Aunt Brenna nodded. “I wonder if he would have enough left to serve him if we were to cut out the small portion that is shredded. ‘Tis a verra large organ, and he would still have most of it. Quade never suffered any lasting effects from the organ I once removed from him. Granted, it was small in comparison, but based on what I’ve learned, the liver does not have an inner cavity the way the heart or the stomach does. Mayhap he can survive with most of it left intact. The rest of it appears to be healthy.”
“I think ‘tis our only chance,” Aunt Jennie said softly. “Otherwise, he will continue to bleed from all those tears. I think we cut here—” she made a motion across the organ, “—and sewhim up to stem the bleeding. His outside wound is clean, so we’ll stitch him up. Hopefully, he’ll awaken before the fever sets in. We must try to get enough fluids in him.”
“I think we must do this as quickly as possible. I do not like how slow his vessels are beating.”
“Aye, ‘tis Mama’s most basic healing rule. Keep fluids in the body and keep it clean.”
Jamie had heard many of the elders talk of his grandmama and her sire. They’d been amazing healers. All had admired her sire, but when his mother had grown of age, they’d worked together and done some wonderful things for the clan. It had been his grandmama that had pushed them to be clean about their wounds. Though he had no idea why, he had to agree that the cleaner a wound was, the less chance of fever.
“This is good timing. I just cleaned all of my surgical tools, so we do not have to take the time to do that. This time the water had come to a boil before I dropped the tools in. Surprised me how much easier they cleaned in the hot water. I hardly had to touch them. I’ll wash my hands and get my tools.”
Aunt Brenna looked up at them as Aunt Jennie went for her instruments. “I’m hopeful, Maddie. The bowel was not pierced, so that is the good news. I think we can repair his liver. Jamie, ‘tis a good thing you brought him here. Caralyn does not do much surgery. Why not take your mother down to the hall? This may take a while, and if Alex wakes up, which I doubt, we will put him to sleep again.”
Epilogue
Alex steps down from the lairdship…
Jamie glanced at his brother Jake, the two of them standing at the entrance to the great hall, waiting to see why they’d beensummoned to the keep from the lists. Jamie fidgeted every once in a while, unable to stop himself.
“Can you not hold still? You never could when you were wee either.”
“Why?” Jamie whispered. “Does it bother you? Because if it does, I’ll make sure to do it more often.”
Jake gave him a wide grin. “I have two fists behind my back that might change your mind.”
The hall was empty except for the elders seated at the dais. It was a special meeting that had been called, but neither Jake nor Jamie knew the reason for it.
At the table were three of the elders who had been part of the group, thedearbh fine, since Alex had been chosen laird. In their clan, the laird did the disciplining with his second, but Alex had always had two seconds—his brothers—so Uncle Robbie and Uncle Brodie were both elders. Nicol; Edwin, Nicol’s sire; Taran, the eldest male in the clan and also Edwin’s sire; and Solas.
Jamie glanced over at them: Taran, Solas, Edwin—the eldest three, and the newer members—Nicol, Robbie, and Brodie. After the laird, thedearbh fineheld most of the power in the clan.
“I’m thinking this is about Da.” Jake leaned toward Jamie, doing his best to keep his voice down.
“Why do you think ‘tis about Da?” Jamie asked.
“Because he has not healed as fast as everyone thought he would.”
“There’s naught wrong with his mind,” Jamie insisted. “He can lead from a horse, he just cannot do battle.”
Jake sighed. “I agree with you, but I’m not sure Taran and Solas agree with us.”
The door opened at the end of the great hall, the new area built especially for Alex and Maddie. Their mother held it as their father made his way through it with slow, deliberate steps. He used a whittled oak branch to keep him upright, somethingKenzie and Loki had whittled until it was smooth as a stone plucked out of the bottom of a rushing riverbed.
Alex Grant nodded to the men at the dais and his two sons who’d been instructed to remain by the entrance to the great hall until they were called forward.
Jake whispered, “I still can’t believe he survived. Damn good thing you were there to argue with me. I was sure our sire was a dead man. They say he may never get back to full strength.”
“He does not need to,” Jamie whispered. “He’s the great Laird Alexander Grant. His days as the best swordsman in the Highlands might be over, but I think he’ll swing one again.”
Jake glanced at his twin. “I hope you’re right.”
“Mama and Papa love their new chamber. You did a nice job with that. They’ll never go back upstairs,” Jamie said.
Their sire would not be able to handle the keep’s stairways for a while, so Jake had overseen the addition of a chamber near Uncle Brodie’s tower, but at the end of the hall instead of in the corner. He’d added a hearth and a sitting area for their mother.
Once their parents had settled, Taran, the chief of the elders, asked, “For what purpose did you call this meeting, Laird?”
Jamie couldn’t believe what he’d heard…his sire had called this meeting?
