Highlander’s Evil Side by Shona Thompson
Chapter Eighteen
Beitris
Three days passed since meeting with Scott, and Beitris had made it her mission to help the villagers as best as she could. The soldiers had spent the first day of the villager’s arrival providing them with the means to make accommodations outside the castle walls while many servants offered their rooms and cottages. Unfortunately, there was not enough space, and many were forced to reside in tents bordering the walls. Usually, four soldiers circled the camps borders; however, this day was different. There were only three, and Beitris only recognized one. Her gaze lingered on the pair on the other side of the camp, her eyes narrowing on the way they leered at the women caring for their children.
Beitris tried to shake the eerie feeling creeping through her, tugging at her insides. She clutched the basket to her, filled with food, and strode through the lines of tents. A smile took hold of her lips as the children perked up and ran towards her.
“Lady!” they shouted while reaching for her with dirt-stained hands and excited faces. “Lady!”
The children gathered around her. Their hands reached for the food inside as they smiled up at her brightly. “Have ye brought us something tasty to eat?” one asked.
“Have ye brought a story?” asked another.
“I want something sweet!” shouted a little boy while reaching inside Beitris’s basket.
“Now, now,” Beitris said warmly while wrenching the basket from their hands. “Wait yer turn. Everyone in a line.”
A plump little girl pushed to the front while several boys filed behind her. “May I have a dolly? Please,” the little girl asked, holding out ‘please’ as long as she could muster.
Beitris covered her mouth with a hand, trying in vain to hide her chuckle while shaking her head. “I’m afraid not, my sweet.” Beitris frowned at her basket, rummaging inside until she was able to produce a very small jar of honey. “But I do have something tasty for ye. Could ye help me break the bread so everyone may have a try?”
The little girl bobbed her head up and down, her red hair following the sharp movements. She moved to sit next to Beitris in the grass and proceeded to take the bread, breaking it into smaller pieces and handing it out to the smaller boys and girls.
Beitris smiled at her apprentice while she took each and every piece, swiping a small bit of honey on each and handing them out to the children. They stuffed their faces, chewing frantically. It ached Beitris’s heart, knowing the little ones were so hungry. She was happy just to sit with them these past few days, reading them old tales of romance and adventure while they snacked on their treats. Beitris hoped she was able to bring them a little bit of joy to fill their days.
It must be so difficult not seeing their fathers everyday, she thought while she watched the children, clutching her basket closer. The little dears must miss them so. And losing their homes as they did. Beitris lowered her gaze, wiping the tears already forming in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry in front of them. She knew it would look unseemly.
“My lady,” said a little boy sitting at her feet. “Can ye please finish the story?”
“Oh, please,” said the plump little girl at her side. “I would love to know what happens.”
“Please, please, please,” came the excited chants of the other children.
Beitris searched through her basket, rifling through jars of herbs and blocks of cheeses and meats wrapped in red cloth. She smiled when she found her book. The old spine was worn, no longer displaying the title, but she knew it held the adventures of Fionn MacCumhaill. They were stories her father once read to her when she was a little girl. She read them so frequently she could nearly recite the words.
“Yer quite skilled with children, my lady,” came a gravelly voice from behind.
Beitris lifted her head, smiling up at Hamish, the castle healer. He stroked his long white beard while he regarded her with grey eyes. “I only do what I can,” she said, her face heating with embarrassment.
“Aye, I suppose that’s true for all of us.”
“Do ye need my aid, Hamish?” Beitris said while returning her book inside the basket. She slowly rose from her place on the grass, pausing for a moment when the little girl grabbed her skirts.
“Please, don’t go, my lady,” she whined. “Please, stay.”
“Please, stay,” the children around her chanted, their big bright eyes staring up at her, making her heart swell.
“Nae.” Hamish chuckled while looking at the children, patting one boy on his head. “Stay with the children. They have need of ye more than I.”
“It’s nae trouble,” Beitris said quickly, stepping forward and nearly stumbling into the healer due to the little girl’s strong grip on her leg. She turned towards the girl, about to admonish her, but looking down into her tear-stained eyes made Beitris swallow her words. “Well, I suppose I could stay and read a chapter or two.”
Beitris grabbed her skirts, moving to the ground, but she stopped, the hair on the back of her neck rising as she heard a woman’s petrified shriek. She turned sharply, her eyes widening on a woman running through the field. Her brown hair blew in the wind. Her hands clutched at her brown dress. As the woman drew closer, Beitris noticed tears streaming down her cheeks. The woman screamed again. This time Beitris could make out the words.
“Help! Someone please!”
Beitris gasped as the woman tripped over one of the ropes holding a tent up. She landed hard on her knees. A woman standing nearby reached for her, helping her stand while Beitris strode towards her.
“Someone, please help,” the woman gasped while wiping the dirt and tears from her face.
“What is it, lass?” Hamish asked, rushing past Beitris and taking the woman’s hand. “What can I help ye with?”
“It’s my son. He’s very ill. I do not know what is wrong,” the woman swallowed, gulping down gasps of air. She clenched her jaw, swallowing a sob before saying, “His body has the fever. I try to get him to drink, to eat, but he won’t. He-he—” The woman covered her face and wailed into her palms, her shoulders shaking with each cry she emitted.
