“I am nay sure what to do, Artan,” she whispered. “Frightening though this is, I can see how it is best for ye. Ye would suffer so if ye were aware of the pain ye are in. This sleep takes that away, doesnae it? Nay, it takes ye away from the pain.
“Weel, for a little while I shall just leave ye be and let ye sleep this deep sleep. I will care for this poor battered body until ye come back to it. That willnae be such a hardship, it being such a fine body e’en covered in bruises as it is.” She touched a kiss to his lips. “But I warn ye, I cannae let it go on for too long and nay just because I miss ye already. There is only so much I can do to tend your body ere it starts to weaken.
“And therein lies the danger, my love. Each day that ye sleep your body heals but also weakens. Soon the flesh begins to leave your bones for ye cannae live weel on just broth and ’tis all I shall be able to feed ye. So we shall do this and I shall let ye rest in whatever hiding place ye have found in there. But when I see that the flesh is slipping off your bones, I will send for a healer from your clan to come and help wake ye up so that ye may eat and drink proper food and regain your strength.”
She settled her cheek against his chest again and sighed. Cecily knew that the chances he could hear her were very small, but she felt better for having told him her plan. She wondered if she should don her nightgown. The thought had barely finished passing through her mind when she realized she was already so near to sleep she doubted she could get up and undress. She closed her eyes and prayed that it would not be long before she could feel her husband’s arms wrap around her once again.
Chapter 19
“Where is she? Where is my wee lass?”
Angus stopped in his descent of the stairs to look at the woman who had just entered his keep. He recognized her almost immediately as Meg, his sister’s companion and Cecily’s nurse. A few extra pounds on her lush body, a few lines on her round, pretty face, and some gray in her hair, but it was definitely Meg. Suddenly smiling despite the grief he was struggling with, he hurried the rest of the way down the stairs to greet her, feeling the first touch of happiness he had felt in six long days, ever since Artan was carried home to Glascreag.
“Hello, Meg,” he said, pleased when he saw the recognition in her dark eyes.
“Angus?” she said, stepping closer.
“Aye, ’tis Angus. A little older, a little battered, but definitely Angus.”
“I heard ye were dying.”
“Nay, I was ill, but it didnae take me.”
“Aye, weel, I can see that, old mon. So, where is Cecily?”
Still as tart as a green apple, he thought, and nearly grinned. “She is sitting with her husband.”
“Ah, so he did marry the lass. Good. I thought he was a good lad, was telling me the truth, but as soon as they were gone, I started to fret about her.”
“If Artan told ye he would marry her, he meant it. And it wasnae just to become my heir.”
Meg smiled. “I ken it. I ne’er really thought it would be. So, where is she? Where are they sitting?”
“Come in here,” he said as he took her by the arm and started to lead her into the great hall, “and have a wee bite to eat and a drink. Ye need to ken a few things ere ye go to Cecily.”
By the time Angus had finished telling Meg everything that he knew had happened to Cecily and Artan since leaving Dunburn, she had grown a little pale. He realized that the woman truly cared for Cecily and was not calling the girlmy Cecilyin just mild affection for a child she had nursed. “The danger is past,” he assured her.
“Nay, it isnae, is it. The laddie is caught in a deep sleep from what ye have just told me. Mayhap it is his way to heal and mayhap it isnae. Cecily is a good wee healer and she kens it weel, for all she doesnae have confidence in anything else she does. She also kens weel that some sleeps can be verra dangerous things. Poor wee lass must be terrified.”
“Then I am certain ye will be a great comfort to her.”
“I mean to be. She cannae bear another loss, Angus.” Meg grimaced. “Weel, that isnae really true. She is a strong lass e’en if she doesnae ken it. Shewillbear it, but I darenst think of how grieved she will be. She may nay have admitted it yet, but she loves that braw lad. I think she has from the beginning.”
“I think she has, too, and whatever doubts I held about how she felt about Artan have faded over these last six days. Howbeit, she needs to rest, Meg. Crooked Cat has managed to make her rest for short periods of time now and again, but she needs to rest. She lies down with him at night and I made the mistake of thinking she slept until I looked in on her t’other night. She was wide awake with her ear resting against his chest and her hand placed upon his neck.
“I heard her talking to him, too. ’Tis as if she is trying to convince him to stay. Bennet, Artan’s cousin, has ridden off to his kinswomen to see if they have any advice. They are all said to be excellent healers.”
“Will one come back with him?”
“Probably not. He means to tell them that our Cecily is a gifted healer, too. He says they will send medicines that might help or advice. Howbeit, he is nay hopeful that they will ken what to do any better than Cecily does.”
Meg nodded. “It sounds as if the problem lies in his head or his spirit, and e’en the best of healers have trouble with those ailments.”
Angus rubbed his chin. “Cecily thinks his spirit has retreated to get away from the pain that wracks his body.”
“And what do ye think?”
“I actually think that makes sense.”
