by Glenn, Laura
He glanced up at the sun. Soon he would be able to call a halt to the training.
Horses’ hooves pounding the packed earth reverberated off the stone walls of the courtyard. Galen halted the training exercises and turned toward the gate as several of his warriors galloped in on horseback. All sat high in their saddles except for one, who slumped against his mount’s neck.
A hush fell over the crowd, the horses kicking dust high into the air as they came to a stop. Galen peered in concern through the dust, his eyes on the dark-blond hair of the man slumped over his horse’s neck. Adam.
Galen rushed over and caught his friend just as he slid off the side of his horse. “Easy there, old man.” He slowly helped Adam to the ground.
Galen pulled one of Adam’s arms over his neck and slipped an arm around Adam’s back to steady him, his attention drawn down to Adam’s blood-soaked shirt. “What the hell happened to you?”
Anna raised her head from her sewing as shouts arose from the courtyard. She caught Catriona out of the corner of her eye, rushing out of the keep. The young woman came to a dead stop only a few feet in front of Anna and screamed.
Anna shoved the sewing off her lap and ran to her friend. As she was about to slip her hand into Catriona’s, the crowd parted and Galen slowly eased a bloodied man to the ground.
She brushed past Catriona and shoved through the throng of people encircling the injured man. As she finally broke through, she recognized Adam.
“Adam,” she whispered in anguish and placed her hands on either side of his pale face.
He raised his brown eyes to hers and smiled weakly. “I see you are feeling better, my lady.”
“What happened?” Galen barked at the men who had accompanied Adam.
“It was a surprise attack,” one of them replied. “Adam separated from us to investigate a sound he had heard while we were looking for the Campbells near our border. Three men fell upon him while about a dozen other men attacked us.”
“They were Gowries, Galen,” Adam stated through gritted teeth. “I am certain of it.”
“Are the rest of you all right?” Anna peered into Adam’s pupils to assure herself he hadn’t suffered some sort of head trauma in addition to his more obvious abdominal wound.
“Yes,” a voice came from behind her. “We have nothing but a few scratches and minor cuts.”
“Adam, where are you hurt?” Her heart pounded in a mixture of anger and fear. “Is it just your stomach?”
“Yes,” he whispered, his arm twitching against his abdomen.
“I need to see the injury so you have to move your arm for me,” she instructed.
Grimacing, Adam slowly moved it away. Anna knelt down before him, taking in the ghastly slash across his lower abdomen, and moved part of his blood-soaked leine. Whispering an apology, she leaned in for a closer look. The cut didn’t appear to have punctured his internal organs, but she could not be certain until she cleaned him up. Unfortunately, the wound was at least eight inches long.
Her stomach churned in dread. She would have to put the man through hell. Her heart ached over how much pain he must be in and how she would have nothing to give him to ease his suffering while she worked on him.
Anna rose to her feet and turned. Catriona had slipped through the crowd and stood next to her, pale-faced, her eyes filled with tears.
“Get her out of here,” Adam grunted from behind Anna.
Adam and Catriona exchanged a strange, tortured look. Under normal circumstances, Anna would have broadly smiled over discovering the secret romance, but instead sent Catriona on an errand in order to ease her patient’s fears. “Catriona, have Adele boil some water and bring it to me in two separate bowls, along with clean washcloths and bandages.”
Catriona sniffled, her lips pursed as though she had just been insulted. Anna grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing Catriona to look her in the eye. “They have to be cleaner than clean, do you understand?”
Catriona nodded.
“And I will need whatever needle and thread you use around here for sewing injuries. But before you bring them to me, have Adele boil them in another kettle of water for a little while.” She wasn’t sure how on earth she was going to prevent Adam’s injury from becoming infected without the modern antiseptics she was used to using, but the more precautions she took, the better.
She turned Catriona by the shoulders and gave her a little shove toward the keep before facing Galen.
His tightened jaw and stormy eyes belied his outwardly calm but grim expression. “Where do you want him?” he asked.
“Upstairs in one of the bedchambers,” she stated, somewhat surprised he deferred to her as some sort of authority figure. “But be careful to not jostle him too much.”
Galen would need help carrying his friend, and she spotted Cal standing just behind his laird. “Help him, please,” she instructed as their eyes met.
Cal nodded. “Yes, my lady.”
She searched the nearby men for additional assistance. “You,” she said, snapping her fingers at a young dark-haired warrior she had not yet met. “Take a friend and clear a path for them. Be sure to light a fire in the fireplace and draw the shades back from the windows.”
“Yes, my lady,” he replied with a rushed bow.
Anna hurriedly followed them inside, careful to watch her step as they made their way over the rushes in the great hall. As they reached the stairway, she recognized one of the young women who had served lunch earlier in the day and asked her to bring whatever candles she could find. She was going to need as much light as she could muster.
Easing Adam up the stairs was difficult at best. Galen and Cal took it slowly, but the slightest jar caused Adam to grunt and Anna to wince in sympathy. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the top and turned down the dim corridor to one of the chambers opposite Galen’s.
