by Lynsay Sands
The moment the man nodded and dropped back off his horse to hurry away toward the other men, Will turned his mount and set out for home at a gallop. Averill immediately urged her mare to follow and quickly wrapped her arm around Laddie when he nearly bounced his way out of the saddle. It was an automatic, almost absent action. Averill's mind was on Domnall and all she would have to do for him when they got him home...as well as the question of where Ian and Angus were.
"The men will ha'e to pledge their fealty to ye," Gawain pointed out as he followed Kade down the stairs.
"Aye," Kade muttered, but then paused abruptly and simply stared at the activity in his great hall. "What the devil?"
"It looks like yer lady wife has the English soldiers a-cleanin' again," Aidan commented with amusement, as Kade glanced over the mass of bodies in the room. They were not all Mortagne soldiers. There were also women dressed like peasants and even a few men in peasant garb working among them.
"Again?" Gawain asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Aye, she had 'em removin' the dirty old rushes the other day," he explained, then added with approval, "I notice she hasna set our men to the task. A sensible woman is yer wife. She kens what an Englishman is good fer but doesna make the mistake o' thinkin' a Scottish warrior is o' the same weak ilk."
Kade grinned at the comment but then stifled it, and said, "Will is a friend to me, and a damned fine warrior. His soldiers are capable men. Doona let them hear ye insultin' them so, no when they traveled all the way here to back me up."
"Aye, me laird, ye be right," Aidan said solemnly, then added on a sigh, "though 'twill be damned hard no' to tease 'em over this."
"Aye," Kade said, allowing his grin to escape as he continued down the stairs. After talking to his father since Averill and Will had left, he, Gawain, and Aidan had decided to have a drink at the trestle tables and discuss what he should do first now he was laird; but the idea was no longer appealing, what with the noise and bustle in the room, so he headed for the doors instead. "We'll take ourselves to the inn fer a drink rather than trouble the workers."
Aidan and Gawain murmured their agreement, and they had just reached the doors when one was tugged open, and a Scottish warrior started to hurry in. He paused abruptly when he saw Kade however, and announced, "I was sent to tell ye Lady Averill, her brother, and five o' his soldiers are chargin' up the hill at breakneck speed. Something is wrong. And it looks like Lord Mortagne has a wounded man on his mount with him."
Kade was moving right after the part about there only being five soldiers and their moving at full speed. He had watched them ride out from the window in his father's room and knew thirty-six men had ridden out. What the hell had happened to the others?
The party charged into the bailey as Kade was rushing down the stairs. He wanted to run to meet them but knew if they had some wounded with them, they would just charge past him, eager to get to the keep and tend them. So he waited at the foot of the stairs, straining his eyes to try to make out if Averill was all right. Much to his relief, she appeared healthy and well. She had Laddie before her on the mount, but there was color in her cheeks, and she didn't look to be in pain. He turned his gaze to Will then, his eyes automatically dropping to the body draped across his lap in the saddle. When he saw the plaid the man wore, he frowned, wondering who it could be.
Curious as he was, it was still Averill's mare he moved toward when she and Will pulled up before him at the base of the steps. He reached up to pluck Laddie from the saddle, set him down, then turned back just in time to catch Averill as she swung her leg over and dropped off her mount.
Kade kissed her quickly on the forehead for being safe and well, then turned toward Will to find that Aidan and Gawain had already handled the matter and were carrying the man up the stairs between them.
"Who--?" he began.
"'Tis Domnall," Averill interrupted quietly and squeezed his hand in brief and silent sympathy before sliding past him to chase after the men.
"Domnall?" Kade echoed with amazement, staring after her.
"Aye." Will leapt to the ground beside him. "He has a sword wound in the side. 'Tis a few days old, but reopened. There is old blood on his tunic and new."
Cursing, Kade started forward. Will at his side, they hurried up the stairs even as Averill slipped through the doors and disappeared. "Did he say what happened?"
"Nay. He has not been able to tell us anything. I think he just stumbled up and passed out at Avy's feet."
"Ye think? Where were ye?" Kade demanded. "Ye were supposed to keep an eye on her."