Beitris reached for the woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and cradling her close. She felt so much for this stranger, wishing she could help her in some way. There were rare books written about stomach pains and herbs that could poison one’s insides, but they were hard to come by. Beitris was only able to read one book on healing, yet she didn’t have much experience in these matters. She turned to Hamish, meeting his sorrow-filled eyes, and hoped he could do something for the poor mother.
“Please, ye must help him,” the woman wailed while lifting her head. She lunged towards Hamish and grabbed his hands with a white-knuckled grip. “I do not know what to do. I cannot lose him. I cannot lose my baby.”
“Calm yerself, lass,” Hamish said gently. “I will go with ye. I will tend to the boy. But I will need to return to the keep to gather my herbs from the tower.”
“There’s nae time,” the woman sobbed. “He could be dead by then. Please, couldn’t ye come with me now? We have a cottage not far from here in the wood.”
Hamish frowned. “I suppose I could send for my apprentice.” Hamish grimaced. “However, I believe he is tending to the men in the western village. He won’t be back until the evening. Do ye have a husband who could be of help? Do ye know of the herbs in yer wood?”
“Nae,” the woman wailed, her hands covering her face while her sobs racked her shoulders. “It’s just me and my lad. My husband died years ago. Please, ye must come. Ye must come now.”
Hamish glanced at Beitris. She grimaced, knowing exactly what he was asking with that look. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go. She did. She wanted to help all of Fraser’s people; however, with the double running rampant, she didn’t know if this could be a trap to lead her away from the keep. The evil Fraser had already claimed her lips twice, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he’d make himself known to her again.
Although, staring down at the woman before her, how desperate she appeared and the way she cried for her son, she knew she needed to do something. Beitris had only read one book, but she knew which herbs could aid a fever and which could aid stomach pains. She would be of better use than if she sent a guard with Hamish to help with the boy.
“I will go with ye,” said Beitris, giving Hamish a confirming nod.
“Are ye sure, my lady?” Hamish asked as she strode past him.
She grabbed her basket, casting a worried smile to the children still sitting in a circle in the grass. “Apologies, my dears, I’m afraid I must go.”
The little girl pouted. “But ye will be back tomorrow?”
Beitris’s smile widened, and she stroked the girl’s hair while saying, “Of course, I will.”
“I could ask another,” said Hamish, watching her stride past him once more towards the pair of guards standing at the edge of the encampment. “It would take some time, however—”
“Nae,” she said sternly. “We don’t have much time. Excuse me, sir!” she called to one of the guards, hovering above a woman hanging her washing on the line between tents.
He turned to her. His lips twisted into a deplorable sneer as he eyed her easily, his dark gaze making her hair rise. She recognized that look from somewhere. It reminded her of when she was in the falls, of the man who grabbed her. He sauntered towards her, his companion mimicking the look while he followed closely behind. Both soldiers were lanky with greasy dark hair. One brandished a scar on his chin, while the other displayed a cut on his head.
“Aye, my lady,” said the soldier with the chin scar easily, making her eyes narrow.
Beitris pushed back her shoulders and jutted out her chin, feeling the need to assert her status despite the unease growing in her belly. “Tell the laird I have gone with Hamish. I know he will be concerned for my safety, but I will be taking a guard and should return before nightfall.”
The soldier chuckled bitterly. “Of course, my lady.”
Beitris’s eyes narrowed. She turned towards the other, standing nearby with the same leering look. “Did ye hear me?”
He nodded slowly. “Loud and clear, my lady,” he said, his head tilting while his gaze raked over her form. “We’ll inform the laird of yer whereabouts.”
Beitris’s frown deepened. She glanced between the men. There was something about them she did not care for, but they had agreed to send her message, and she couldn’t spend the time admonishing them for staring. She turned around and stalked towards Hamish and the woman. Her gaze landed on a nervous-looking soldier now standing at Hamish’s side, wringing his hands while looking around him.
The soldier was shorter than the other two. He was younger than her, possibly a newly appointed squire. His brown hair curled around his ears while freckles dotted his gangly limbs. He was the only other soldier besides the two she spoke with before, and although she wished for a more experienced soldier to protect her, she did not want to ask the others. Looking him up and down, Beitris was surprised someone so young could be a soldier; however, she knew the MacClerys were in need of able-bodied men.
“What is yer name?” Beitris called to him.
“Me, my lady?” the young soldier asked while pointing to himself.
Beitris nodded curtly.
“Ian, my lady.”
“Ian, ye will attend to our safety. There may be brigands in the wood. Are ye up for the task?”
Ian straightened, nodding vigorously while his hand moved to his hilt. “I will ensure yer safety, my lady.”
Beitris turned her attention back to the woman at Hamish’s side. “Take us to yer son,” said Beitris gently, the darkness in her gaze easing as she looked at the terrified woman. Her eyes were wide, and her body was shaking.
Beitris took the shawl from her shoulders and wrapped it around the woman before taking her hand and nudging her forward. “Do not worry,” Beitris whispered to her. “We will help ye.”
The woman’s face looked as if it was about to crumble and break down into another fit of sobs, but with a sharp intake of breath, she straightened herself and pushed on, guiding them through the fields and towards the wood. Beitris tried not to think about the soldiers or how she felt their eyes burrowing holes into her back. She tried to focus on the woman at her side and what Hamish would need of her, rather than the feeling of being watched.
