The younger women seemed more shocked by the sight of her flattened, bare breasts than by the stitching in her skin. She smiled. “This is what happens if you live long enough.” She waved a hand at them. “There are worse things.” She paused and put a tentative finger to one of the stitches and eyed the redness along the edges of the wound. She looked up into the staring eyes of the two younger women. “Well? What do you see? Infected?”
Megan squinted her eyes a little and moved in for a closer look. Her nose was almost against the flesh and she sniffed delicately. “It doesn’t smell bad, mum, but it’s a bit redder than I’d like to see.”
Sadie eyed her companion with an odd look, but then turned her attention to the cut. She reached out a tentative finger to touch the older woman’s flesh, but stopped. “May I, mum?”
Tanyth nodded. “Of course, my dear. Tell me what you think and then I’ll tell you what I think.”
The two examined the cut and the stitching with critical eyes and a few tentative touches. They stepped back and shared a look.
Tanyth prompted them. “Well? I’m getting chilly here wavin’ my dugs in the breeze. What do you think?” She had an amused grin on her face. “We might wanna figure it out before any of the children wander in and we scare them silly.”
The two giggled a little, but Sadie’s serious expression didn’t go away. “That’s not looking as good as I’d have hoped, mum.”
Megan sighed and nodded her agreement. “It’s awful red and puffy lookin’, mum.”
Tanyth nodded. “I agree. I don’t think it’s infected yet, but I’m not likin’ the way it’s lookin’ and not just because it’s me.” She smiled and looked down at herself. “What do we do about it?”
Megan shook her head. “I’d try a poultice of feverfew if there were any around here.”
Sadie nodded. “Yep, if we were at home, I’d have the healer round. Witch hazel liniment maybe.”
Tanyth nodded, impressed at Megan’s practical approach and Sadie’s practical knowledge. “Well, I haven’t seen any feverfew yet, but there are some big patches of comfrey along the edge of the woods on the south side of the village. Do you know comfrey? Upright plant with fairly large leaves? Kinda spearhead-shaped?”
Megan nodded. “I know it. How much do we need?”
Tanyth gave a little shrug. “Probably two or three plants. Depends on the size. Break them off close to the ground. Bring them back here and I’ll show you what to do with them.” She looked at Sadie. “The big pine trees out behind the barn here?” She nodded with her head. “The ones with the long green needles?”
Sadie nodded. “Yes, mum? What about them?”
Tanyth nodded at one of the empty pots they’d heated water in. “Take that out and strip enough pine needle to half fill that pot.”
Sadie reached for the pot and Megan was headed for the door when Tanyth stopped them. “If you’d be so good as to get me a shirt or something? I’d just as soon not sit here half naked while I wait?”
They grinned. “Yes, mum.” Megan helped her put on a shift and then wrapped her in a blanket while she paddled her feet in the warm water of the tub.
“We’ll hurry, mum.” Sadie grinned as they scampered off in different directions.
Sadie returned first. She had the shorter distance to go and knew exactly what she was doing. She was back within minutes with a pot of the redolent needles. “Here we go, mum. What do we do with them?”
“Pour enough hot water on them to just float them and set the kettle over the fire to simmer.”
Sadie followed her directions and set the pot to simmer. “I love the smell, mum, but will this help infections?”
Tanyth nodded. “The pine is a good all-around cleaner. Any kind of cut or scrape? Wash it with a little pine needle tea.”
In a few minutes Megan came trotting back with three largish comfrey plants. There were even some seed pods that had not yet dropped. “How’re these, mum?”
Tanyth smiled. “Perfect. Strip the leaves off the stems and put them in another pot. We’ll make a poultice out of those and a bit of the pine needle tea.” She looked down at herself. “Before we do that, can I have a bit of soap and hot water? May as well clean up a bit before we get serious.”
The women eagerly helped her strip down and bathed her in hot water with some of their own soap. It was scented with lavender and Tanyth nodded approvingly. “The lavender will help healing, too.”
