“Right here.” Emelie reached back and screamed. Her fingers accidentally pressed against her wound. Dominic burst through the door, splintering the wood and knocking it from one of its hinges.
“What happened?” Dominic demanded.
“We think it was Emelie’s blade that sliced her when she fell,” Laurel explained. She took Emelie’s hand and squeezed gently as she looked down at her friend. “You said you pushed it around you to get it out of the way. You’re certain no one else did it. It must have stabbed you when you landed.”
“Aye. It would have gushed a stream at first,” Nora spoke up as she prepared a basin with steaming water and various medicinal leaves and petals. “But ye’re a wee heavier than ye used to be. The weight of the bairn pressing ye into the stretcher likely saved ye from bleeding to death. It didna staunch all the blood, but it slowed it. I kenned it wasna birthing waters that soaked yer gown.”
“But I still havenae felt the bairn,” Emelie shuddered. Dominic dropped the linens he carried and climbed on the bed beside Emelie. Her eyes drifted closed as Dominic settled beside her. “No shoes on the bed. Disgusting.”
“Aught ye want,mo chridhe, mo ghaol.” Dominic yanked his boots off with one tug on each.
“You know I don’t speak Gaelic,” Emelie whispered, suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue now that Dominic lay beside her, and she felt safe again.
“My heart, my love,” Dominic murmured against her ear. He watched Nora and Laurel, not understanding what was happening. He tried to work through Laurel’s explanation. He hadn’t seen a dirk where Emelie lay on the ground, but it could have been there in the dark. He’d only felt the wet gown. He hadn’t thought to examine it or her arisaid. He pointed to Emelie’s plaid that he’d pulled off when he moved her to the bed. “Let me see.”
Dominic shifted to hold it up, and there was a clean cut through the wool. Laurel held up the piece of Emelie’s gown that had a matching slit. He always kept his dirks sharp enough to kill, and one had almost stolen his wife and child’s lives. Nora moved beside Laurel, as Laurel and Dominic eased Emelie onto her side. Her eyes flew open as she buried her face against Dominic’s chest to muffle her scream. Her fingers bit into his arms, but he accepted the pain if it helped Emelie relieve some of hers. Nora cleaned the wound before she went back to her medicinals basket.
“I need to stitch the wound. It’s vera deep. It doesnae look infected, but I canna be certain it willna become so. I got all the fibers out and cleaned it as best I could. I’ll pack it with yarrow,” Nora explained. “Ma lady, have ye had a wound stitched before?”
Emelie shook her head as she clung to Dominic. His hand pressed the back of her head, holding her closer, knowing she was about to endure even more pain. He wasn’t certain how much more his tiny wife’s body could manage. He didn’t dare ask about the babe, and at the moment, he only cared that Emelie lived. He knew they would feel different soon enough, but he couldn’t think beyond keeping her alive.
Dominic thought Emelie passed out when Nora began stitching. She didn’t move or make a sound. But when he looked down, he noticed her eyes were open, and she clenched her jaw. She’d dived deep into herself and found resolve that was seeing her through the excruciating pain. When Nora finished, Emelie’s eyes drifted closed, but he was certain she wasn’t asleep.
“Lady Laurel, place a pillow beneath Lady Emelie’s shoulder and another beneath her arse. I need to roll her back to examine her belly, but I dinna want any pressure on her wound. It’ll bleed again if it’s pressed on.” Laurel rushed to follow Nora’s instructions. Dominic watched Emelie as the women adjusted her, and her eyes opened. Her gaze appeared sightless, and she made no sounds as Nora and Laurel positioned her. When Nora pressed against her belly, she didn’t look to see what Nora was doing. Dominic turned panicked eyes toward Laurel.
“She’s in shock, Dom. She’s reached the point where she can’t handle any more right now. Let her rest,” Laurel whispered.
Dominic nodded as he returned his gaze to Emelie. He kissed her forehead, but she didn’t react. He gathered his courage and turned his head to watch Nora. He’d seen the same determined look on the old woman’s face throughout his life. The last time he’d seen it was when she struggled to find a cure for his mother. No one knew at the time that Colina was poisoning her. Nora had tried everything she knew to save Dominic’s mother. He wasn’t certain whether he appreciated seeing the same expression now. He reached out his hand and laid it on Emelie’s belly.
