Mated By The Demon Collections: Paranormal Romance Page 30

  Dejected, heartbroken and utterly miserable, Annie gathered her things together and walked into town. Her neighbors had allowed her to sleep in their cottage for the night, but they already had a whole family living in a single room, and it had been cramped and uncomfortable, and she certainly did not want to intrude or overstay her welcome. Where she would go she wasn't sure; people would certainly offer her accommodation and assistance, as she had helped many of the townspeople overcome various injuries and illnesses over the years, but this was a small, poor village, and almost everyone lived in one-room dwellings. She really didn't want to intrude and take up space that was already cramped, even if it was only for a night or two. Still, winter was on its way, and she would have to find permanent shelter somehow. There was no way, however, even with the help of all the craftsmen in the village, that she would be able to rebuild the cottage in time for when the snows came. And she certainly couldn't sleep outside in the forest – to do so would mean certain death. She wasn't sure what she would be able to do at all, really. All that she could do was to take things a day at a time.

  She trudged into the center of the village, and old Murdo, the baker, came waddling up to her on his short, thick legs. With a sympathetic smile he handed her a basket of freshly-baked bread and some fruit.

  “I heard what happened last night, lass. Please, take this. And don't hesitate to ask if you need anything, any help at all.”

  “Thank you Murdo,” she said, teary-eyed.

  He smiled warmly.

  “No need to say thanks, dear. You saved my beloved Betsie from that illness last year. She and I have been together for forty years now, and I don't know what I'd do without her. That illness almost took her from me, but you saved her. I owe you more than a few baskets of bread, young lady!”

  “I was just doing my job,” replied Annie with a smile.

  “Listen,” said Murdo, as he scratched his chin and pondered something. “There's a new chap around. You know the old Wallace estate ten miles out of town, up on the mountain?”

  “The old castle, that one that crazy old Lord Wallace lived in?”

  “That's the one. Wallace died last year-”

  “And the castle has been standing empty since then.”

  “Right. But this new young chap, from Northern Scotland, he's moved down and bought the castle. He's had it cleaned up and restored the past few months, and just moved in a few days ago. From what I've heard, it's just him and his sister living there, with a few servants. There's plenty of space in that castle, I know because I've been in there delivering bread. And that young chap is a very nice fellow. Lovely chap in fact, very generous. I'm going to deliver some bread there later. If you'd like, I could explain what's happened with you, and see if he'll let you stay in the castle for a while, until you're able to find a place to stay?”

  Annie's face lit up with a smile and she wrapped her arms around old Murdo and hugged him tightly.

  “You'd really do that for me?” she asked.

  “Absolutely. You're well-loved amongst most of us, Annie. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. Although, of course, if you're going to stay there, you'll be far away from us, and much closer to Edmond Village.”

  “Well, I've heard that people aren't too friendly there, but beggars can't be choosers, and I've got nothing left here.”

  “Very well. Actually, why don't you come with me when I go up to the castle to deliver my bread later? It's much easier to persuade a young man to do something when he's presented with a beautiful face like yours!”

  Annie chuckled and blushed.

  “Alright then, I'll come with. Thank you again, Murdo!”

  It was late afternoon when Murdo and Annie rolled into the grounds of the old castle on Murdo's rickety donkey-drawn cart. Annie hopped off the cart and was amazed at the transformation that had taken place at the castle. She had last been here five years ago to treat the crazy old former proprietor for a minor illness, and at that time it had been run-down, falling apart and overgrown with weeds. Now it had been cleaned up, fixed up, and in place of the former tangle of weeds there was now an exuberance of flowers and neatly-trimmed, sculpted hedges, shrubs and trees.

  A man came walking out of the castle's two huge main oaken doors. Annie couldn't help but gasp when she saw him, for he was strikingly handsome. Dressed in a stylish but subdued jacket of light studded leather, strong, hard-muscled legs showed from beneath his kilt. His face was angular and featured a tall, straight nose, a strong chin and hawk-like, hazel-colored eyes. His light brown hair was close-cropped, and a dusting of thick stubble colored the lower half of his face.