They finished rinsing her off with some of the hot water and then dried her in a soft blanket before helping her into fresh small clothes and one of her own comfy pairs of trousers.
“You’re going to have to wrap the poultice and I’ll need to be laying down.” Tanyth crossed to the cot but didn’t lie down.
The two women nodded and Sadie produced a length of cotton to use for a winding. “We were going to tear this into bandages, but this should work, shouldn’t it mum?”
Tanyth nodded approvingly. “Very good. Lay it down, and I’ll lay on it, and then you can pile on the foliage.” She grinned.
When the cotton was settled, they helped Tanyth lie down on it and she had them start with the kettle of pine needles. “One of you pour a bit of the liquid into the comfrey, and then squish it up with your hands. The other one, get a cloth and wash the cut with the pine needle tea.”
They did as she asked. Megan poured a small amount of the pine liquid into the kettle with her leaves and proceeded to make as consistent a paste out of them as she could. The smell of pine saturated the air and even the musky comfrey scent didn’t come near it in redolence.
Sadie took a clean cloth and gently patted the incision with the hot pine tea. The ends of the stitches occasionally caught in the cloth and tugged, but Tanyth was able to ignore the small twinges.
“Alright, now cover the cut with the mushed up comfrey. Make sure it’s moist.”
Megan made a line of warm leaf matter down the center of Tanyth’s body and the three of them giggled at the sight.
Sadie started to pull the cloth over her. “Now wrap you up, mum?”
Tanyth thought for a moment. “Scoop some of the pine needles out and lay them down across the wound, too.”
They built a layer of pine on top of the layer of comfrey and by the time they were done, the liquid was cooling and Tanyth was grateful for the warmth of the cotton being wrapped about her. They were careful to smooth the cloth over her body and then pulled the free end around her two more times. They helped her pull on a shift and smoothed it down over her to hold the loose end in place.
“There!” Tanyth looked down at herself. “Now if you have a bit of bread and some cheese? Perhaps a cup of chamomile tea? I think I’m about done for one day.”
The two looked at each other, at the shambles they’d made of the hearth, and then at Tanyth and grinned. Megan started gathering up the pots and herbal material while Sadie put the kettle on.
As they were cleaning up, Tanyth offered a bit of advice. “Put the left over pine and comfrey into one pot and just add enough water to cover it. Then you can leave it on the side of the hearth to stay warm and we can use it for washing up.”
Megan nodded and did as Tanyth suggested.
Sadie brought a whole loaf of fresh bread and sliced two or three chunks of cheese off a wheel for her. “I’m surprised you didn’t want more rabbit, mum.” She grinned.
Tanyth considered it. “No, I had rabbit for lunch. The bread is delicious and the cheese tastes good.” She smiled. “At this rate, I should be back in my own hut in another day or two, don’t you think?” She looked at Megan. “You’ve gone back there, haven’t you?”
Megan shook her head. “We moved into one of the empty huts, mum. Yours is ready for you to move back in.”
Tanyth found herself saddened that she’d not be living with Megan and her children, but Harry would be back soon, and the threat that had driven them together was gone. She also found the thought of being back on her own again almost hurtful
ly appealing. She was just not used to living so closely with so many people. As enjoyable as she’d found being around the young folk, she found herself longing for a bit of quiet.
She finished the cheese and chased it with a bit of bread and some healthy swallows of soothing chamomile tea. She gave a little wave to the two women at the hearth and settled herself into her bed. Her own private night fell, drawing the curtain of darkness across her eyes.
Chapter 30
Recuperation
Tanyth’s days and nights fell into an easy, if sometimes uncomfortable, pattern. The mass of the barn blocked bright morning light so the gray light of early morning lasted almost to mid-day. She spent her time in the drowsy company of one or the other of the village’s women. Each afternoon involved new poultices, and fresh dressings. Each new dawn saw her stronger and by the third day with comfrey and pine needle poultices the redness was leeched out and the stitching itched.
