Highland Sparks: Logan and Gwyneth (Clan Grant Series Book 5) (25 page)

“Watch out for the board. It might hit us.”’

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

Gwyneth struggled to find her next footing since her view was blocked, but she found it and moved down the tree. She said another prayer and thought of Logan and Rab, and continued down the trunk, sweat dripping down her face as she moved.
Keep going, keep going.
She thought she would heave, and prayed the sensation would hold off until she was on solid ground again.

“Hurry, Gwyneth, I don’t know how much longer I can hang on.”

“Lass, you’re doing great. Keep your legs tight around me.” Down they went, slow but steady until they neared the bottom. A crash above them echoed in the air and Gwyneth looked up in time to see the board hurtling toward them.

Lily screamed and Gwyneth clutched at the wean’s hand and leaned to the left side of the tree in a last ditch effort to keep the board from colliding with them. Lily’s legs fell away from Gwyneth’s waist and she screamed again, swinging to the left of the tree while still managing to hang onto Gwyneth’s shoulders. A sharp pain shot through Gwyneth’s right leg as the board caught her on its way down, but she wouldn’t let go.

“You’re bleeding, Gwyneth. It hit you,” Lily cried.

“We’ll be fine, we’re almost there.” She gritted her teeth as the pain in her leg grew, but she managed to straighten on the tree again. Her leg hurt, but at least it had missed both their heads. “Wrap your legs around me again, lass.”

Once Lily was in position again, she continued down the tree. When they finally reached the bottom, Lily collapsed as soon as her feet hit the ground, and Gwyneth lowered herself to the ground next to her. She grabbed the lassie and hugged her tight. “We made it. We made it.”

Tears of joy fell as she realized what she had accomplished. Lily was here, safe, and she had faced her biggest fear. She laughed as she patted Lily on the back. Growley joined them and licked Lily’s face.

“Gwyneth, look. You’re bleeding.” Lily moved back to gaze at Gwyneth’s leg, Growley’s nose sniffing her wound.

When Gwyneth saw the amount of blood pouring from her leg, she ripped part of her tunic and tied it around the wound. A wave of dizziness assaulted her, so she scooted over to lean against the tree trunk, trying to calm her breathing. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she pressed the bandage against her wound, trying to slow the bleeding.

Gwyneth glanced at Lily. Now that they were no longer at risk of falling from the tree, she noticed how weak Lily was, her wee hands trembling as she petted Growley. “Lily, go to my horse and get something to drink. I might have an oatcake for you.”

Unfortunately, her horse was grazing a good distance away. Lily tried to walk, but she stumbled twice, finally crumpling to the ground with tears in her eyes. Gwyneth pushed herself to a standing position, but was shocked by how badly her body trembled when she tried to move. She made it over to Lily, but fell down beside her.

She sighed as she tugged Lily onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her. The temperature was dropping and Lily’s wee body shivered.

Lily glanced up at her and said, “Gwyneth, I’m cold. What are we going to do?”

Gwyneth glanced up at the treetops. It wouldn’t be much longer until the sun dropped completely. She sighed and kissed Lily’s cheek. “We wait. Uncle Logan and your da will find us.” She hugged Lily as tight as she could, trying to give her what little warmth she had left in her body, but she knew she didn’t have much left of her own. “Growley, come.” She patted next to them and Growley sat. Lily snuggled up to Growley’s heat and Gwyneth covered her with her arms, covering her as much as she could.

She hoped they would be here soon, because she was tired, very tired. Her head dipped onto Lily, but the wee one had already fallen fast asleep.

Chapter Thirty-One

Logan’s frustration had only grown in intensity by the time he ran into Quade again. “Anything?”

“Nay, naught. We have searched everywhere. I am ready to tear every single strand out of my head. Where the hell could she be?”

“We don’t have much time. ‘Tis almost dark.” Logan hadn’t told Quade about the bread he had found in the cottage. Eating it would have made Lily violently ill again, and would sap her strength as well. Nay, Quade didn’t need to know that. He scanned the area again, thinking, then dismounted and studied the ground. “This way. The area is so dense, I did not check it thoroughly, and it was a while ago.” He pointed to a spot in the brush. “Now I see evidence of a horse here. Let’s walk.” Quade motioned for the other guards to stay behind and search in a different area.

