And maybe it was worth fighting for, even if he had no idea how to fight this particular battle.
Please let him be all right, I’ll do better. I’ll try to be better. Just let him be all right.
He stood outside the door for a long moment, gathering his courage. Then, before he could talk himself out of it, he pushed it open and stepped inside to face whatever awaited him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Is he goin’ to be all right?”
Iris burst into Codie’s chamber, her heart pounding with fear. The room was warm, a fire crackling in the hearth despite the summer weather, and the air smelled of herbs. Codie lay in his bed, looking small and pale against the pillows while an elderly woman in simple clothes bent over him with a steaming cup.
The healer looked up at Iris’ entrance, her weathered face creasing into a reassuring smile. “Och, me lady, there’s nay need for such worry. The wee lad will be right as rain soon enough.”
“Are ye certain?” Iris moved closer to the bed, her eyes scanning Codie’s flushed face. “Elijah said he had a fever and stomach pains.”
“Aye, he does. But it’s nothin’ more than a summer complaint. Happens to children all the time when they eat too many green apples or drink water that’s been sittin’ in the sun too long.”The healer gestured to the cup in her hands. “A few days of this medicine, plenty of rest and water, and he’ll be back to his mischief in nay time at all.”
Relief flooded through Iris so powerfully that her knees felt weak. She pressed one hand against her chest, feeling her heartbeat slowly return to normal. “Thank God. I thought... when Elijah came to find me, he looked so worried. I feared the worst.”
“The Laird was worried sick,” Aliana supplied from where she stood by the window, her arms crossed as she watched the proceedings with obvious concern. “Practically ran through the castle to find ye. I’ve never seen him so worked up over anythin’.”
Iris filed that information away to examine later. For now, though, all that mattered was Codie.
“How are ye feelin’, sweetheart?” she asked gently, sitting on the edge of the bed and brushing his dark hair back from his forehead. He was warm but not dangerously so. His skin was clammy beneath her fingers, and she could see the exhaustion in his young face.
“Me stomach hurts,” Codie whimpered, his voice small and miserable. “And the medicine tastes awful.”
“I ken it does.” The healer held out the cup again, the steam rising from it carrying that bitter herbal scent. “But ye needto drink it all, young master. Every last drop, or ye’ll nae get better.”
“But it’s so bitter!” Codie’s lower lip trembled, and Iris could see tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. “Can I nae have honey instead? Or one of Cook’s cakes?”
“After the medicine,” the healer said firmly though not unkindly. “Nae before. Food would only upset yer stomach more right now.”
Codie’s eyes filled with tears, and Iris felt her heart clench painfully. He looked so miserable, so unlike the happy boy who’d been laughing and playing at the festival just yesterday.
“Codie,” she said gently, taking one of his small hands in hers, “I ken the medicine tastes bad, but if ye take it like the good, brave boy I ken ye are, I’ll teach ye how to ride a horse. Properly with yer own saddle and everythin’.”
The boy’s eyes widened, tears momentarily forgotten as hope sparked in their depths. “Really? Ye’ll teach me to ride?”
“I promise. As soon as ye’re well enough, we’ll start lessons. And I’ll teach ye all the tricks I ken. How to guide a horse with just yer knees, how to take jumps, everythin’.” Iris squeezed his hand encouragingly.
“Even the really big horses? Like Da’s stallion?” Codie’s voice was still weak, but there was genuine excitement creeping into it now.
“Well, maybe we’ll start with somethin’ a bit smaller and work our way up,” Iris suggested with a warm smile. “But aye, eventually ye’ll be able to ride any horse in the stables. Would ye like that?”
“Aye!” Codie tried to sit up straighter despite his illness then immediately grimaced and fell back against the pillows. “I want to ride like Da does. He looks so brave and strong when he’s on his horse.”
It was at that moment that Iris became aware of a presence in the doorway. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was; she could feel him there, as surely as she could feel the warmth from the fire. Elijah had entered the room, silent as always, and was standing just inside the threshold.
She didn’t acknowledge him directly, didn’t turn to meet his gaze, but she was acutely conscious of his presence. She could imagine him standing there, his broad shoulders filling the doorframe, his dark eyes fixed on his son with that carefully controlled expression that hid so much emotion.
“Then ye need to be brave and strong right now,” Iris continued, keeping her attention focused on Codie even as part of her awareness remained tuned to Elijah’s silent observation. “Take yer medicine, and that’s the first step toward those ridin’ lessons.”
Codie looked at the cup dubiously, his small nose wrinkling at the smell. “Every drop?”
“Every single drop.”
“And then I can learn to ride?”
