Oh, what she wouldn’t give for her own bed and her own little house right now! It wasn’t much, but it was hers and was comforting in its familiarity. And what she needed most right now wasdefinitelya bit of familiarity.
Instead, the strange noises, the huge bed, the opulent room only served to remind her how far from home she really was.
Had Elise noticed she was missing yet, she wondered. Unlikely. Rose had disappeared many times before, called away abruptly by some emergency or other. No, Elise was probably not be missing her at all. In fact, it was unlikely thatanybodywas missing her. Certainly not Dennis. Her ex was no doubt off enjoying his single life.
She was feeling sorry for herself, but she allowed herself to wallow in it for a moment. After everything she’d been through today, she’d bloody well earned a few moments of self-pity!
I just came to thank ye.
Cailean MacNeil’s words echoed in her head. He’d looked so earnest, almost unsure of himself, as he’d stood at her door earlier. She’d been surprised in the extreme when she’d found him standing there.Surprised by his presence, yes, but also surprised by the way her stomach had fluttered at the sight of him.
Why had that happened? Ridiculous.
Ugh. She thumped the bed with her fists. These thoughts were getting her nowhere. If she had her phone with her, she’d play the meditation recordings she used when she couldn’t sleep, but in her rush to do what Lir suggested, she’d even left that behind.
Finally, her eyes drifted closed, only to be startled awake again what seemed like only a moment later by a furious pounding noise. She bolted upright and looked around wildly.
“What the—?”
It took her muzzy thoughts a moment to figure out that the pounding was somebody knocking on her door. She brushed her hair back from her face and blinked bleary eyes. Dawn light streamed through the windows, showing she’d been asleep for much longer than she thought. All night, in fact.
“Lady Rose?” came Mable’s voice. “Come quickly! Ye are needed!”
The alarm in the girl’s tone sent an equal spike of alarm through Rose’s body. She threw back the covers and threw open the door.
Mable stood outside, wringing her hands. “My apologies, my lady,” she said, forgetting that Rose had asked her to drop the formality. “But the laird sent me to fetch ye. I’m to bring ye to the infirmary immediately.”
“What’s happened?” Rose asked, her stomach dropping like a stone. “Has someone else fallen ill?”
“I dinna know. I was only told to fetch ye.”
“Right. Give me a minute. I’ll get dressed.”
She cursed the fiddly nature of fifteenth-century clothing as she struggled into a dress, Mable doing her best to help her. When it was done, she grabbed her shoes, ran a quick hand through her unruly hair, and dashed out of the door behind Mable.
Even though it was barely dawn, the castle corridors were busy asthey hurried through the keep then out to the infirmary.
The close-growing trees meant it was still dark around the long building and candlelight glowed from the windows. Maggie was waiting by the door.
“What is it?” Rose called as she came in sight. “What’s happened?”
“It’s Drew,” Maggie replied. “Come quickly!”
Rose followed as Maggie pushed the door open, and as she did so, Rose made out the sounds of a scuffle and a strange, high-pitched wailing from within. Stepping inside, it took a moment for her to figure out what she was looking at. Drew was writhing and twisting on the bed while Cailean did his best to hold him down. It was Drew who was making the strange, high-pitched wailing noise.
Drew’s eyes had rolled back in his head, showing just the whites, and foam crusted at the corners of his mouth. Sister Beatrice hovered nearby looking worried and there was a red welt on her temple, perhaps where she’d been struck by Drew in his thrashing.
Rose rushed over to Drew’s side. “Hold him down!” she cried. “Don’t let him injure himself.”
“What do ye think I’m trying to do?” Cailean growled. “Dance with the man?”
Rose placed her hand on Drew’s forehead. His fever was back, worse than before, and as she sent her senses questing down into his body, she felt a roiling knot of infection within him, spreading its tendrils up into his brain, causing this seizure.
His sickness had not only returned, it had spread.
Damn it! What could she do? If this continued, the infection would burn through his brain and Drew would be lost. She bit her lip, thinking furiously.
There was only one thing she could try. She called on her power and wove a powerful spell, one designed, not for healing, but for stasis. It was a last resort, designed to keep a patient alive while a better, more permanent remedy could be found. Its equivalent in modernmedicine was putting someone into an induced coma and it was a spell Rose used only reluctantly. Once placed, there was no guarantee that the patient would wake up.