Quade followed him deep into the forest, each of the brothers pulling his horse behind him. They had traveled a short distance more when Logan halted.

“What is it?” Quade stopped directly behind him.

“Did you hear that?” Logan leaned in one direction.

“Nay.”

“Shhh.” He held his breath, praying to hear the sound again. Quade stared at him, the hopeful expression in his eyes forcing Logan to look away.

They listened and Logan burst into a grin. “Lily. I heard her scream.” Leaving his horse in the brush, he tore off in the direction of Lily’s voice, Quade following.

God’s teeth, he had prayed before, but he hadn’t prayed this hard in a long time. Lily had to be well, and how he hoped Gwyneth was with her. Growley barked and came running at them through the dense brush. “Where, Growley? Show me,” he yelled. As if understanding the question word for word, the big dog turned around and led the way. Finally, Growley halted ahead of him and sat down next to Gwyneth in the clearing in the middle of a copse of trees, her horse not far away.

Exhilaration flooded Logan’s body, but then a fist punched him right in his gut. Gwyneth sat holding something in her arms, her head listing over whatever she held. Nay, not his wee Lily. She had to be alive.

He yelled his approach and Gwyneth’s head shot up. A split second later, Lily’s pale smiling face rose up next to Gwyneth’s.

“Papa! Uncle Logan!”

Logan’s walk slowed as Quade rushed past him to grab Lily into his arms. A huge rush of relief engulfed Logan’s body; he had never been so happy to see two people in his life. He wondered why Gwyneth remained on the ground, but when he finally reached her side, he saw the blood pooled around her leg, the pallor in her features, and the trembling in her hands.

“Logan.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?” He knelt down beside her. “You saved my niece. You’re hurt.” He cupped her face with his hand and was shocked to see how cool her skin was. It was only then that he noticed that her eyes were glazed and her lips held a dusky color he didn’t like.

“I couldn’t get on my horse. I tried, but I couldn’t…make it. Lily is weak, and she hasn’t eaten, and I couldn’t get her back. I’m so sorry.”

Quade’s asked, “Is she well? What’s wrong, Logan? Do you need my help?”

Logan leaned down, his eyes misting as he stared down at the woman he loved. “You’re safe. I’ll get you back.” After checking to make sure the bleeding from her leg wound had slowed, he kissed her cheek and whispered, “I love you. My thanks for rescuing my beloved niece, but you are not leaving me. Neither of you are ever leaving me again.” He loosened the tourniquet on her leg and tore off a piece of his plaid to apply more pressure to the wound.

Quade overheard him. “Well, if that’s going to happen, you’re going to have to settle down.”

“We will. We’re getting married and will live in Lothian. And no one is leaving again.” He scooped her up into his arms and hugged her tight. He turned to his brother, who held Lily with her head on his chest, and kissed his wee niece on the cheek. He glanced at Quade’s face, where he saw the same concern he felt. Neither of the lasses looked good.

Quade whispered. “We need to get them to Brenna.”

“Aye.” He moved over to his horse and set Gwyneth down so she could lean against his brother while he mounted his horse. Then Quade handed her up to him and he settled her in front of him. The two guards they’d left behind joined them and soon they were headed back to the keep, Growley in pursuit.

He was so happy to have Gwyneth in his arms again. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her, but she didn’t respond. Had she fallen asleep…or had she passed out?

“Gwyneth?”  Logan shook her, but she didn’t awaken. He needed to get her back to the keep and fast.

***

Gwyneth was running through a meadow chasing someone. Nay, she was chasing two people. Her brother, Rab, ran in one direction beckoning to her, while Logan called to her from his horse in another direction.

She would have to choose, and she didn’t know how she could possibly do it.

Someone caressed her arm and her eyes flew open. Logan sat in a chair at her bedside, concern in his gaze. When she stared at him, a slow smile crept across his features. His eyes sparkled while he leaned over to kiss her cheek. She tried to push herself up in bed, but fell back against the pillow because she didn’t have the strength.

“Stay there, love. You are in nae condition to move.”

She tried to remember where she was, but the cloud in her mind wouldn’t clear. “Something to drink?”