“You’re going to have to take these out, Sadie.” Tanyth was looking down at herself during their afternoon session.
Sadie nodded. “I think so, too, mum.”
Sadie and Megan dragged in the tub and spent much of the afternoon heating water. Between them, they’d dragged the barrow down to the pump and filled several buckets to get enough for bathing. A couple of large kettles provided the hot water. It was a race to see if they get enough water hot before the tub turned cold. Finally, they set about snipping and pulling the threads out of Tanyth’s skin.
It was a soggy, somewhat chilly, and ultimately painful experience for Tanyth. The snips and small tugs added up over time and working on the delicate flesh between her breasts didn’t aid in her ability to put the pain aside. As they came out, one by one, she was glad she’d been unconscious when they’d gone in. The thought brought back the memory once more and her eyes went to the hearth.
The crockery had not been replaced on the mantel board. There were just the few pieces there for her use and not the piles of bowls and trenchers and mugs that the village had used. Her eyes traced downward to the hearthstone itself. Something about it caught her attention and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
Sadie looked up at her. “That’s the last one, mum.” She saw Tanyth looking at the hearth. “Is there somethin’ wrong, mum?”
Tanyth looked down at the small wellings of blood on her body and used the washcloth to daub at them with the sweet smelling lavender water. “No, my dear. Thank you.”
Sadie looked over her shoulder and then back at Tanyth. “You had the oddest expression, mum. Are you sure?”
Tanyth frowned and looked back at the hearth. “There’s something different about the hearth. Is the hearthstone a different color?”
Megan and Sadie shared a glance before Sadie nodded. “Perhaps a bit, mum.”
Megan gave a little shrug. “You did lose a lot of blood before we found you, mum.” She gave a sideways glance at the hearth.
Tanyth felt a bit light headed for a moment as the realization caught up with her. “That’s a lot of blood. How long was I laying there?”
Megan shook her head. “We don’t know, mum. We heard the crash and then the horrible silence. We didn’t dare leave the children unguarded and Jakey couldn’t leave the front door. It might have been as much as a quarter hour before we heard William shout.”
Sadie bobbed her head in agreement. “After that it went pretty fast. Thomas came in from the outside and he and Jakey dragged the bodies out. We got you out of the broken dishes and Thomas stitched you up and then worked on William after.”
Megan was looking at the hearthstone. “There was a lot of blood, all of it yours. It kinda got spread around.” She turned back to Tanyth with an apologetic look.
Tanyth shivered and Sadie thought it was because the water had cooled. The two youngsters helped her up and dried her off. She shooed them away and dressed herself with her own comfortable clothes from the pack. She’d need more, but she smiled to think of spending the winter in the snug little house.
By the time she finished dressing herself, she was weak and shaky again. The bath and stitch removal had taken a bit of the starch out of her, not that she’d had all that much to begin with. Seeing the entire hearthstone stained with her blood shocked her on a fundamental level.
Megan and Sadie took advantage of the hot water and tub to have baths of their own, unselfconsciously stripping down and taking turns pouring hot water over each other playfully. Tanyth grinned at them and envied their youthful vigor for a moment.
She stepped gingerly onto the hearth and poked up the teapot a bit with some fresh water and a few more leaves. While she waited for it to steep, her eyes traced the contours of the stone and replayed the battle in her head. She found it morbid but couldn’t stop thinking about it. In the middle of the stone, right in front of the fire place, a darker spot stood out in the faintly stained rock. She didn’t need to look closely to see it had the shape of a perfectly formed star.
The knowledge washed through her and left her gasping in uncertainty. She’d dreamed it. As surely as the mark was on the stone, she remembered the dream and the sphere of blood. The raven dreams were real as well. Or as real as such dreams might be.
But if that were real, then what could it mean? People didn’t dream the future. Her world twisted suddenly. She realized that it had already shifted and she’d crossed the threshold to somewhere else with the acceptance of the raven’s vision.