  “Ah, good Murdo, my favorite baker!” he said with a laugh in a deep, gravelly voice colored with a heavy Highland brogue.

  “Hello young sir!” replied Murdo with a grin. “I've brought you your favorite loaves and cheeses – and something else.”

  The man strode out to meet them, and locked eyes with Annie. She could swear that she felt a powerful energy radiating out from him, and her knees felt at once weak beneath her – a feeling she hadn’t experienced with a man since she had first met her beloved Andrew. The man smiled at her, and held his gaze there a little longer than he should have; she could tell that his eyes were roving over her, eying her up – and they seemed hungry.

  “Who's this stunning beauty you've brought with you? I know you said you had a beautiful wife, Murdo, but she looks young enough to be your granddaughter!”

  Everyone chuckled at this.

  “If only my wife were as gorgeous as this young lass,” laughed Murdo. “But no, this is Annie Collins. She's a healer from the village, but she had a terrible accident last night.”

  The man strode up to Annie, went down on one knee and took her hand in his, and placed a gentle kiss on it.

  “Miss Collins, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance. I am Sir Jude MacTavish, at your service. What happened to you, if I may be so bold as to ask?”

  Tears stung at the corners of Annie's eyes as she recalled the terrible events of the day before.

  “My... my house burned down, along with almost everything in the world that I own.”

  “She's been left near destitute, the poor thing,” added Murdo sadly.

  “That is terrible news indeed,” mused Jude. “You have nothing left, nothing at all?”

  “Nothing, sir, but the clothes I'm wearing and a few scrolls and books I saved. My scrolls and books are my most precious possessions, as they contain all the knowledge and formulas of my healing craft.”

  Jude nodded, masticating on this information. Just then, however, they all heard a bloodcurdling scream.

  “What on earth was that?!” exclaimed Murdo, raising his bushy eyebrows with fright and alarm.

  The screams continued; it soon became apparent that someone was terribly injured.

  “God,” exclaimed Jude. “I think that's Simon, the stable boy! The poor lad's only nine years old!”

  “Quick, he sounds like he needs urgent help right now!” said Annie as she hurried off in the direction of the screams, with Jude and Murdo following closely behind her.

  They found Simon lying on his side, near one of the high castle walls, crying out loudly and sobbing with pain. He had obviously fallen from a great height. The boy's right knee was twisted at an unnatural angle.

  “Oh my God, look at the poor lad's leg,” exclaimed Murdo, shaking his head sadly. “He'll never walk again! He'll be a cripple for the rest of his days.”

  “No, he won't,” said Annie with steadfast determination. “I've seen this once before, when a soldier fell off his horse and landed badly. His leg isn't broken – his knee is dislocated. I'm going to have to feel the bones and pop them into place.”

  “You can do that?!” asked Jude, looking surprised. “Like Murdo, I feel quite sure that this poor boy won't ever walk again, not with a leg twisted like that.”

  “You'll have to trust me on this,” said Annie. “Murdo, you hold down his shoulder
s. Sir MacTavish, will you please hold down his legs? We need to keep his body as still as possible while I do this, but unfortunately, for a few moments it's going to hurt like hell.”

  She knelt down next to the boy and held his hand gently.

  “Your name is Simon, right?” she asked.

  He nodded, still sobbing as tears streamed down his grubby cheeks.

  “Alright Simon. Now I'm going to need you to be brave for a few moments. You are a strong, brave boy aren't you?”

  Simon nodded.

  “I'm going to fix your leg for you, but just for a few moments it's really going to hurt, and I'm so sorry about that, but there's no other way. You're just going to have to trust me on this, okay?”

  “Okay,” he whimpered.

  She ruffled his hair sympathetically.

  “Brave boy,” she said with a sad smile. “Alright, is everyone ready?”

  Murdo and Jude bent down to hold the boy still, then they grunted in affirmation.