The young warriors who had preceded them hurriedly threw some sheets across the bare mattress before turning to start a fire. Anna cringed inwardly as Galen and Cal lowered Adam to the bed. She had never tended an injury this severe on her own before, let alone without basic medicines and medical equipment. Right about now, she would have been shoved out of the way by an emergency room doctor, and then had orders thrown at her. Instead, she was the one issuing commands and wasn’t even sure how to best proceed in these bare-bones conditions.
Catriona entered the room, arms laden with washcloths and strips of cloth Anna assumed were to be used as bandages. “Adele is bringing the water to a boil right now,” she softly commented, setting her bundle upon the wooden trunk at the foot of the bed. “Mary will be up with the other candles soon.”
As if on cue, Mary swept in with a stool in one hand and her skirt bunched up in the other. “I thought you might need this, my lady.” She set the stool beside the bed then opened her bunched skirt, revealing candles she had gathered from the keep.
“Thank you both,” Anna said with a smile.
As Catriona helped Mary unload the candles, Anna sat on the stool and scooted toward Adam. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the hem of Adam’s leineand pulled it toward his chest.
Adamgrabbed her wrist and nodded toward Catriona.
“Catriona and Mary, please go see how close we might be to having that boiled water,” Anna instructed.
As the door shut behind the women, Adam mouthed his thanks.
Anna nodded with a gentle smile and turned her attention back to his injury. Galen stepped forward and pulled a short blade from his boot. He cut through his friend’s leather belt then sliced the leine in half and cut through one leg of Adam’s trousers. Together, Galen and Anna carefully peeled the blood-soaked clothing away from Adam’s injury and off his body. Adam did not make a sound though he winced several times during the process.
“A candle, please,” she softly commanded of no one in particular.
Cal jumped up and lit one of the candles in the fire before bringing it to her.
She held the flame as close to the injury as she dared without dripping hot wax into it. She examined the wound carefully, and then finally sat back in relief just as Cal lit and passed out candles to everyone in the room.
“How does it look?” Galen asked.
“Better than I thought,” she replied. “His internal organs have not been exposed, so I should be able to just clean it and sew him up. I’m more concerned about infection.”
Galen nodded as the door creaked open. Adam’s face twisted in panic and Anna turned, hoping Catriona wouldn’t rush to Adam’s side. She wasn’t certain she could deal with both an injured man and a hysterical friend at the same time. Thankfully, John and Owen entered. She patted Adam’s hand in reassurance and instructed one of the younger warriors to stand guard so Catriona could not burst in unannounced.
Owen limped toward Galen and shoved a flask in front of his laird. “Here, the lad is going to need this.”
“Oh my, lass!” exclaimed John from behind her. “Galen, should you be letting her do this? Perhaps one of us—”
“It is too late, old man,” Adam stated with a pained, gravelly chuckle, motioning for the flask with a curl of his fingers. “My lady has already seen everything.”
Anna turned toward John and it eventually dawned on her the old man was more worried about Adam’s genitals laid out in plain sight than he was about her tending to the injury. She rolled her eyes. “Really, if you’ve seen one, then you’ve seen them all.”
The men around her chuckled uncomfortably, except for John and Galen. Galen cocked an eyebrow at her and then handed Adam the flask before grabbing one edge of the sheet and tossing it across his friend’s pelvis.
Adam nudged Galen’s arm with the flask, nodding toward the cap so Galen would open it. “I did not think you were a jealous man,” he teased.
Galen pulled the top off the flask. “You are lucky you are already bleeding.”
Anna’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment over the conversation her snide comment had started. Thankfully, two young men entered the room, each carrying a bowl of steaming water. They set them down on the trunk beside Anna and then one walked back to the doorway to retrieve a platter from Catriona, which held needles, thread, scissors and soap. Anna thanked her before the young warrior closed the door again.
Adam raised the leather pouch to his lips and tilted it back.
“What’s in that?” Anna asked.
“Whisky, of course,” Owen responded.
She nodded. “No more than a couple of drinks, Adam. Your blood won’t clot properly if you drink too much.”
A hush fell over the room as Anna grabbed the soap and dipped her hands in the hot water of one of the bowls, scrubbing her skin and nails thoroughly. When she had finished, she dried her hands and grabbed a clean washcloth.
The men with candles moved forward as she bent to the task of cleaning the wound. She carefully washed away the excess blood from Adam’s skin and then proceeded to pick every speck of lint and dirt out of the cut.
Time seemed to stand still as she worked. She was determined to do everything in her power to prevent any sort of infection from setting in. Finally, she sat back and closed her fatigued eyes for a few moments.
No one spoke. Straining to catch any breathing noises from Adam, Anna opened her eyes in panic only to find him staring at her. She sat up and placed two fingers on his wrist to assess his pulse.
“Are you ready, Adam?” she asked, worried over the pallor of his skin.
“Yes, my lady.”
She smiled at the strength in his voice and threaded the needle. “Cal, will you take the scissors over to the fire and pass the blade through the flames for a count of about sixty?”
“Of course, my lady,” he murmured.
Owen moved to her side and peered over her shoulder. “What good is that going to do?” he grumbled.
