Highland Champion Read Online Free

humiliation again.
     
    Liam cursed fluently as Brother Matthew helped him back to bed and then apologized to the monk. He slumped against the pillows the man plumped up behind him and waited for the pain to ease a little. Brother Matthew efficiently washed the sweat from Liam’s body while he sprawled there as weak and helpless as an infant. It was humiliating, but Liam had to admit that he felt better afterward.
    “Keira will return soon,” said Brother Matthew. “If ye are willing, she will feed you.”
    “Aye, I am feeling hungry,” Liam murmured.
    “A good sign. I confess, when we first found ye, I held out little hope that ye would survive.”
    “Just how did ye find me? I dinnae think I was attacked on the monastery’s lands.”
    “Nay, but not so verra far away either.” Brother Matthew smiled. “My cousin has a gift, as do many of the Murrays, though ’tis something we keep secret, for some dinnae see it as a gift from God. Keira had a dream, ye ken. A dream told her what had happened and where to find ye. God wasnae ready to take ye yet.”
    “I dinnae think He will e’er want me, old friend. I have followed few of the monk’s ways since leaving this place.”
    “That does not surprise me.” Brother Matthew smiled when Liam frowned. “Dinnae take insult, my friend. I meant none. Some men can be true believers, yet there is an earthiness within that makes the monk’s or priest’s life a poor choice. Sadly, not all of us have the choice to return to their old life as ye did. They make poor men of the church, and oftimes, give the rest of us a bad name. We suffer for their sins. ’Tis the same with the nuns. If forced, I believe ye would have been verra successful within the church and done your best to hold to your vows, but ye wouldnae have been happy. ’Tis no fault orsin. After all, there has to be someone to heed God’s word to go forth and multiply. Aye?”
    “True enough, and dinnae worry. As far as I ken, I havenae multiplied yet. Aye, I ken that, too, is considered a sin, but, I think, a wee one. My laird, my cousin Sigimor, frowns upon the breeding of bastards. As do I. God’s truth, I would like to have a wife, but I am without lands and nay verra rich.”
    “And, mayhap, havenae found one who can see beyond your bonnie face.”
    “Aye, there is that, though it sounds vain to say so. Howbeit, this face may nay be so verra bonnie any longer.”
    “’Twill heal. Keira said naught was broken there, although she felt certain the ones who beat you were trying hard to damage it. She was most astonished that your nose wasnae broken.”
    Hearing her cousin’s words as she entered the cottage, Keira said, “I suspicion they found it difficult to strike a target that wouldnae stand still. And then, they tried to kill ye, aye?”
    “I am nay sure about that,” Liam replied. “By the time I fell to the rocks, I was so dazed I cannae say for certain if they pushed or I just fell.”
    “If ye fell, ’twas because they were beating on ye and caused that misstep. How many?”
    “Four.”
    “Ye are verra fortunate to still be breathing.”
    “I dinnae think they intended to kill me. Nay so quickly, leastwise. They would have come down the hill after me to finish me, but they didnae. ’Tis that which makes me doubt murder was intended.”
    “That may be. Of course, they may have simply decided that ye were dead or soon would be, so why trouble themselves. There was little chance ye would be found where ye lay.”
    “True. My horse?”
    “In the stables,” Brother Matthew replied. “All of your belongings were safe. So, not a robbery either.”
    “Mayhap,” said Liam, “although they could have exhausted themselves trying to catch Gilmour. The beast shies from strangers, especially men, and can outrun most other horses.”
    “He was there when we found ye,” said Keira as. she moved to the fire to heat up some hearty broth for him. “A loyal beast.”
    “Ye had no trouble