  “Okay, hold tight Simon,” she said to the teary-eyed boy.

  With that, she gripped his leg, with her right hand above his knee and her left just below it. She felt around the joint, probing and assessing with gentle fingertips. When she was satisfied as to its position, she gripped with a sudden fury and pushed with all her might. The boy screamed out in blood-chilling agony, but after a second she was done; the knee was back in place. Immediately, Simon noticed the pain starting to subside, and he smiled.

  “See if you can bend your leg,” she said to him.

  He tried and found that he could, albeit with some pain.

  “Good,” she said with a warm smile. “You'll be right as rain in a few days. Until then though, you should keep your weight off that leg and probably use a crutch to get around. And don't go climbing any high walls again, alright!”

  The boy nodded, still teary-eyed but grateful for Annie's help. One of the servants came over to help him get up, and then the adults went back to Murdo's cart.

  “You truly do have a gift for healing!” exclaimed Murdo. “It never ceases to amaze me, every time I see it.”

  Jude nodded.

  “I agree. That was amazing. If you hadn't have been here, that boy's leg would have been like that for the rest of his life. Listen,” he continued, “I have a lot of empty rooms in this castle. There's a lot of space here, and to tell the truth, I could use the services of a good healer. When I was a teenager, I had a horse riding accident in which I injured my back, and it still plays up and gives me problems from time to time.”

  “You're sounding like you're as old as I am!” interjected Murdo .

  “Haha,” replied Jude. “It's true, I am only thirty, but it was a serious injury, and it still causes pain.”

  “I've learned a lot about bones and joints,” said Annie. “I think I'll be able to help you.”

  Jude smiled.

  “Excellent! Then, come on in. You'll stay in my castle from now on, Miss Collins.”

  “'Annie', please,” she replied with a coy smile. “Just call me 'Annie', sir.”

  “Well in that case, I'll not have you calling me 'sir', young lady. Just 'Jude', please!”

  Annie laughed, feeling immediately at ease in Jude's presence – and feeling more than a few sparks flying between them as they laughed and joked.

  “Alright Jude,” she replied.

  “That’s the spirit,” he said, crossing his strong arms across his chest. “Come on in. I'll have my cook prepare a lovely hot dinner for us, and bring out some red wine. It'll make you feel a lot better after the terrible misfortune that's befallen you.”

  “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed. “And thank you, dear Murdo, for bringing me here!”

  “Not a problem, my lass!” the old man said. “It's the least I could have done.”

  With that, he climbed onto his donkey cart, turned around and started making his way back to the village. Jude put his arm through Annie's in a truly gentlemanly fashion, and led her through the huge oak doors into the castle.

  “I think you're really going to enjoy your stay here,” he said with a playful sparkle in his eye.

  “I think so too,” replied Annie with a subtle smile.

  CHAPTER 3

  The room Jude showed Annie to was the biggest she'd slept in in her whole life. She had grown up in and lived in the same village since she was a toddler, and had always lived in very simple one or two room stone cottages. This room, however, was huge, with vaulted ceilings, arched windows that looked out over the rolling green countryside, and an enormous fireplace in the corner. At the opposite end of the room was a massive bed, with four tall posts and curtains between them, and there was also a closet, ornately carved from oak, and a large desk near one of the windows.

  “I trust you'll be able to get your work done in here,” said Jude with a smile. “I can have some shelves and cabinets moved in here as well, if you need them?”

  “That would be wonderful,” replied Annie. “Of course, I didn't manage to salvage any of the herbs, minerals or chemicals that I use to make my medicines and potions... So I guess I won't need any shelves just yet.”

  “Well,” said Jude, raising an eyebrow as he thought about the issue, “I can take you down to Edmond village tomorrow, perhaps at their market you'll be able to pick up some of the things you need.”

  Annie looked down at the floor and shifted her foot around awkwardly on the floor.

  “Well, the thing is,” she began, “I really have nothing, nothing at all with which to buy any more supplies-”

  “I'll pay for them,” interjected Jude. “You're working for me now, and as your employer it's my duty to provide you with the right materials. You can't do your job without them, right?”

