Page 5 of Highlander’s Sweet Poison

“I am here to see ye, Lady Jillian.”

Hope died. Just as well. She didn’t think she could come up with a credible justification for him to escort Elizabeth anyway. While disappointment flooded her, she was on high alert. These days, the only time anyone wanted to speak to her was to see if she could whip something up to cure them of whatever ails them. Lately, her talents with herbs became more and more well known. After what she had done to Gemma’s wound, she feared that no one would want her to touch them, but it seemed the village was impressed with her quick thinking.

If only she had gotten back to Gemma in time to clean the wound so the infection wouldn’t set in. Her friend had nearly died, and sometimes, when she was alone, she blamed herself.

“Who requires my assistance?”

“‘Tis not yer assistance needed, but I am here to deliver a message. Theo and Gemma are on their way and will be here soon.”

Gemma? Stopping short, she frowned. “Gemma is pregnant. She shouldnae be traveling. Is there something wrong with the babe?”

“No ma’am, they are traveling to see ye, but they wanted me to deliver a message.” He hesitated, and his face filled with pity. Her gut tightened. “I am afraid that Graeme MacSeaver is also on his way, and he plans to take ye back to his clan.”

3

Jillian’s priority was to her patient, so she calmly made her way to Maria’s home. Her husband, Langdon, was pacing back and forth with a frustrated look on his face, and he all but knocked her down when he saw her.

“Ye are here,” he growled. “What took ye so long?”

“Langdon, I will need my arm,” she told him calmly as she tried to pry his beefy fingers away from her forearm. He clutched her in a death grip, his eyes wide with panic. “Let me go so I can go in and see yer son.”

The wildness subsided but only for a moment, leaving the fear. When Jillian first started treating young Gil, Langdon traveled and sold some of the wares from the crafters on the loch. This was the first she’d seen him and probably the first day he’d seen his son since he’d fallen ill.

“My wife says there is no change!” he cried hoarsely as he followed her in. “Yer potion isnae working. Ye must try something else.”

Ignoring him, she smiled at Maria. The woman wrenched a cloth in her hand. “Evening, Maria. Ye must be pleased that yer husband has returned,” she said as she sat by the boy’s bed and smoothed a hand over his brow. Only four, the boy was still soft to the touch from his smooth skin to his silky hair. Although the cough rattled his chest, he gave her a heartbreaking grin. “And ye, little rascal, must be happy to have yer father back.”

“Aye.” Cough, cough. “He promised when he returned to build me a kennel so we can get a dog.” Cough, cough.

The rattling did sound worse, and she eased him into a sitting position. “Remember what we said about the cough?”

“I haftae spit out the icky stuff.”

“That’s right.” She turned to Maria. “Do ye have another pillow? It will help if he sits up.”

The woman hurried to another room and returned with the pillow. Placing it under her son, she helped ease him back. “He sounds worse, right?”

“He is coughing more, and the rattling sounds worse, but that also means the congestion is breaking up. ‘Tis good that he is coughing it out now.” The boy was cool to the touch, which was also a good sign.

“Now then, I know ye have been looking at it,” Jillian teased Gil. “What color is the icky stuff?”

Gil grinned. “Yellowy green.”

“Ew,” Jillian said as she wrinkled her nose, and the little boy laughed and coughed some more. “So no red?”

He shook his head, and she pulled back the blanket and placed her hands on his side. When the cough was very severe, sometimes people complained that their sides hurt. “Is yer body sore?”

“Not as much.”

“Excellent.” After pulling the cover back up, she pressed a kiss to his head and stood. “I know the cough is scary, but it sounds as though Gil has gotten through the worst of it. As long as a fever doesn’t take hold and he doesn’t start coughing up blood, I believe he will be just fine. Continue to boil the leaves that I gave you and hold his head over the steam. Just don’t let the water splash on him, and that will help him breathe easier. Rub the mix on his chest and encourage him to cough the substance up. If he can sleep propped up like that, it will help ease the pain in his throat.”

Tears gathered in Maria’s eyes, and she understood the woman’s fear—Langdon’s as well. Two years ago, they’d lost their second child in infancy and since then, they’d been terrified for Gil.

“Truly, he will be all right?” Maria whispered.

“I cannae say anything with certainty, but there is nothing about Gil’s condition that alarms me,” Jillian said soothingly as she turned to walk away.

Langon’s words made her freeze. “They say ye are a witch. I have heard it. If ye are, ye will save my son.”