away up here. He will not leave until he has apologized to ye, and I keep telling him ye are too weak to have visitors.” Niall added sheepishly, “I had hoped after a few days he would change his mind about leaving.”