"I was on the other side of the bush, waiting for her to finish relieving herself. I trust you did not expect me to hold her hand while she did that?" he asked dryly.
"We made her keep talkin' so's we kenned she was a'right, me laird," Laddie told him quickly, making his presence known as he chased them up the stairs. "She was a-talkin', then screamed, and we rushed around the bush to find Domnall lyin' there and her lookin' shocked."
Kade nodded at the boy's explanation as they reached the door, pulled it open, and hurried in to follow the procession across the hall and up the stairs. They caught up as they reached the large, empty room at the top of the stairs and watched silently as the men laid Domnall down and Averill immediately began bustling about, ordering water and linens to use as bandages, and her medicinal bag. Aidan and Gawain automatically responded to her requests, Aidan moving out to the hall to bellow below for water and linen to be brought. Gawain asked where her medicinals were, then rushed over to the chest to find them. Kade left them to it and moved up to the side of the bed and peered down at Domnall.
"Is it bad?" he asked, peering down at the pale man in the bed.
"Bad enough," she said carefully, applying pressure to the wound.
"Will he live?"
Averill bit her lip as she worked, then sighed and shook her head. "I do not know, husband. I will do what I can...and then we must pray he gets no fever and has not lost too much blood."
Knowing she could not do any better than that, Kade nodded and fell silent as Gawain rushed over with her medicinal bag. Moments later, Aidan was ushering in Bess and Lily with water and linens. Both women took one look at the man in the bed and started to shoo the men out.
Kade could have countermanded them but did not. The women would do what they could, and the men's presence there would only distract them, so he merely headed for the door, saying, "Send for me if he wakes."
Will, Aidan, and Gawain were already in the hall waiting when he stepped out of the room. Their expressions were grim.
"It doesna look good, me laird," Aidan said grimly.
Kade glanced to Will. "Did ye search the area?"
"I set the men to it as we left. If Angus and Ian are out there, they will find them."
Kade nodded, but his hands curled at his sides. He wanted to be out there looking, too.
"Doona e'en think about it," Gawain said grimly, apparently knowing what he was thinking. "Ye're no' e'en healed from the last time ye sallied out of the bailey. Leave it to Lord Mortagne's men. If Angus and Ian are there, they'll find 'em."
"Aye," Will agreed. "Besides, I do not wish to be chasing after Averill when she hears you have gone out and chases after you."
Kade smiled faintly at the suggestion but reluctantly nodded. "I'll wait till they finish searchin' the woods, but do they no' find them, I'll no' wait till morn, as planned, to send the search party to check the way to England. They'll leave tonight."
The men all nodded and turned to head below.
The sound of a door opening drew Averill from the light doze she'd been enjoying in the chair beside Domnall's bed. Rubbing the weariness from her eyes, she sat up and glanced to the door nearest the bed, only to frown when she saw it was still closed.
Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her gaze to the second door to the hall just as Kade closed it. The door was at the opposite end of the room, and Averill had been told that the chamber had
originally been two very tiny bedrooms but that the dividing wall had been damaged some years back by Gawain and Brodie, who had been drunk and wrestling. Rather than repair the wall, Merry had ordered the rest of the wall knocked down to make it one large guest chamber. So it was now the only room in the house with two entrances. That had been rather handy earlier today. While the men had clogged the one door as they slowly maneuvered the unconscious Domnall into the chamber, Averill had simply rushed to the second door and bustled inside to tend to readying the bed for the injured man.
"Wife." Kade paused at her side, bent to kiss her forehead, then straightened to peer at the pale man in the bed. "He's no' stirred?"
Averill shook her head, and said, "I heard a ruckus out in the hall earlier. What--?"
"Brodie," Kade answered grimly. "He was wantin' to try more whiskey, sure he could keep it down now. The fool," he added dryly.
Averill frowned as she recalled she had no tincture for the whiskey. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him we were all out, then had Aidan fetch him up a tray o' food and said to tell him that I would see about gettin' more whiskey for him on the morrow."
"Did he eat it?" she asked curiously.
