“Lady Amata,” she said evenly. “Might I escort you back to your chamber? This is no place for you.”
Amata scowled at the maid. “I shall go where I please,” she said. “Go away and leave me alone.”
Edie shook her head. “Alas, I cannot, my lady,” she said. “Lady Dacia has a job to do around her and if you are not going to help her, then you must leave. ’Tis shameful for two well-bred young women to be slapping each other for all to see.”
Amata was outnumbered and grossly upset about it. She stomped her foot angrily and started to berate Edie, but more men coming in through the hall entry caught Dacia’s attention.
She didn’t have time for Amata’s temper tantrums.
Completely forgetting about her cousin, she headed towards the entry to see what the casualties were. She was met by a wide-eyed, bloodied, and exhausted soldier.
“My lady,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “De Wolfe has been wounded. We’ve brought him back, but he shouldn’t… he can’t…”
The man was cut off when Cassius suddenly appeared in the doorway with two big arrows sticking out of him. He was dressed in full battle gear, including his helm, and there was a great deal of blood all down the left side of his body. One arrow was in the left shoulder and the other was somewhere down by the curve of his torso, in his gut. He was holding on to that arrow to stabilize it, but the expression on his ashen face was nothing less than calm, steady strength.
It was all Dacia could do not to cry out at the horrific sight.
“Cassius,” she said as evenly as she could. “Please… let me take you someplace to lie down. You must lie down so I can look at your wounds.”
He just stood there, but he was weaving unsteadily. “I never saw them coming,” he said. “I heard them before I saw them and, suddenly, they hit me.”
“I can see that.”
“They came out of nowhere.”
Dacia sensed that he might not have been as in control as he wanted her to think. As he wanted everyone to think. Cassius was all about honor and the de Wolfe name, so it was possible he didn’t want to show weakness in front of the men. In front of anyone, really. He had a reputation as Lord Protector to uphold, but Dacia could see that he was hanging on by a thread.
Perhaps the hall wasn’t the best place for him.
“It will be all right, Cassius,” she said, moving to him and putting her hands on his arm. “Come into the keep with me. You can rest there while I remove these. Will you come?”
He was looking at her. In fact, his pale eyes never left her. “How are the men?”
“No one will die,” she said. “Most of the wounds are minor. But you… you must come with me. Please, Cassius.”
“They came out of nowhere.”
He was repeating himself, indicative of the fact that he probably didn’t have much longer on his feet. She could feel him trembling violently as she gripped his arm. She looked at the soldier who had announced his arrival.
“Help me,” she said quietly, then looked over her shoulder. “Edie! I need you!”
Edie rushed over, getting in behind Cassius because he was now having difficulty walking as Dacia turned him for the keep. Argos, seeing his injured master, came bounding over and Dacia had to push him away. With the soldier on one side and Dacia on the other, Cassius began to walk haltingly towards the keep. More soldiers, men who had seen him ride in with arrows sticking out of him, had followed him to the hall, astounded that the enormous knight was still on his feet.
But, then again, he was a de Wolfe.
De Wolfe strength, as evidenced before them, was legendary.
Dacia saw the men gathering, looking at Cassius in shock, and she didn’t want them gawking. She focused on two older soldiers who had served her grandfather for many years.
“You two,” she said. “Help me get him into the keep. Edie, get my medicament bag. Then I want you to send someone into the village to find Emmeric the physic. With the village in flames, I do not even know if he is still there, but send men to find him. I will need help with Cassius, so hurry. Hurry, Edie!”
As the two older soldiers got in behind Cassius to help him cross the bailey, Edie fled back into the great hall to gather Dacia’s medicament bag. The other maids were still there, wide-eyed at what they had just seen, and Edie encouraged them to continue tending the men. She instructed the other servants to do the same, and put Fulco in charge, but as she came to the bag, she noticed that Amata was still standing where they had left her.
Head down, she quietly collected the bag, but Amata stopped her.
