This marked their third night in Kirkpatrick. They had found the gypsy, but now Jack couldn’t understand why Isla was this feverish in her sleep.
After the gypsy’s words and the fate she spoke of, all he could do was worry about her.What if she doesn’t recover?He didn’t want to think about such things now. The thought of losing Isla left a bitter taste at the back of his throat and made his insides hurt.
He went to her bedside and put his hand on her forehead. Her skin burned. Her lips were a darker shade than usual, and he knew it was from the fever.
A soft knock on the door made him rise to his feet again, and he walked to open it. Madeleine came onto the room with a bowl of clean water and fresh towels. “How is she?” she asked.
“Not better,” Jack replied and helped her carry the water to the bedside stool. He put it down and sat at the bedside. “The fever stays, and I fear it willnae calm anytime soon.”
“I ken she will be better,” Madeleine replied and pierced him with her intense dark looks. “Lucky for ye both I am a healer, and I will make sure yer wife gets better.”
Jack did not correct her notion of them being married. As he stared at Isla, he wished she was his. Hearing her admit to the gypsy that she wanted to return to her time had hurt his feelings. The ache still lingered in his heart until now.
He pushed his hurt aside and looked at Madeline. She was trying to feed Isla some tonic and he helped her lift Isla’s head off the pillows.
“This will help with the fever. She will get better by the break of dawn.”
“Thank ye so much for yer help,” Jack said to her.
“It is my duty. I dinnae think ye both are from around here,” Madeleine said. “Yer Clan colors.”
“I am from Humphreys,” he told her, but that was all he said.
Madeline nodded and rose to her feet. “I will return to check on her.” He nodded while Madeline tuned to walk to the door, but she stopped again and asked. “Does that belong to her?” she asked.
Jack saw her point at the medallion on the dresser. He had retrieved it from the ground after they re-entered the inn two days ago and had kept it because he knew it would be important to Isla.
“Aye, it does.”
“That is a cursed medallion,” Madeleine continued. “Here in Kirkpatrick we believe that the Gods bless and curse. The symbols on the neckpiece show that this a cursed one. Whoever wears it is doomed to the fate of death.”
Jack stared at the medallion as hard as Madeleine did. “The last owner of a cursed medallion was a Laird’s wife. She existed over centuries ago and she was stoned to death by her own people.”
“That was centuries ago and this medallion doesnae belong to her,” Jack replied. He didn’t have to worry. Once Isla returned to her time, her life would return to normal.
He remembered the gypsy’s words then, and something squeezed tight at his heart.
“She wears it, so that means it is her fate.”
Madeline left the chamber then and Jack moved closer to Isla on the bed. He lay down and gathered her in his arms so he could feel her body close the entire time.
By morning when he woke up, she also stirred awake and groaned. He sat up in bed and peered down at her. “Are ye all right?”
“What happened?” Isla asked as she rubbed her eyes and then her temples. “Did I faint?”
“Aye, ye did.”
Jack hugged her tight after she managed to sit up and he ran his hands down her back.
“The gypsy?” she asked.
“She disappeared,” he told her when he pulled back. He expected a flash of disappointment to cross her expression, but it didn’t. She simply sighed in relief and slumped against his body again.
Jack didn’t move away. He simply allowed himself to enjoy her closeness because he knew the time to say goodbye was near. She had helped his Clan and saved them from ruin. Now it was his turn to keep his end of the bargain and make sure she returned to her time safely regardless of how it would make him feel.
Jack knew now that seeing her leave would devastate him. All his life he had cared about what his people wanted. This was the first time he wanted something more for himself.
It is Isla… it’s all her.She had somehow worked her way into his heart and the more time passed with them together, the deeper his desire ran.