Wordlessly, the woman shuffled to her feet and scurried off, her eyes looking as though they might pop from their sockets. Aileana held onto William until the shaking stopped, then she leaned back on her heels and peered around the tiny room again. Her gaze met the dark eyes of a boy who seemed but a shade younger than the sick lad. But when she looked at him, he skittered farther into the shadows. Aileana gestured for him to come back into the light.
Reluctantly, he obeyed, standing on shifting feet in the smoky fire’s glow. His hands twisted behind his back, and he looked down, trying to avoid Aileana’s stare.
“What’s your name, lad?”
“Evan,” he mumbled, still looking down.
“A fine name, Evan,” she murmured. She paused before adding, “But mayhap not the name of the man who’d perform the kind of great deed I’ll be needing to help save young William here.”
At the mention of great deeds, Evan’s head snapped up. “I can do many things! Better’n most!” His eyes welled with tears. “And I’ll do anything to help my brother. On my word of honor!”
Aileana’s heart twisted. She hadn’t meant to make the boy feel guilty. But she had wanted to incite him to cooperate, and the quicker the better. Striving for a more understanding tone, she said, “I don’t need anything that is bad, Evan, only something necessary to help your brother’s heart beat strong. Can you get it for me? It’s something you’ll be needing help to carry.”
Evan nodded, his eyes alight with the understanding that his would be a serious mission.
“Good, then.” She nodded back. “I want you to fetch one of the casks of wine stored in the castle. Get another lad and come back with it as soon as you can. Will you do that for me?”
“In a whistle-breath, I can!” Evan shouted, dashing to the door.
Aileana turned back to William after the boy left, biting her lip with concern. His breathing was labored, and when she felt his neck and near his groin, she noticed the hard swellings that Bridgid had warned of earlier. It was clear that the plague buboes caused him pain; he writhed and groaned louder when she touched the swollen places.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. Tilting her head, she saw Bridgid standing next to her. Thebailiehad left Inghin in the competent hands of two of the other women who were trying to persuade her to lie on the pallet near the tiny room’s hearth.
“How is he?”
“Not good,” she answered quietly. “If the fever cannot be lessened, he will die before morn.”
Bridgid knelt down beside her. “I heard you tell Evan to bring wine.” Her glance drifted to Inghin, who appeared to be giving in to the women’s entreaties to rest. She looked to Aileana again, speaking more softly, even, than before. “But wouldn’t the tonic you prepared be better than plain wine for the lad?”
“Nay. The strength of the wine will not be dulled by vinegar and herbs as it is in the tonic.”
“You fear for his heart, then.”
Aileana nodded. “He needs the stimulation of the wine, but we will need to sponge him continually to cool any heat it might bring to his skin. That is why I’ve sent the old woman to the loch. It was faster to get and just as cool as the water from the well.”
Bridgid fell silent, and Aileana worked to loosen William’s clothing. She wanted to make him as comfortable as possible until the others returned. When she finished, she sat back to wait. He seemed at peace for the moment, and all was quiet, but she sensed a strangeness from Bridgid; thebailiehung back, wary and guarded, watching Aileana with a vigilance that unnerved her.
Assuming that she simply feared contagion, Aileana said, “Perhaps you should return to the castle now, Bridgid. There is no need for you to sit watch this night.”
Bridgid made a scoffing sound. “It is not your place to send me home like an errant child, missy. I’ve no dread of the plague, if that is what you’re thinking.”
“I was only trying to say that there is no need for us both to look the demon in the eye. It is only William, for now. One of us is enough to sit with him.”
“Then why don’tyougo back to the castle and your bed?” When Aileana started to shake her head, Bridgid burst forth, “And why not? I know I asked for your help, but do you not worry for your own safety, toiling here, in the heart of the disease?”
That strange thought stilled Aileana for a moment, making her pause. It was true that illness floated thick around them. It hung like a deadly cloud over the entire chamber. But she felt little concern for herself. In truth she’d always felt a great satisfaction in helping to heal the sick at Dulhmeny. They’d been the only people other than her brothers that Father had freely allowed her to talk to during the many years after Morgana’s banishment and death.
Being here was only a little different. MacRaes or nay, these people needed her, and she found that she was willing to risk contagion for the pleasure of that burden. It would be a chance to prove once and for all that she wasn’t like Morgana…that she didn’t thrive on spreading destruction as her sister had. Nay, just the opposite.
Finally, she met Bridgid’s gaze and answered, “I’ve treated many illnesses in my life and never taken sick because of it. It will be the same for this, I warrant—and if not, then I cannot change the hand of God.”
Bridgid shook her head and mumbled, “I do not know, lass. Perhaps Inghid was right—it might not be best for you to be here, though I asked you to come.”
Aileana bit the insides of her cheeks. So it came down to this again.Trust. Bridgid didn’t trust her. Hurt spread dark tendrils through her veins. How could she have been so daft as to let her guard down even for an instant? She’d come no farther down the road of acceptance than where she’d been the first day she walked into Eilean Donan’s castle yard.
“I am sorry,” Aileana said stiffly. “I did not realize my help was still suspect with you as well.” She rocked back on her heels, bracing her hands against her thighs to stand. “I will be leaving now. Send for me if there is anything you feel you can trust me to do.”
“Nay, missy, it is not that.” Bridgid reached up and pulled Aileana back down. “I’ve no fear of your honesty. Truth to tell, I know precious little about healing them that come down with the plague; Ineedyour help if you’re willing to give it.”