“I shall take it,” she said, reaching out to demand the bag. “I will help Dacia with Sir Cassius. You will stay here.”
Edie knew about the earlier fight with Dacia and Amata because she had been in the chamber across the landing when she’d heard it. She had heard everything. She had never been so proud of her mistress than she was when she heard her tell Amata everything that had ever needed to be said to the spoiled young woman.
Therefore, she knew that Amata’s demand for the bag and the insistence to help Dacia were not altruistic. Amata had a motive in mind, as she always did, so Edie politely shook her head.
“Nay, my lady,” she said. “She asked for me. I shall take it to her.”
Amata reached out and grabbed it, but Edie held firm. “Let it go,” she insisted. “I will take it to her.”
“Nay, my lady. Please release it.”
Amata yanked on it, but Edie wouldn’t let go. “I said give it to me,” Amata said angrily. “You are a stupid servant. You cannot be any help to her, so let it go.”
Edie’s dislike of Amata had reached its limit. She wasn’t going to let Amata help Dacia, and in a sense, she was protecting Dacia against a woman she’d long tried to protect her from. She’d seen years of abuse and selfishness from Amata towards Dacia. It had been heartbreaking to watch.
Now, she wasn’t going to take anything more.
Amata never saw the hand that shot out and slapped her across the face. Suddenly, she was falling onto her backside as Edie slipped from the hall, out into the night, where Dacia and the escort of soldiers were just reaching the steps leading up into the keep.
As Amata screamed, Edie just kept on walking.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“One more step, Cassius,” Dacia said gently. “We’re almost there.”
Cassius could hardly lift his leg. He’d been functioning on a battle high ever since those arrows carved into his body, but now, that high was wearing off. His entire left side was soaked in blood and he was starting to feel faint.
But he couldn’t let his guard down.
He had to make it into the keep under his own power.
Once inside the keep, there was a constable chamber inside the door to the left. It wasn’t a big chamber, but it had a good-sized bed in it and a hearth and, at the moment, that was all that was needed. There hadn’t been a constable in the chamber in years, so it sat cold and unused except by visitors on occasion.
Dacia took him inside the chamber.
“Sit, Cassius, please,” she said softly as she and several soldiers lowered him onto the bed. Once he was down, she looked to the men around her. “Bring light in here, as much as you can, and get a fire going in the hearth. I need hot water and as much wine as you can find, so get that for me right away. Hurry, now. There is no time to waste.”
Two of the men fled, but the older two didn’t move. They were looking at her with some uncertainty.
“My lady?” one man finally ventured. “Have you…?”
She looked at him sharply. “Why are you still here? I gave you orders.”
The men nodded patiently. “I know, my lady,” the first man said. “And we shall follow them. But after we’ve helped you remove those bolts. Have you ever removed them from a man’s body before?”
Dacia looked at Cassius, who was gazing at her with complete and total trust. There wasn’t anything in his expression other than the
full knowledge that she would heal him. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind. But Dacia had to be truthful in her answer.
“Nay,” she said reluctantly. “I… I suppose you were right to remain because I am sure I will need your assistance. Help me lay him on the bed and remove what clothing we can. I must see the wounds.”
Between Dacia and the two old soldiers, they manage to lay Cassius flat on the bed and straighten him out as much as they were able. He was so tall that his booted feet hung over the end of the bed at least a foot.
“Hurry,” Dacia commanded softly. “Help me get this clothing off.”
They tried. They removed his belt and scabbard, carefully setting aside his sword and purse, and other things that were contained on his belt. With that off, Dacia was forced to cut through the royal tunic. Cassius had finally closed his eyes. He was deathly pale as Dacia and the others rushed to help him, but when it came to his mail coat, they could go no further. It was sticky with coagulated blood and the bolts were pinning it to Cassius’ body.
“I cannot cut through this mail coat,” she said. “We have no choice but to remove the arrows before we go any further.”