"Aye. The tray was empty when Aidan went to fetch it. He said he looked much better for havin' it, too. He was up and dressed and walkin' about without needin' to hold on to things. He hasna come below, though," Kade added. "The men brought back a bunch o' the weeds ye said ye were lookin' fer. Can ye make a batch o' yer tincture in the mornin'? I'll no' give him untainted drink."
"Aye. I will make it," Averill assured him.
Kade's voice was solemn when he said, "If this tincture o' yers doesna stop him drinkin', I'll ha'e to banish him. I'll no' ha'e him abusin' the servants and soldiers, and he can no' control himself when he drinks."
Averill nodded quietly, but merely asked, "How is your father?"
"He hasna touched a drop all day...but 'tis only one day, wife," Kade cautioned. "He could be back askin' fer it on the morrow."
"Aye." She sighed and wondered what it was about the drink that held them in such sway. Were their lives truly so retched they would rather drink themselves to unconsciousness than face it? Life was hard, but as nobles, theirs was better than most, and many would trade places with them in a heartbeat--men and women who quite literally worked their fingers to the bone, for little or no reward. The funny thing was those people were probably happier than Brodie and Kade's father, with all their advantages. It made no sense to her.
Kade's suddenly stiffening beside her drew Averill from her thoughts. She glanced at him curiously, then followed his gaze to Domnall to find his eyes open and peering around with confusion. Averill immediately stood to pick up the mug of mead on the bedside table. She'd had it brought up hours ago, and it was no doubt warm now, but she doubted if Domnall would care.
When she turned to the bed with the mead, Kade immediately moved around the bed to assist her in feeding it to him by slipping an arm under him to lift him upright.
Averill murmured a thank-you and pressed the mug to Domnall's lips, and said, "Drink."
The man looked as if he were about to protest, but then simply opened his mouth for her to tip some liquid in.
"Thank ye, me lady," the Scot whispered after the fourth sip.
Averill straightened and set the mug on the table again, then bent to feel his forehead. There was no sign of fever. She straightened and nodded at her husband.
"Can ye talk?" Kade immediately asked the man.
"Aye," Domnall said on a sigh.
"Where are Ian and Angus?"
"Dead," was the grim answer.
Averill's eyes shot to her husband with worry, noting that he looked as if the man had punched him in the gut. The blood had rushed out of his face, and he sank to sit on the side of the bed. Dismay and loss flashed across his face, then he schooled his features, and grimly asked, "How?"
"'Twas after leavin' yer uncle's. We'd stopped to collect yer chest as ye asked--" Domnall paused to frown, then said, "Someone must ha'e kenned what was in it. We were attacked that night when we made camp. I woke to find a sword in me belly and a man standin' over me."
"Did ye recognize him?" Kade asked grimly and Averill didn't envy the man if Domnall did know who it was. Her husband looked cold and grim, and she had no doubt he would exact revenge. She was almost relieved when Domnall said, "Nay. He was a Scot though. At least, he wore the plaid."
He paused to lick his lips, and added, "I heard Ian and Angus screamin', then I blacked out. I am no' sure how much later it was when I woke up. 'Twas daylight, but it may ha'e been the next day, or the one after that. All I ken is the chest was gone, Ian and Angus were dead, and I felt sure I would soon be, too. Still, I bound mesel' up the best I could, buried them both, and rode for here."
"They left the horses?" Kade asked with surprise.
"I think they took the other two, but Ian's beast was there." He grimaced. "Contrary animal that he is, he probably threw whoever tried to ride him and returned to his master as Ian trained him to do. He was standing there eating grass when I woke up. I managed to mount him and head this way, but his left flank was troublin' him, and he wouldna travel at more than a walk." He sighed. "Still, 'twas better than me tryin' to make it on foot, but he threw me this mornin' as we reached Stewart land. It started me wound bleedin' again...and I thought I was fit to die when I heard voices. When I recognized that the voices were English, I at first feared I'd got mesel' turned around, had gone the wrong way and was back in England, but then I recognized Lady Averill's voice and..." He shrugged, not bothering to finish the rest.
Kade sighed and sat back slightly on the bed.
Averill hesitated, wanting to comfort him, but there was no comfort. She knew Kade had been quite fond of his cousin, Ian. So had Will been. Her brother had told her the three men had shared a cell while imprisoned. Thinking of her brother made her sigh. He would wish to hear this news.