She sat heavily on the stump near the fire and closed her eyes to focus on stilling the spinning in her mind. wherever she now lived, Tanyth knew that these young women were part of it. The whole village was part of it. The notion that perhaps it had always been so, and she was only now aware of it, began to bubble into the back of her mind. She didn’t know if she found the thought comforting, or frightening.
In the corner the splashing stopped and Sadie spoke to her. “Are you alright, mum?”
The voice brought her back and she opened her eyes and smiled at the concerned look in the younger woman’s fresh face. Tanyth took a deep breath and let it out. “Yes, my dear, thank you. Just a moment of weakness but it’s passed now.”
Megan smiled. “Maybe you should lay back down, mum? It’s been a busy morning.” She seemed a bit chagrined to have been enjoying the bath time instead of tending to her business.
Tanyth nodded. “Perhaps in a bit. I’d like to sit here by the fire and have a cup of tea just now, though.” She reached up and pulled a heavy mug from the mantle board and tipped the pot to fill it. The two young women exchanged glances and finished dressing before joining her at the hearth with mugs of their own.
When the tea was gone, Tanyth looked at them with a slight frown. “Tomorrow, I’m goin’ to move back to my house.”
They glanced at each other before Sadie asked. “Are you sure you’re ready to be on your own, mum?”
“Yes, my dear, I am. I’ll be closer to people down in the village and you two won’t have to take time from your families.”
They shared another doubtful glance.
“If I need help, I can ask easier when there’s people around rather than tyin’ up your time by draggin’ you away.” She smiled. “What I need most right now is to be up and movin’. Winter will be here soon and I want to harvest some of the ground nuts and rose hips that I found.”
Sadie relented. “If you’re sure, mum, we’ll help you get settled again.”
“Thank you, both of you–all of you, really–for taking such good care of me, but you’ve got families to tend to.” She looked at Megan. “Your Harry will be back soon, as well.”
“Yes’m another couple of weeks.” She arched an eyebrow and gave the older woman a coy look. “Frank will be back, too.”
It took Tanyth a moment to realize what she was getting at, but when she caught on she barked a laugh. “Oh, yes, I’m sure Frank has nothing better to do.” Still, the thought gave her a strange flutter, and she felt her cheeks flush.
S
adie shrugged. “He’s a good lookin’ man for somebody that old, mum.” She realized what she’d said and groaned. “Sorry, mum, I just meant somebody his age.”
Tanyth chuckled and patted the younger woman’s arm. “I know what you meant, my dear, and I’m older than Frank by more than a few winters. Us old folks may look alike to you, but believe me, we know how old we are.” She smiled to reassure them.
Sadie was contrite. “I meant no disrepect, mum.”
“You offered none, Sadie. It’s alright.” She paused and admitted. “He does fill a shirt nicely.”
They giggled a bit and Megan replied, “Trousers, too.”
Sadie looked at her aghast. “Why Megan Tannen! What have you been lookin’ at!”
Megan gave an unapologetic shrug. “I’m married, ya git, not dead. I can still look.” She cast another coy look in Tanyth’s direction. “And he is a nice lookin’ man–for any age.”
Sadie snickered. “Wonder if Mother Alderton noticed? She always used to say ’Snow on the roof don’t mean there’s no fire on the hearth.’”
Megan smiled at the memory. “She always had something to say, but I think she was looking to rob cradles that one.”
Sadie looked shocked. “What are you sayin’? Robbed cradles.”
Megan guffawed. “Don’t tell me you never noticed which quarryman it was that always filled her woodbox.”
Sadie sat up and looked at her friend. “No! He didn’t?” The delicious shock was too much for her to hold in and she covered her face with her hands and laughed.
Megan shrugged. “Well, nobody left to ask now, but as often as he was over there, I always figured he was fillin’ more than her woodbox.”
They giggled for a bit but it soon subsided. Sadie offered a final comment in the tones of a prayer. “May the All-Mother and All-Father find them place in the Summerlands together, if that’s so.” She looked up at Tanyth. “Kurt. Bless him.”
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