Edie had entered the chamber by that point, setting the medicament bag next to the bed. There were boiled linen bandages in the bag, but they were forced to wait until men started returning with the hot water and wine that Dacia had sent them for. She couldn’t start anything without the things she needed. As soon as she had the water, the wine, and the bandages, she nodded to the soldiers hovering around the bed.
“Am I to understand that you have done this before?” she asked quietly.
The older solders nodded. “Aye, my lady,” the first man said.
Dacia bent over the gut wound, trying to get a close look at it, but it was difficult with the mail and tunics he had on. Gently, she prodded around, determining where, exactly, it had penetrated.
“If this arrow had been just an inch or so to his left, it would have missed him completely,” she said. “I do not know if it has hit anything vital but I assume that if he was going to bleed to death, he would have already done so. But we must remove them both, so I shall let you take charge. Tell me what you wish for me to do.”
The two soldiers spread out around the bed.
“Removing these requires some strength, my lady,” the first man said. “I’ll yank this one out and Bardo will remove the one in the shoulder at the same time. ’Twill be better for him that way if we can do it all at once. You will hold him still, if you can.”
Dacia nodded, struggling not to feel sickened by the whole thing. She was trying very hard to be clinical about it, to not feel any emotion, but the shock of seeing Cassius impaled had faded, being replaced with a strong sense of horror.
God, help me to help him!
She had to stick to what she’d been taught, to everything the priest had taught her. But it was difficult when her patient was Cassius.
All she wanted to do was weep.
But she fought it.
“Let me douse the wounds with wine first before you pull,” she said, forcing herself to focus. “The wine helps kill any poison.”
Edie handed her a wine jug but before she poured it, she bent over Cassius as he lay there with his eyes closed. She put a warm, gentle hand on his forehead.
“Cassius?” she said softly. “Can you hear me?”
It took him a moment to answer. “I do.”
She stroked his sweaty forehead, smoothing back his dark, dirty hair. “We are going to remove the bolts,” she said. “Please try not to move. We shall be as swift as we can.”
His eyes lolled open, focusing on her. “As you say, Angel,” he murmured, his tongue thick. “I am in good hands.”
Dacia smiled faintly at the man as his eyes shut once more, exhausted from blood loss. She stroked his head one last time before moving to the bolt in his shoulder. Quickly, she doused the wound and the one in his torso with the wine. Alcohol on an open wound was excruciating, but Cassius didn’t flinch.
“Go,” she commanded huskily. “Pull them out.”
They did. Both bolts came out fairly easily, one after the other. As the soldiers took them away, Dacia and Edie went to work.
Quickly, they placed the boiled linen over both wounds, which were now starting to bleed again. Edie held tightly to the one on his shoulder while Dacia held tightly to the one on his torso. They pressed them down, stemming the flow of blood because Cassius had already lost a goodly amount. Dacia had her eyes on his face as she held the linen down and she only saw him twitch once. Considering the pain he must have been in, it was remarkable that he’d not uttered a sound.
As the bleeding lessened, Dacia was finally able to get a look at the wound. As far as she could tell, it was really only as deep as the head on the bolt, which was maybe three inches at most. But the head of the arrow had pushed all kinds of debris into the wound – fabric, pieces of mail, and other things. Dacia knew she had to get those out. When the soldiers returned, she had them strip Cassius to the waist so she could have a clear field to work in. As the men hauled out Cassius’ clothing and armor, including his boots and sword, Dacia had Edie shut the door so they would have some quiet and privacy.
The worst part about wounds like the ones Cassius had suffered was the debris the arrows had pushed into the body. That was where the poison and fever could kill a man and Dacia was only too aware of that. Some of the Arabic treatises that she had in her collection of books had recipes on how to combat those poisons, including one that called for salts from the human organ – the liver.