Nora poked and prodded in several places before she pressed heavily just below Emelie’s breasts. Dominic felt the quick succession of angry kicks and punches. Emelie turned glassy eyes toward him as she tried to focus. When she finally registered the sensations, her hands covered Dominic’s, and she burst into tears.
“Yer bairn is alive and kicking, just as her da will tell ye. I’d say it’s a lass with a temper like that.” Nora smiled. Emelie’s mind flashed to the wheat from all those months ago. She wouldn’t correct Nora. She was too ecstatic to feel the babe kick to care what the babe’s gender was. “Ye’re going to be on bedrest likely for the rest of yer time, ma lady. It’ll take several sennights for yer wound to heal. I canna see inside ye to ken what damage might have been done to yer bairn’s little home. If ye dinna bleed between yer legs and yer waters dinna break, ye should be all right if ye stay abed.”
“Whatever you say, Nora. I’ll do whatever you tell me,” Emelie swore.
“A wee piece of bad news for ye both.” Dominic grasped Emelie’s hand, and she gripped it with a strength that surprised Dominic. “Ye canna be pawing at one another until Lady Emelie’s wound heals, and I can take out the stitches. After that, her condition will limit what ye can do. I’m afraid yer past fears have come true, Dom. But that doesnae mean ye canna still enjoy one another.”
“That is the least of ma concerns,” Dominic muttered. He freed his hand from Emelie’s and cupped her cheek. “Ma only concern is ma wife and bairn are alive. I have years ahead of me to chase ma wife around this chamber.”
“Who says I won’t be chasing you?” Emelie whispered.
“Ye willna because I’ll never run from ye, only to ye. For the rest of our lives, Em. I love ye.”
“I love you, wolf. I never feel safer or happier than when I’m with you.” Emelie brushed a thick curl back from Dominic’s brow. “Will you hold me while I sleep? Now that I know our bairn is safe, and I’m not in so much pain, all I want is to sleep for a month of Sundays.”
“That isnae a bad idea. Let me get some willow bark tea into ye, ma lady. Then ye and Dom can sleep off tonight’s trials,” Nora said. She puttered around the chamber as she steeped the tea and helped Emelie drink it. She patted Emelie’s shoulder and dropped a maternal kiss on the young woman’s head. Laurel bent over and embraced Emelie, careful not to disturb the position she was in since she was finally comfortable. When Dominic and Emelie were alone, she pulled Dominic in for a passionate kiss. He adjusted the blankets, but when he leaned forward to kiss Emelie again, he discovered her light snores.
Eighteen
It was a sennight before Emelie could leave her bed to perform the most basic tasks such as take a sponge bath and use the chamber pot. Nora checked on her twice a day, pleased with how her wound was healing. It defied reason, but Emelie never developed a fever, despite how long her wound went untended. She had little appetite, but she forced herself to eat for her babe’s sake. Dominic and Laurel took turns keeping Emelie company in the mornings, and Dominic continued to dedicate his afternoons to his wife. She slept most of the time, so he completed correspondence Brodie assigned him. He took all his meals with her and only left the chamber when Emelie shooed him away when his duties as tánaiste demanded his attention.
After a fortnight, Emelie wanted nothing more than to leave her chamber. She’d convinced Laurel and Dominic that she didn’t need around the clock monitoring, appreciating the solitude while no one hovered. But she wanted fresh air and sunshine. She wanted to see something besides the four walls that closed her in. Nora refused to let Emelie walk as far as the bailey, and she was adamant that Emelie not stand over five minutes at a time. Dominic resolved the battle by ordering a manservant to take Emelie’s chair from the dais to the edge of the garden. He carried Emelie outside and helped her get comfortable with a blanket wrapped around her. The autumn air had a brisk chill to it, hinting at winter.
“MacLeod approaching from the south!” A guardsman called from the battlements. Emelie looked at Dominic, but he appeared as puzzled as she. They watched a man ride into the bailey and look around. When he spied Emelie and Dominic, he hurried toward them.
“Micheil,” Emelie greeted him. “What’s happened to Blythe?”
Emelie assumed the only reason a MacLeod from Assynt, which lay to the northwest, would detour to Kilchurn was to bring a message. Emelie intuited that it involved her sister. She knew Micheil and Blythe were acquaintances, so it stood to reason that he would bring a message on his way home.
