“Of course it is,” he teased with a wiggle of his brows.
Lyra would have smacked him if she wasn’t so worried. “I mean that infection is starting to set in.”
He frowned and glanced down at his injury. “Well that’s rather unfortunate. I had much better things in mind to spend our time together on.”
Lyra started to stand. “I need to go for a doctor—”
Alister’s expression was fierce when he grabbed her hand. “It’s not safe. We don’t know where Richard is—”
“And I can’t just sit here and watch you suffer. Or worse.”
Alister seemed to think for a moment. “This is an old tenant’s cottage. With any luck, there might be some leftover herbs we could use for a poultice.”
Lyra instantly went into the small kitchen area and began to rummage through the cabinets. While most were empty, she did manage to find a few forgotten vials. Grabbing them, she took them back to Alister and handed them to him. “Would any of these work?”
He glanced at the dried herbs inside before holding one up. “This one. It’s plantain and the best for drawing out any poison. All you have to do is heat a kettle of water and stir some in to make a paste.” He paused. “Unless you’d rather just chew them up and spit them on my wound, which I’ve found works rather well in an emergency.”
She rolled her eyes. “Since you’re not quite on your death bed just yet, I’m sure I can manage something that will keep me from resorting to such drastic measures.”
His chuckle followed her as she returned to the kitchen and found an old copper pot. After doing her best to clean it out, she threw her cloak over her shoulders, put on her gloves, and went outside to gather some of the snow to melt over the fire.
The first blast of bitter air that hit her face nearly took her breath, so she quickly set about her task. The snow was quickly piling up as a brisk north wind howled around the edges of the cabin. In the dark, with only Alister for company, it all seemed so isolated, as if they were the only two people on earth. A small smile touched her lips as she briefly imagined all the strictures of their harsh reality being placed aside and that this was their modest house and they were a happily married couple.
With a sigh, she went back inside and hung the pot over the fire. Within minutes, the snow had melted and the water was starting to boil. Adding the herbs, she stirred the contents until it began to thicken. After removing it from the fire, she took it over to Alister’s pallet. As she set about removing his current bandage and tearing a few strips from her petticoat to make a new one, he never said a word, but his eyes spoke volumes, for they never left her face.
She gently applied the herbal treatment and rewrapped his shoulder.
It wasn’t until she would have moved away that he grabbed her hand. “Thank you.”
Lyra felt a rush of tenderness flow through her. “You’re welcome.” When he acted as though he wanted to say something else, she asked, “What is it?”
“Have you ever thought about marrying again?”
That certainly hadn’t been the query she’d been expecting, and for a moment, it took her aback. She had certainly thought about it plenty with this man, but she was still a destitute widow with her entire future hanging in the balance, while he… “I haven’t given it much thought,” she lied. “Roger’s only been gone a month.”
Alister’s brow creased. “I thought you didn’t love him.”
“I didn’t,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean that I want to make another mistake.”
She knew it had been the wrong thing to say when his eyes shuttered. “No doubt you’re right.”
She bit her lip. “Alister…”
Without warning, he reached up and brought her down to him for a kiss so reverent and devoted that she nearly wept. “What if I—”
She put a hand over his mouth. “Don’t even say it.”
His gaze was piercing, defiant. “I want you, Lyra. In some way, I think I always have. I can’t let you go.”
I want you too.The words threatened to spill out, but instead she tried to get him to see reason. “I care about you too much to sacrifice your future for my sake.”
“It would be a harsher fate to live without you,” he returned harshly. Scrubbing a hand down his face, he gentled his tone. “Let’s get some rest. Nothing has to be decided tonight.”
Lyra swallowed nervously as she lay down beside him. He put his arm around her as she curled up next to him. It was such a simple yet intimate position and one that had her holding back tears because she knew this was the last time they could be together like this.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Open this door!”
