And then there was the fact that when an emergencyhadoccurred, in the middle of the night, almost all of the healers had been out of the Keep, and the one remaining man was drunk.
That would never have been allowed in Bryden Keep. There were at least five Keep healers in the Chambers, and no less than two could be left at the Keep at any one time, unless there was some sort of plague sweeping through the land. And then there were apprentices, and people hired especially to help make up the medicines, orderlies, and midwives in the infirmary, and so on.
We could manage such a thing here,she thought.I could train up more apprentices, organize the Chambers better, restock the shelves…
Well, she had a year, didn’t she? She could get something good done here and return to Bryden Keep with the sense of a job well done.
With Margaret at me side.
Nora’s chest clenched at that thought. Creighton had promised to help her find Margaret, hadn’t he? She prayed that he wouldn’t forget his promise amid his concern for Laurie. A fresh hope coiled in her chest, a half-forgotten conviction that itwasn’ttoo late, that Margaret was still out there somewhere.
Above her, the clouds clustered threateningly. There’d be rain before night fell, and possibly worse. She shuffled on her knees sideways along the furrow of soil to where bushels of sage grew thickly.
The soil at MacColl Keep couldn’t be faulted, at least.
“Lady Nora?”
She flinched at the voice from behind. At first hearing, it wasn’t familiar. Twisting around to look over her shoulder, she sighed.
“Andrew. What a pleasure. And ye can just call me Nora, ye ken. I imagine that it’s hard to call a womanladywhen she’s wrist-deep in the earth and stinkin’ of herbs.”
Andrew blinked large, nervous eyes. “Herbs daenae stink. They always smell good. Green and fresh.”
“Mm-hm. What do ye need?”
“I heard that Lady Laurie is much improved.”
“Aye, she’s comin’ on well,” Nora agreed. “But we cannae rest just yet. We need to ensure that she doesnae relapse. And while we’re doin’that, we should do somethin’ about yer healin’ chambers. They’re a disgrace. If I hadnae been here, what would have become of Laurie? Would she have been attended to by a drunken man?”
Andrew bit his lip. “The nurse…”
“The nurse is not a trained healer. Tell me, Andrew, when ye look at me, scrabblin’ amongst the herbs and plants, what do ye see?”
She sat back on her heels, meeting his gaze squarely. She waited. He reddened, shifting his weight from foot to foot, but made no move to dart away.
“I daenae ken,” he said at last.
“I am pickin’ sage,” she said at last, holding up a fistful of the stuff. “Rosemary. Mint. Lavender. Tarragon. Me basket is full of herbs and plants, some that I wager ye could nae even name. Every single one has a use. This herb can be brewed into a tea to bring down a fever. This one is crushed with others into a paste and put on a wound to stave off infection. Yet another mixture will make blood clot more quickly and prevent blood loss. I kenhow to loosen the mucus in a child’s lungs, stitch up a wound, and deliver a baby while keeping the mother alive. I could go on. Do ye think that these skills are just knacks? Do ye think they come about by accident?”
Andrew gnawed on his lower lip. “Nay,” he said at last, sounding a little crushed. “I daenae.”
Nora reached into the leather belt she always kept slung at her hips, heavy with little pouches and pockets. Taking out a small pair of shears, she snipped off a few more pieces of sage, tossing them into the basket.
“There’s work to be done,” she said firmly, eyes on her work. “And that work willnae get done if we fight against each other. How would Laurie have fared last night, if all we’d done was scrabble and argue against each other?”
Andrew swallowed audibly. “I think ye are right. I… I am here to apologize.”
Well. That was unexpected. Nora looked at him curiously. Andrew gave her a nervous smile, fingering the cross at his neck.
“I shouldnae have called ye a witch,” he said, in a rush. “That was cruel, and it’s a bad accusation to make. Ye daenae poison people, do ye?”
She couldn’t help rolling her eyes at him. “Anybody with a knowledge of herbs has the ability to poison somebody. Just likeye, ye carry a sword. Ye could draw it at any moment and chop off somebody’s head. Are ye goin’ to do that?”
“Nay.”
“Well, then.”
An awkward silence filled the air. Nora refocused on her work. The basket was nearly full. Once she had collected what she needed, she would return to the healing chambers. The drunken healer—his name was Donal, a man about five-and-twenty, who was nursing a terrible hangover this morning—appeared at least capable of making some medicines. She would meet the other two healers, both women, when they decided to return. While Donal was preparing the medicines and mixtures, she would check on Laurie. If Laurie continued to do well, Nora might even risk a trip outside the walls to search the forest for herbs and medicines that couldn’t be found in the gardens.
