James said very quietly, “He turned as the knife started to go in and so the cut was lighter and across instead of deep.”
“But it should heal well?”
“Doctor said it would. Of course he also told him to stay off horses and Matthew didn’t obey that well at all. Then there was the fighting as we traveled here. It brought his fever back. Stitches held though.”
“So bed rest and getting the fever down.”
“That’s it.”
“He’s nay going to like that.”
“He’ll learn.”
Iain grinned. “Suspect he might. Nigel, Duncan, Lachlan? Time to feed the stock.” All three young men hurried out the door. “Thank you, Abbie. And you, Mrs. O’Neal.”
Emily hurried over and gave Jeremiah back to Abbie then followed her husband out of the room. Abbie tossed the damp cloth back into the bucket and, with her free hand, felt Matthew’s forehead and cheeks. He was noticeably cooler and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Better?” James asked.
“Very much so. Cooler and, by the looks of it, sleeping peacefully.”
“I’ve got to ride back.”
“Back to where?”
“The town. Meeting up with the doc and then it is off to fight in the far South.”
“Oh, I see. Didn’t you sign up only for a while?”
“I did and I’m pretty sure that time is rapidly coming to a close. Plan to wave them all fare-thee-well when it does but have to heed orders now.”
She impulsively hugged him, holding the baby to the side. “Take care. Sorry he’s not awake to see you off.”
“Yeah, but I know he will wake up and that will do for now. You watch yourself, pigeon.”
She watched him leave, even walking over to the window to see him mount his horse and ride away. Abigail really hoped he continued to have good luck. After putting Jeremiah to bed in the nursery, she also hoped he would find a good companion to watch his back as he had so skillfully watched theirs. Abigail then went to Matthew’s room.
“Well, Matthew, you missed James’s farewell. So best you get better soon or there may be others.” She pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down then looked at Mrs. O’Neal. “Where can I find a book?”
“Is it all right to leave him?”
“I think so, but we won’t be gone that long, will we?”
“No, just heading down to the library. I am just not sure the boys will have anything that will suit you.”
After some looking through a lot of books, Abigail found one that looked good. She did wonder how the MacEnroys got so many books on how to do so many different things. The book she picked had probably been added by Emily. As she walked back into the bedroom where Matthew was she caught him sliding one leg out of bed.
“Get back in that bed.” She would have laughed at how fast he did so except she was too angry. “Are you crazy? How many times do you have to nearly fall on your face before you accept that you need to rest?” she asked as she marched up to the side of the bed.
“Did I fall on my face?”
“No, because I was there, and so were James and several of your brothers.”
“Did I open up any stitches?”
“They are all fine and there appears to be no infection in any of the wounds. The fever comes from doing things too early and doing too much. So now you will have to play the invalid for a while. In fact, you should probably do that until the stitches can be taken out.”
“Where is James?”