The physic in Doncaster, Emmeric, had concocted the potion several times, having purchased bile salts from a man in York who harvested such things from the dead. It was probably immoral, but Emmeric still bought the salts because mixing them with wine, garlic, and onion often produced a cure unmatched in fighting fevers and bodily poisons. She knew that he would bring his potions when he came, provided the man could be found. Meanwhile, she would have to do what she could do for Cassius and, at the moment, that meant picking the debris out of the wounds – one piece at a time.
With the man stripped down, the fire in the hearth blazing, and Edie hovering to be of assistance, Dacia went to work on the gut wound with a pair of tweezers. She tried not to look at his naked flesh, how absolutely perfect he was, muscular and powerful and formed like a marble statue.
Interestingly, he had a big stigmata on his left shoulder, a wolf’s head set within a five point shield in black ink, an unusual marking on a knight but clearly one with significance to him. But she didn’t do anything more than simply glance at it. She kept her focus on the wound and bit by bit, she plucked the debris out of it, which must have been agonizing for Cassius, but he simply lay there.
Not a sound came out of his mouth.
Dacia got a good look at the wound between washing it with wine and picking out the debris, and it didn’t seem to her that it had hit anything vital. It had passed through skin and fat and muscle, embedding itself about three inches into the side of his torso. It was a miracle it hadn’t done more damage.
Even so, it still took Dacia a couple of hours to remove every particle she could find and when she was certain there was no more, she stitched him up with her careful, tight stitches and applied a wine-soaked chamomile poultice to keep any swelling at bay. As Edie bandaged up the wound with more clean linen, she moved to the shoulder wound.
This wound wasn’t as clean and it had already begun to coagulate, so she had to pick out the newly formed clots to get into it and remove the same debris that she had found in the other wound – pieces of cloth, mail, and leather, all of it shoved down into a wound that went into his armpit. This one seemed to be deeper and she thought it might have nicked a bone, but it was difficult to know. It had torn up the muscle of his shoulder and once she picked out the rubbish, she washed it with more wine before applying another chamomile poultice and stitching it closed. Packing boiled linen on top of it, she
bound up the shoulder tightly.
At that point, it was well after midnight, but she didn’t feel any fatigue, only great concern for Cassius, who had fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep. Edie cleaned up the bloody bandages and rags, tossing out bowls of bloodied water, moving quietly about her duties. Dacia remained seated next to Cassius, putting her hand on his forehead every so often to gauge his temperature, and generally watching how he was handling everything. She was so wrapped up in watching him that it took her a moment to realize there were two big, gray paws sticking out from underneath the bed.
A smile came to her lips as she realized Argos had somehow gotten into the chamber and she hadn’t even noticed. Bending over, she caught sight of big doggy eyes looking at her from underneath the bed. Reaching into the darkness, she petted the dog on the head, comforting the animal. He may have been a silly fool of a dog, but he was sweet and loyal.
She was coming to like him, just a little.
Sitting back in her chair, Dacia took a moment to breathe. She also took a moment to thank God that Cassius hadn’t been more badly injured. All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but time would tell whether or not any poison took hold. That was the big fear with battle wounds. If they survived the actual wound, all of that could be ruined in an instant if a fever came upon them as a result of the injury.
He wasn’t out of the woods by any means.
Dacia looked over at Cassius, sleeping heavily, and put a gentle hand on his forehead. His dark hair was dirty, oily, but it didn’t matter to her. She stroked it softly, feeling a great deal of affection for the man lying before her. He was magnificent to look at. And he was witty, charming, brave, and strong. There was nothing about him that wasn’t perfect in her opinion. There wasn’t anything about him that wasn’t to love.
Love…
Dacia realized that she was falling in love with him. She wasn’t shocked by the awareness, mostly because it seemed completely natural. She never thought she’d find someone she could love, so the moment was both unexpected and a little intimidating. She reminded herself that Cassius wasn’t meant to remain at Edenthorpe, that he would soon be moving on once he healed, and she didn’t want to love a man who would soon leave her.
WolfeSword: de Wolfe Pack Generations Page 17