  “No, I can't.”

  “Well there you go then, it's taken care of. We'll ride down to Edmond tomorrow and pick up whatever you need.”

  Annie looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with admiration and gratitude.

  “Really! You are too kind, Jude, way too kind!”

  Jude grinned.

  “And you, my lovely lady, are, if I may be so bold as to say... exquisitely beautiful. I don't remember when last I laid eyes on such a stunning, gorgeous woman as yourself. It is truly a privilege for me to have you here, Annie.”

  Annie couldn't help but blush.

  “I don't know what to say,” she replied, “except that I'm eternally grateful for your generosity.”

  She couldn't deny that the compliments he had paid her – and the smoldering look of passion in his eyes as he looked at her – had got her pulse racing, but she felt a bit shy, and a little guilty, with thoughts of Andrew still in her mind, about feeling this way about a man.

  Jude bowed to her and smiled.

  “Annie, I must take my leave of you for the moment. However, I'll send a servant up to fetch you when dinner is ready. And, after that, I have some clothes that you may want to try on. They are from my late mother, bless her soul. She was almost exactly the same size as you when she was a young woman. And let me tell you, she certainly did enjoy buying clothes. Many of them she wore only once or twice ever, so they're practically brand new and unused.”

  Annie couldn't help but beam an enormous grin at Jude. She only had this dress that she was currently wearing; everything else had been burned to ashes in the fire. She hadn't had any idea of how she would go about replacing her destroyed clothes – but now here this wonderful man was, offering her almost-brand new clothes, of the quality worn by a noblewoman. It seemed that while the fire had indeed destroyed her old life, it had somehow catapulted her out of that simple existence into a kind of new fairy tale life. She couldn't deny that she was already starting to feel like a princess.

  “Thank you Jude,” she said. “Thank you so much!”

  “I'll see you later,” he said with a warm smile.

  Annie watched him walk out the door, and then she went over to one of the tall, arched windows to look outside at the l
ush Scottish countryside as she contemplated the strangeness of life with all its unexpected turns and mysteries.

  It was well after dark when a knock woke Annie from the restful nap she had been having on the massive poster bed. She got up, rubbed her eyes and stretched her limbs, and then wandered over to open up the door. She found a kindly-looking servant, a thin, elderly gentleman, waiting for her.

  “Miss Collins,” he said, “dinner is served. Please follow me.”

  “Thank you sir,” she said as she followed him out of the room.

  They walked through the castle, with all of its mysterious, winding passages, and after five minutes they arrived at the dining hall, which was a large, long chamber. On the walls a number of colorful tapestries hung, and suits of armor and painted shields also served to decorate the space. At the center was a long table, and at one end sat Jude, while at the far end sat a young woman. A place in the middle had been set for Annie, and she walked meekly up to her chair and took a seat. A bowl of steaming soup and a hunk of Murdo's tasty bread was already waiting for her. She glanced up at Jude and smiled.

  “Welcome Annie,” he said. He pointed at the young woman at the far end of the table. “That's my sister, Casey. Casey, meet Annie. Annie, this is Casey.”

  Casey stared at Annie for a while. There was a smile on her thin, pale lips, but it was as cold as ice, and her small eyes, set in a pasty, sallow face, were full of malice. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled back tight and wound into a conservative bun; a complete contrast to Annie's loose, silky locks that fell about her shoulders.

  “Half-sister,” corrected Casey. “You and I may share the same father, Jude, but our mothers were entirely different people.”

  “Isn't that the truth,” replied Jude sourly, rolling his eyes.

  Annie immediately felt a little awkward; the tension simmering in the air between Jude and Casey was palpable.

  “Well, it's nice to meet you,” said Casey coldly to Annie. “I'm so glad my half-brother at least had the manners to introduce you to me now, a whole two minutes after he just told me he had brought you, a homeless stranger off the streets, to live in our house.”