“There. All done.” She and Alexander exhaled together. The poultice still reeked, but the stench was bearable now that she’d covered it with several layers of linen.
“My brothers. Graham. All are here? And well? Graham's wounds. He lives?”
“Aye.” Catriona rinsed her hands in the basin then dried them on a linen towel tucked into the belted waist of her apron. She nodded to the left of Alexander’s bed. “Look over yon. Graham sleeps right there. His wounds were bad but not so bad as your own.”
Alexander turned his head toward Graham then seemed to relax even more while he watched the rise and fall of his sleeping brother’s chest. After a long moment of silence, he returned his focus to Catriona. “How long?” He paused and cleared his throat, flinching from the effort. “How long have we been here?”
“A wee bit less than a sennight.” Catriona eased a fresh blanket up over him. “Are ye warm enough? Or do ye need another blanket?” With his fever broken, she didna wish for the man to become chilled.
“Untie me.”
Catriona pondered the request. 'Twas true the fever had broken for now but who’s to say it wouldna return? It had taken herself, Gaersa, and four strong stable lads to hold Alexander down and tie the bindings the first time. At this unholy hour, everyone was asleep and needed their rest. What if the fever returned and Alexander had another fit? She shook her head. “I think not. This is the first time ye’ve been sane enough to speak and cool to the touch. I fear the fever might yet return.”
Alexander huffed out a frustrated cross between a snort and a groan. “I am fine. Untie me.”
“When I tell ye ‘no’, I mean it,” she said in the same tone she used when scolding her youngest brothers. “Now rest a while. When dawn breaks, if ye’ve remained cool to the touch, we’ll remove the ties and change your bedding, but I dinna wish to wake Gaersa or any of the lads at this late hour to help me, ye ken?”
Alexander didn’t respond, just glared at her with the muscles in his cheeks rippling as he gritted his teeth. It was all Catriona could do to keep from laughing out loud. Master Alexander MacCoinnich wasna happy with her at all.
Her heart went out to him. The man had to be suffering from lying flat of his back on a blanket-covered table. They’d done their best to cushion his legs and shoulders with blankets but they couldna turn him due to his injuries. An idea to console him came to her. Willow bark tea would ease his aches and if that went well enough, a wee bit of whisky could follow.Best see if he can keep down water first.She picked up the cup of water from the bench and held it where he could see it. “Will ye risk a swallow of water rather than the dribbling of a cloth?”
Alexander’s face lit up as though she’d offered him a keg of whisky. “Aye, lass. That I will.”
A belated thought dawned on her. Catriona realized she’d have to cradle his head and shoulders upward for him to drink without disturbing the stitched wound across his stomach. A sudden flush of warmth rushed through her.Aye, well, there’s no helping it.She swallowed hard then slid her arm beneath his head and shoulders and held him propped against her. “Small sips, mind ye, your belly’s been empty a great while.” She thanked the stars above that she sounded a great deal calmer than she felt, what with a man’s head and shoulders cradled up against her breast like a reclining lover. She did her best to concentrate on giving Alexander tiny sips.
“Ye’re trembling,” he said between sips, the look in his eyes sending an even hotter tingle through her.
“I’m having to stand on the tips of my toes,” she lied. Aye, ’twas a bold-faced fib and she prayed he wouldna realize the truth. “One more sip and then I’ll let ye lie back down for a while before we try the willow bark tea, aye? Elena’s been ready to serve ye a tonic but ye’ve been too ill to drink it.” She swallowed hard. Damned if she didna sound as breathless as a maiden caught in the gardens with a suitor.
Alexander gave her another look that took quite the toll on her already rapid heartbeat, then took one more long, slow drink from the cup. Damn him. ’Twas almost as though the man could see into her thoughts.
“Thank ye, lass,” he said with a satisfied sigh that let her know he’d not only relished the drink but maybe the giving of it even more.
The feel of him in her arms and the way he rumbled against her when he spoke made it difficult to draw breath without shuddering. With a slow careful shifting, she lowered him back to the bed and slid out from under him with a smile and a quick nod before turning to set the cup away and attempt to regain her composure. She’d ne’er held a man that close before and it disturbed her to admit that it had been rather nice.
“Lie ye down,” he said in a low tone that was no longer a rasping whisper. Replenished by the water, his voice was deep and strong yet quiet in honor of the darkness and all who slept around them.
“B-beg pardon?” Catriona turned back to him, heart now pounding so hard it almost choked her. She feared even Alexander could hear it. “What say ye?”
Alexander shifted on the pillow, turning his head her way. “I said, ‘lie ye down.’ Ye look weary and I fear I'm the cause.”
Catriona dropped her gaze to the floor, not knowing how to respond. No one ever worried after her. Never had. Well, no one but Gaersa. The housekeeper had shown some concern for her well-being, but nothing over much. Even when her mother yet lived, everyone expected Catriona to be the strong one. She’d been born to it, or so her mother had often said. Catriona raised her head and forced a smile. “Dinna let it trouble ye. I assure ye I'm well. Thank ye.”
Alexander watched her with those damned dark eyes of his that seemed to peer into her soul. After a brief moment, he gave her the barest nod and a smile. “Lie ye down, lass. I’ll be fine.”
“Call out if need be, aye?”
“Aye,” Alexander said, his voice like a gentle caress she’d craved all her life.
Catriona stretched out on her pallet then curled to her side with her back to Alexander, every fiber tensed as taut as a fiddle string. Catriona's stomach knotted.Sweet Jesu, what ails me?She’d prayed for the man to awaken ever since he’d arrived and now that he had… She swallowed hard. Now that he had, she wasna all that certain how she felt about it. Granted, she was more than pleased that Alexander fared better and the fever had at last broken, but the man stirred a great many feelings within her, feelings she’d ne’er be able to share or embrace.
“Lass?”
“Aye?” Catriona lifted her head and waited.
“What be your name?”
“Catriona.”
