“Are you well enough to walk from here?” he asked, quietly enough not to be overheard.
“Perfectly.” Her arch reply was softened by a smile.
She is pleased I was sensitive enough to put her down, thought Callum.
The tourniquet he had wrapped around her arm had staunched the flow of blood, but Frida’s usually healthy colour was still a shade too pale for his liking.
“We must go inside,” he urged. “Is there a healer I can summon?”
“I am the healer in this house,” she reminded him, taking his arm and leaning against him. “Once we are inside, I shall tell you what to fetch and where to find it.”
They made halting progress up the stone steps and through the arched doorway. Callum grew conscious of her limp, which he had not noticed the day before.
“My ankle was all but shattered,” she had said.
He winced for her pain, and for the incident that had struck her down in her prime.
Although Frida de Neville was still very much in her prime, as far as Callum was concerned.
Inside, all was calm and peaceful. Woodsmoke drifted into the panelled hall, together with the smell of roasting meat from the kitchens. It was a relief to be away from the bright glare of the sun.
He paused awkwardly. “Where should we go?”
Yesterday he had only been so far as the great hall, but he sensed instinctively that Frida would not want to go there. Not until her wound was treated and she had regained some of her customary strength.
Frida inclined her head to the side. “Let us walk through the great hall to the solar beyond,” she said. “It should be empty at this time of day.”
The great hall was also empty, aside from a brown-coloured hound stretched out by the fire. The dog bounded to its feet at first sight of Callum and approached with its teeth barred.
“Sit down, Samson,” Frida commanded. “Callum is a friend, not a foe.”
The hound sat obediently, though he pricked his ears as if considering his next move. Callum had always been fond of dogs and horses. He threw him a smile.
“Good boy,” he tried.
The dog’s tail thumped on the floor as Callum and Frida passed him.
The day before, Callum had been struck by the warmth and welcome of Ember Hall. As he nudged open the door to the solar and helped Frida into a high-backed cushioned chair, he thought he had never seen a room so inviting. It was the light, he realised, which blazed through a high arched window to cast pretty patterns onto the plastered walls. And the scent of late roses from the garden beyond. Through the open shutters, he glimpsed a green vista of rolling hills, topped with trees and dappled with autumn sunlight.
It was a room one could settle into and forget all about the perils of the world.
“Thank you,” Frida said.
He realised he was standing, hands on hips, gazing about. “Tell me how to help.” He nodded towards her arm.
Frida’s blue eyes met his own. “Are you brave enough, Sir Callum, to enter a lady’s chamber?”
He blanched. “Aye, if the lady grants me permission.” He paused. “And if her brother does not run me through with his sword.”
Frida’s laugh was a balm. “I doubt Jonah will even notice. I have healing herbs in the store outside, but what I would like is a special salve and that, I’m afraid, is up in my chamber.”
They both paused as heavy footsteps sounded in the great hall. For a moment, Callum felt as if he might be caught in an act of wrongdoing. He would never have dared spend time alonebehind a closed door with Lady Frida at Wolvesley Castle. But here at Ember Hall, the usual rules seemed not to apply.
The footsteps turned towards the kitchen, and he shook away his fears with a mock salute. “I believe I am equal to the task.”
She smiled, leaning her head back against the cushions. “Very well. You must climb the stairs and cross the gallery. My chamber is at the very end. You will find the salve within a wooden box which I believe rests upon the window seat.” She sighed. “I left it there after treating Jonah last night.”
“Am I likely to encounter your maid, mayhap wielding some sharp implement to chase me away?” he asked lightly.
