He had changed. The Arran she had known would have used sweet words, a gentle touch, and a smile to get her to sit and let him tend her. She had seen many women surrender to his magnanimous, charming nature. Now he was aloof and commanding, as if his generous heart had turned cold.
It took him no time to fill a bucket from the rain barrel and find a couple of cloths Purity had recently washed. He returned to the tree with the items and sat them and himself beside her.
“Your arm,” he ordered curtly, and she held it out to him, hoping to keep contact to a minimum.
He rolled her sleeve up to nearly her shoulder, exposing the wound. Then he slipped his hand along under her arm to cradle it as his other hand got busy cleaning the wound.
His hand was warm against her bare flesh, his touch more than gentle, holding her firm as if she might get away from him. Tears almost sprang to her eyes. It was the first time a man had ever touched her bare flesh, and not any man, the man she loved. She was amazed at the sensation that ran through her, a tingle of sorts that rippled over her flesh and down inside her, settling deep, wrapping around her, hugging her, making her feel wanted and cared for—for the first time in her life. She wanted to sob, knowing this would be the one and only time she felt this wonderful sensation and she wished she had never let him touch her. It had been easier not knowing his touch, not knowing what she missed. Now that she knew, she would forever ache for it.
“What’s wrong, Purity?” he asked. “Have I hurt you?”
Her head snapped up, not realizing it had drooped in sorrow. If he only knew what he had made her feel, but why would he care? He had never cared for her and he never would.
She offered an easy enough excuse. “The day has worn on me.”
He nodded and asked, “Would you truly have sent me away with no news of Raven?”
“I have no news of her to share with you,” she said, which was a partial truth. “I will gladly share what I know, but it will be of no help to you.”
“Tell me anyway,” he said as he finished cleansing the wound.
Purity went back to the day of the attack on the Clan MacKinnon, the day that Arran’s brother Royden and Oria were to wed. A day that had changed all their lives forever.
“Raven and I had gone to the woods before the wedding ceremony was to start. I was upset because my da was sending me to the convent, to protect me or so he said. We heard the screams.” They still echoed in her head to this day. “Raven was ready to jump in and help, not so me. I was so afraid that I couldn’t move. Raven told me to stay where I was and keep safe and off she went. But after a short while, I realized I had to help. I came across Raven trying to drag your da away from the battle. He was wounded badly and I thought for sure he’d die. We dragged him into the woods. She ordered me to stay with him and she went and got the women and bairns who had made it inside the keep to follow her into the woods. She insisted that we all leave and get your da to the witch so she could save him.” She shook her head. “I didn’t think the witch could save him, but she did. Raven told me if she could join us she would, but we were not to wait for her or look for her. I didn’t see her again until about a year later and only for a short time. She told me she couldn’t stay that people were still searching for her, wanting to force her to marry a man who would then become Chieftain of the Clan MacKinnon and possess all the clan’s land and holdings. She couldn’t chance staying in one place or jeopardizing the safety of others with her presence. She also warned me that if I was found, I could be forced to wed a stranger as well and the Clan Macara would then be claimed by him. She told me she would be in touch when she could.”
Purity offered no more, fearing she might say too much and she had given her word to Raven and intended to keep it.
“When last did you hear from her?” he asked.
“Only one time and not recently,” she said truthfully, since after that one time she hadn’t heard directly from Raven. It had been through messages.
“I promised to keep her safe. I won’t rest until I keep my word,” Arran said, wrapping a clean cloth around Purity’s arm and ripping it to knot and keep it in place.