“It will ensure the scissors are free of anything that could contribute to an infection.” Hopefully, he wouldn’t question her further. She wasn’t certain she could deal with the distraction.
“Here, have another drink,” Galen gruffly commanded as he tilted the flask to his friend’s lips.
Anna stared at Galen in a panic. She was in way over her head. He caught her gaze and slowly nodded. His confidence bored into her, boosting her strength.
She bent over Adam once again, took a deep breath and slowly sunk the needle into his flesh. Adam made no movement at all. Taking care to keep her stitches even and taut, she worked nonstop until she finally reached the other end of the wound. Exhausted, she made the last knot in the thread and dropped the needle on the platter before stretching her arms far above her head and groaning.
“It is over already?” Adam asked with a weak smile.
“Yes, old man,” Galen smacked him on the shoulder. “It goes by quickly when you faint away like a woman.”
“I did no such thing,” Adam grumbled. “You are lucky your woman is here otherwise I would lay you flat.”
Anna dabbed at the excess blood around the stitches with a wet washcloth. “Do enlighten me, Galen,” she said, not lifting her eyes from her task. “If women cannot handle pain, then perhaps men should be the ones to push seven-pound babies out of their—”
“All right, lass, you have made your point.” John awkwardly patted her shoulder and leaned in to peer at Adam’s wound. “Those are some mighty fine stitches you have there.”
One by one, the other men in the room approached the bed and grunted their agreement. Cal was the final person to examine Anna’s handiwork. “Those stitches are so fine you are not going to have much of a scar to show Catriona. I do not know how you will get that pretty young thing to look at your sorry old arse without one.”
Laughter erupted from the men behind her. Anna caught Adam’s movements out of the corner of her eye and jumped up to push him back as he attempted to lunge for Cal.
“That’s enough, you guys!” she barked. Turning toward the rest of the men, she placed her hands on her hips and glared them into silence. “Everyone out. Now.”
Nods and mutterings of “sorry, my lady” filled the room as the men filed out. Anna busied herself with cleaning the room as she mulled over what, if anything, she could use to help prevent infection. She turned her back to Galen and Adam and chewed her lower lip while she organized the used supplies.
Warmth surrounded her and a hand glided up her spine to her neck.
“You did well, Annie,” Galen whispered against her ear as he gently massaged the base of her neck. “You should stop worrying.”
She shook her head, leaning back into the soothing ministrations of his hand. “What if it gets infected? I don’t have any of the medicines I normally work with.”
He shrugged. “Tell me what you need to make them and I shall send my men out to procure the ingredients.”
Anna sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “We never made our own medicines. We bought them.”
His quizzical stare nearly burned into her cheek, but she refused to meet his gaze. “Some healer I am.” She tossed the last used cloth onto a pile with the others.
Galen gently pressed his thumb and forefinger into her neck, rubbing in slow, relaxing circles. “Aye, you are some healer. Did you see those stitches? You knew exactly what to do and you did not give up until the work was completed.”
Galen’s name was shouted from somewhere outside the room, followed by loud footsteps echoing through the corridor.
They both turned toward the door as a young warrior rushed into the room. “We have one of them, Laird!”
Galen glanced down at Anna before giving her shoulder a soft pat and following the young man out of the room.
Anna took a deep breath and closed her eyes, shaking her head as she put the scissors on top of the used bandages. Straightening her shoulders, she fixed a gentle smile on her face and turned toward her patient, only to find him sound asleep.
Grateful for the reprieve, she relaxed her shoulder
s and moved toward the bed, bending over Adam to smooth the blanket across his chest. His wrist was upturned and she took the opportunity to assess his pulse once more.
In the stillness of the room, a memory of her grandmother telling her about putting honey on cuts when she was a child floated through Anna’s mind. When she was studying to become a nurse she had indeed read a paper on the antimicrobial nature of honey. Perhaps she could dab some on Adam’s wound.
A light rapping at the door and she glanced up as a grim-faced Cal entered the room. “My lady, the laird requests your presence in the hall.”
Her stomach knotted. James Gowrie’s face flashed before her and she shook her head. James hadn’t even been born yet, she reminded herself. There was no way he could get to her now.
Anna smiled at Cal and followed him down the corridor to the stairs. As she descended them, Galen’s raised voice echoed up to her, bouncing off the stone walls.
“Were you sent by the Gowrie?” he demanded.
Startled, Anna paused.
Cal turned and offered her his hand. “Everything will be all right, my lady. There is no need to be frightened.”
She nodded and placed her shaking hand in his. He patted it and guided her down the stairs.
“Be sure to hold onto her, Cal,” Galen instructed without turning toward them. “She is likely to slip.”
Anna’s head snapped up from where she’d been staring at the ground, her gaze landing upon the massive breadth of Galen’s back across the room. Several MacAirth warriors stood before him, hands clasped behind their backs and angry stares centered on someone on the floor at Galen’s feet.
A growl beside her caught her attention. Galen’s dog brushed against her legs and stood next to her. Her heart briefly paused in her chest until she realized he wasn’t growling at her, but at the scene before them.