"Shall I go fetch Will and Aidan?" she asked quietly.
When Kade nodded, she glanced to Domnall. "Are you hungry? Can you stomach food?"
"Aye," he said with a sigh. "I've had not but berries and whatever else I could find for days."
"Then I shall fetch you a meal," she said quietly, and turned to leave the room.
Aidan and Will were talking quietly at the trestle tables when she reached the great hall. Averill told them Domnall was awake, grateful when they asked no questions in their rush to get above stairs and see him for themselves. It may have been cowardly, but she had not wished to impart the news he'd had regarding Ian and Angus and would rather leave it to Kade or Domnall to tell them.
In her upset, Averill was nearly to the kitchen before she noted the clean, fresh rushes underfoot. Pausing, she turned to survey the great hall, noting that they covered the entire floor. It seemed that while the men had stopped gathering them once Domnall had appeared, they had gathered enough beforehand to do the job. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised. There had been thirty men working at it, and most diligently.
The room looked much better for it, though the walls were in need of a good whitewashing, she noted, glancing over them. And furniture was needed, and the tapestries needed cleaning, and...
Averill let her thoughts die there. The smell was gone and the floor clean. The rest could wait for another day.
Turning, she continued to the kitchens, pushing through the door, only to pause at the sight of a gaggle of men and women gathered around talking noisily.
"Oh, me lady!" Morag rushed over the moment she spotted her in the door. "Is there somethin' yer needin'? Would ye like yer sup now? 'Tis well past the dinner hour. Everyone else has eaten, and I asked the laird should I bring ye a tray. He said no to trouble mesel' to bring it above stairs, he'd send ye below for a break were ye hungry and sit with Domnall a bit himsel', but when ye didna come below, I thought mayhap ye'd fallen asleep and he hadna the heart to wake ye."
Av
erill blinked at the rush of words and managed a smile. "Aye. Nay. I came for--" She shook her head and tried again. "Who are all these people?"
"They are the first of the servants to return," Morag said with a smile as she glanced over the chattering crowd. Bess was among them, but none of them, not even she, had noticed Averill's arrival.
"Oh." Averill peered over the crowd curiously, then asked, "Why are they all in here?"
"Oh, well, they've been askin' about ye and the laird, and we've been reassurin' them all'd be well, and they should stay."
"And bribing them with Lily's pastries, I see," she said with amusement, as Lily set a tray of the delicious treats on the counter and people crowded in to get some.
"We've put some away fer ye and Domnall," Morag assured her, then added on a sigh, "If he wakes to eat them."
"Oh." Recalled to her reason for being there, she assured her, "He is awake. I came to fetch him food."
"Oh!" Morag positively beamed. "Awake and hungry. That's a good sign."
"Aye," Averill agreed. It was a very good sign. The man would be up and about in no time.
"I shall fix him a tray, then fix another and put it on the table fer you for when ye return," she said, bustling around and gathering meat and cheese and bread for Domnall. But suddenly she paused to glance at her, and asked, "Or would ye rather ha'e it in yer room? 'Twould be no trouble to run it up if yer weary from tendin' Domnall."
When Averill hesitated, tempted by the offer, she nodded and went back to work saying, "I shall run it up fer ye."
"Thank you, Morag," she said with real gratitude. "I appreciate the trouble."
"I tol' ye, 'tis no trouble," Morag assured her, then finished her task and presented her with Domnall's tray. "I'll bring yer own tray up in a jiffy."
"Thank you," Averill repeated, and moved to the door, only to thank the woman again when she appeared at her side to open it for her.
After the noise in the kitchen, the great hall seemed sadly silent, and Averill glanced around wondering why they were not out here talking, but then her gaze fell on the only two benches at the trestle tables that remained intact and realized there was nowhere for them to sit. Besides, while some of them had returned, they were probably leery of Brodie and his father drinking and coming down to cause a ruckus. She suspected it would be a while before any of them was comfortable enough to relax in the great hall again. Perhaps once Brodie was straightened out or banished, Averill thought as she mounted the stairs.
