Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

had enough strength to do it. He knew her head had to be pounding as the blood drained back into her body, and wondered how she was able to sit up straight.
    They were on MacGreagor land, but without knowing who had beaten her, they needed to be deeper in the forest and a lot more difficult to find. Several minutes later, Thomas gave the word and they halted in the thick forest near a small stream.
    He was almost as big as Kevin with dark hair and green eyes. Thomas was Laird MacGreagor’s second in command and escorting the clan’s future mistress was a very high honor. When the men left home, they were not at war with anyone. Now they would be. A rage was building in Thomas, and once the others heard, the MacGreagor warriors would find the men who did this and gladly crush their skulls.
    Thomas set those thoughts aside and took a deep, calming breath. First, he needed to keep her alive, at least long enough to tell them who did it. At his nod, the other men dismounted, took up defensive positions around them, and prepa red to fight to keep her safe.
    Thomas leaned to his right a little , so he could examine her back more closely. He decided if he was careful and put his arm between the rope burns, he could carry her without hurting her so much. He slid off the back of the horse, eased her down and carried her to the creek. As gently as he could, he set her on a smooth rock and held on until he was sure she could hold herself upright.
    With Clymer standing behind him, Thomas knelt down on one knee in front of h er. “Who did this to you?”
    She didn’t answer. With the tip of her tongue, she checked to see if any teeth were missing. She had a long, deep cut on the inside of her cheek and knew that side of her face was swollen. The other side was not as bad , except her eye was nearly swollen shut. Her jaw hurt and when she felt a painful lump, she carefully moved her mouth up and down to see if it was broken. It didn’t seem to be, but her nose had not fared so well and she looked at Thomas. “Can you fix it?”
    “It will hurt, Milady.” Before she could fear what he was about to do, he took hold of the back of her head with one hand and quickly straightened her nose with the other. She closed her eyes, clenched her fists and took deep breaths , as the pain shot through her whole face. Knowing first-hand how much it hurt, Thomas kept one hand on the back of her head and the other on her arm, ready to catch her if she passed out. At last, she began to relax her clenched fists and he knew the worst of the pain had subsided.
    Thomas turned to Clymer and spoke in Gaelic. “She is very brave.”
    “We should have brought a lass. How will we know if she is hurt inside?” asked Clymer.
    Thomas turned back to Anna, “I must touch you.” He waited for her nod, put his hand on her stomach and gently pushed to see if it caused discomfort. It didn’t seem to hurt her . Next, he carefully felt her arms and then her legs. She had a large lump on the side of her knee and he feared it was broken.
    “I must look,” Thomas whispered.
    She was reluctant, but began to gather her skirt on that side until it was high enough to expose more bruises on her leg and the lump on her knee.
    “Do you think it is broken?” Thomas asked.
    She shook her head and let her skirt slide back down. They were Highlanders and she didn’t trust them, but this one seemed caring. “Who are you?”
    “I am Thomas. We are your protection, Milady.”
    “You are too late.”
    “We came at the arranged time. If we had…”
    She did not mean to insult him and thought to apologize, but changed the subject instead. “What day is this?”
    Thomas wasn’t sure, so he looked to Clymer for the answer.
    “Sunday,” Clymer answered.
    Anna whispered, “Sunday, it cannot be.”
    Thomas drew his dagger, pulled a length of kilt free of his belt and cut it off. He dipped it in the cold creek water , handed it to her, and watched her hold it against her swollen eye. Until then, she had not noticed the blood on him, reached out and touched his arm.
    “Aye, ‘tis your blood. It will stop soon.” He took the cloth, rinsed it again and handed it back. “We will take you home.”
    “I wish to die.”
    Thomas stood up and straightened his shoulders, “You will not die. You are pledged to our laird and we will take you home.” He abruptly wrinkled his brow. “You are Lady Anna, are you not?” He was relieved when she nodded.
    A tear rolled down