The Healer by Allison Butler Page A

section of ground before her. She withdrew the pouch containing the feverfew, dropping several dried leaves into the mortar.
    ‘Do you have any wine?’ she asked as she used the pestle to grind the light yellow-green leaves.
    ‘Donald, bring the skin flask,’ William said.
    When the feverfew resembled a fine powder, she tipped most of the contents out of the cup and brushed the ground herb into the remaining water.
    Glancing to her right, she found William watching all she did.
    ‘The wine, please,’ she said.
    He removed the stopper and handed her the skin. She poured the wine into the cup, a little more than half way and then used the pestle to mix the ingredients.
    Satisfied she’d done everything correctly, she lifted the drinking vessel and offered it to Edan. A tide of warmth ran through her. She was doing something good for another, finally putting her knowledge to use.
    ‘You, first,’ William said.
    She looked at him and his gaze slid from the cup she held to meet hers.
    ‘You will sample it first,’ he said.
    ‘I have no need –’
    ‘Do you fear tasting your own mixture?’
    Her confusion mounted. ‘No, but –’
    ‘Then do it,’ he said.
    Concealing an odd sense of hurt, she flicked a glance at Edan and found him watching the exchange in silence. She brought the wooden cup to her lips, her mind awhirl.
    The herb’s natural strong scent had diminished when combined with the water and wine. Tilting the cup, she sipped and was not displeased by the flavour. She swallowed and turned puzzled eyes to William.
    He studied her face intensely, as if waiting for some kind of reaction. She stared at him with a calmness she didn’t feel. And waited.
    ‘Now, ‘tis my turn,’ he said, reaching for the cup.
    Lynelle gasped as his fingers brushed hers. She released the vessel, surprised when it didn’t fall to the earth. His hand already firmly wrapped about it.
    ‘Ah, Will,’ Edan said. ‘You don’t need to test it.’
    William ignored his brother, looked at Lynelle and took a drink from the cup. His eyes never wavered from hers. Understanding swept through her.
    He didn’t trust her. Didn’t believe in her. The burgeoning hope, so new, shrivelled inside her.
    He passed the potion to Edan and she watched him swallow it down without hesitation.
    ‘Any mixture or salve you make must first be sampled by you and then me before it touches my brother,’ William said.
    Feeling numb and weighted by a great sadness, Lynelle heard but didn’t reply.
    ‘Do you understand?’
    She turned to face William. His steel-edged tone matched the determined look in his cold, grey eyes.
    Her voice was lost to her. She nodded in answer and it was as if the movement displaced her dejection. Anger rushed in to take its place.
    All her energy suddenly centred on Ada’s teachings of herbs. Which one could bring on an ailment of the stomach? Unfortunately, having to taste the potion first, she’d have to suffer the illness too. But it would be worth it, just to see this man laid low for crushing her fledgling spirit.

Chapter 6
    WILLIAM ignored the desolation clouding the healer’s expressive blue eyes. He’d expected the same insulted reaction Lachlan’s healer, Iona, had displayed. Not sadness. But Edan’s welfare took precedence over everything. If he happened to harm anyone’s sensibilities in the process, so be it.
    A glimmer of defiance suddenly flared in her gaze and relief filled him. Her hostility was easier to dismiss than her despair.
    Rising, he gave the order to resume their journey and secured the sacks on the borrowed horse. Edan nodded in response to his questioning look and settled back into the furs. William mounted Black and looked down at the woman clutching the ill-fitting cloak around her.
    She stood rigid, chin raised, staring off into the distance, her bearing almost regal. But her mouth, usually soft in appearance, looked uneven as she chewed her lower lip. She obviously wished to be anywhere