“My mother is waiting for me,” he said. “Soon, I will go to her.”
Annaleigh forced a smile. “Home?” she said. “I am sure Lord Kilham will send ye home if ye wish. Mayhap ye can recover there, in yer home by the bay. Would ye like that?”
The bright light in Talus’ eyes faded. “Nay,” he muttered. “Not that home. My mother is dead. She waits for me in the heavenly halls.”
It was difficult for Annaleigh to maintain her smile. “Mayhap she does, but ye shallna meet her today,” she said, trying to think of things to say. “In fact, Anthony wants tae go tae Wooler. I hear they have a festival there this time of year. We’ll all go and eat decadent things, like currant cake and pear tarts and custard. When ye’re strong enough, we’ll go.”
Talus closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “If I take you to Wooler, it will be without Anthony,” he said. He paused a moment. “My lady… will you hold my hand?”
Annaleigh didn’t hesitate. She didn’t even look at War, perhaps to not see his reaction, perhaps to silently convey it meant nothing. She simply took Talus’ hand and held it tightly.
“There,” she said. “Better?”
He grunted softly. “Much,” he said. “I do not want to die alone.”
He meant it. Tears stung Annaleigh’s eyes as she looked up at the physic, who was standing on the other side of Talus. The man simply shook his head faintly.No hope. Realizing that, Annaleigh swallowed hard, swallowing away the emotion she felt for the life of a friend cut short. Annoying or not, Talus had always been kind to her. She did indeed consider him a friend.
“Ye willna,” she said after a moment. “I’ll not leave ye.”
“That gives me comfort,” Talus murmured. “My lady… Annie… I know you told me that you were not in need of a husband, but I must confess something.”
“What?”
“I was determined to convince you otherwise.”
A smile tugged at Annaleigh’s lips. She’d known that from the beginning, when he’d tried to woo her and she would knock him back, and then he’d simply overlook the fact that she wasn’t interested in him and try again. That had been their game. But this was the first time that he had admitted it.
“Is that so?” she said, pretending he hadn’t been so obvious about it. “We’re still friends, Talus. We will always be friends.”
He sighed again, heavily, but didn’t reply. Collingwood bent over him, putting a hand to his forehead, his cheek, before pulling the hand away. The expression on his face told Annaleigh that nothing had changed with Talus’ fever. He’d been running a high fever for several hours, at least, more than likely whilehe was sleeping during the night. Annaleigh and the physic and even Jemma, who had also been in the hall, had been tending other wounded as Talus had slept peacefully, so they hadn’t noticed his temperature rising.
There was really no telling how long he’d been with fever.
Sometimes, fevers could last for days or even a week or two, depending on the severity, but high fevers could be deadly. They would break down the body quickly as the poison infected the lungs and heart and other things needed to survive. Soon, the body would begin shutting down because of too much poison and too high a fever. Everyone in that small chamber had seen something like that happen, now unexpectedly with Talus.
Life was a fragile thing, indeed.
“Annie,” Talus said, his eyes rolling open. “Will you do something for me?”
“If I can.”
He was fixed on her. “I know that you do not love me,” he said. “I know that you do not care for me in a romantic sense, but I want to give something to you.”
Annaleigh didn’t like the sound of that. “Ye needna give me anything, Talus,” she assured him. “Friends dunna expect gifts from one another.”
“Please,” he said, begging her. “I wish to do this. Please… will you listen?”
She didn’t want to, but she reluctantly agreed. “Speak, then.”
He swallowed hard, but as he held Annaleigh’s hand, she could feel him tremble. His sweaty hands were beginning to quiver. In fact, his entire body was beginning to shake.
“My father, Tobin, is the Earl of East Anglia,” he said. “I have an older brother, Tevin, who is Viscount Winterton. He will inherit the title and the property, but I hold the title Lord Rivenhall. My father gave it to me, a landed title, so that I wouldhave some income. Rivenhall has two villages that I collect taxes from. I have some wealth of my own.”
His trembling was growing worse and Annaleigh patted his hand. “That’s very nice, Talus,” she said. “I dinna know that.”
He lifted his head, looking at her intently. “I want to give it to you.”
She was confused. “Give me what?” she said. “Ye canna give me yer title.”