Logan jumped out of his seat and filled a goblet for her, then yelled out the door for Brenna before he returned to her side, helping her sit up and sip the ale he brought her. The room filled in a hurry, first with Brenna and Quade, then Lily, Torrian, and Lady Ramsay.

She couldn’t understand why they all stared at her so. It was unusual for so many people to come to a bed chamber, wasn’t it? Finally, Rab walked in the door and she could read the relief in his eyes when he looked at her. He carried a cross in his hand and his bible. What was going on?

Lily popped up on the bed beside her and kissed her cheek. “My thanks for rescuing me, Aunt Gwyneth. May I call you that now? Uncle Logan says you are getting married right away.”

Rescuing her? She nodded at Lily in answer to her question, then glanced at Logan in the hopes he would help her clear the fog from her brain, but he never said a word.

Brenna set Lily back on the floor and sent her out the door.

Torrian, who’d been standing next to his parents, came up to her next and said, “Thank you, Aunt Gwyneth.”

From his position next to the wee lad, Quade leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Nice to see you awake again. Many thanks to you.” He stepped out of the room with Torrian, following Lily.

Rab still stood by the door, tears in his eyes as he gripped his bible to his chest. “You are well, sister?”

She could only shrug.

Brenna sat on the side of the bed and checked her wound briefly before standing and patting her hand. “I think you are on the mend. I’ll let you spend some time with your brother, then I shall return with some broth for you. You are still weak, so I don’t want you getting out of bed. Logan, keep her here.” She stood to leave.

Before turning to join her, Lady Ramsay grasped Gwyneth’s hand in hers and said, “You have my undying devotion, my dear.” Then the two of them stepped out of the room.

Rab and Logan were the only remaining visitors.

“I’ll leave you with your brother for a minute,” Logan said, glancing between the siblings. “Then I’ll return.” He clasped Father Rab’s shoulder before he left, closing the door behind him.

“Rab? What has happened?” She peered at her brother, hoping he could help her remember.

Pulling a chair up to her bedside, Rab sat and held her hands, first offering a prayer of thanks with his eyes closed, then a blessing.

“Rab?”

He kissed his cross and said, “You don’t recall? You saved Lily on your own. According to Lily, you climbed up a verra tall tree to rescue her from her bonds and carried her down on your back.”

Gwyneth rubbed her forehead as the memories returned to her. “Aye, now I recall. The board and the trees. It was terrible, Rab. I was so frightened.”

“But you conquered your fear of heights. Lily said you even dodged the board when it came hurtling down through the branches, and that if you hadn’t swung the two of you to the side of the tree, you would both have been hit in the head.”

Gwyneth groaned when she tried to lift her leg. “Aye, I have a wee gash on my leg. I was bleeding…”

“Wee gash? Hardly. You bled and bled, ‘tis why you are still so weak. Brenna was worried about you, but no more so than Logan and I. But you are better, I think.”

“Aye, I am still tired, but I will be fine. You are well?”

“Other than the two years of my life you have frightened off me, I am fine. Gwyneth, Logan does love you. I was able to see just how much over these last few days. You still wish to marry him?”

“Aye, I do, Rab. But will you ever be able to forgive me for leaving you? I like it here. I don’t want to be in Glasgow anymore, with all the reminders of
before
. His family is wonderful, his clan members are wonderful. I think I would like to stay.”

“I certainly will support you in whatever you want, and I must tell you that Quade and Lady Ramsay have invited me to stay and be the priest for his clan. They have a lovely small chapel, and Logan, Micheil and Quade have promised to build a small room on the back for me to live in. If you agree, I would like to accept. Mayhap someday I will have a niece or nephew to love.” He smiled, awaiting her answer.

She reached for her brother and gave him a hug. “Aye, Rab. Naught would make me happier than to have you here with me. I think ‘twill be good for both of us.”

Rab chuckled and kissed her cheek. He stood up and said, “I love you, Gwyneth. You have made me verra proud and happy. I will take my leave. I know Lady Ramsay would like to speak with you in private.”

Gwyneth’s brow furrowed, and all she could think was,
What have I done wrong?

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lady Ramsay strode into her chamber. Her head held high, she sat on the chair next to Gwyneth’s bed, adjusting her skirts just so before folding her hands in her lap.

Gwyneth had no idea what to expect from the woman.