“Three days?”
“Aye. Ye can imagine how worried we were. But ye are awake now, and that is all that matters.”
She passed a hand over her face. “I was asleep forthreedays?”
“The other healers returned to the Keep and took a look at ye. Ye were in good hands. Well, as good as can be managed.”
“I missed me chance to find her, then,” Nora whispered, her voice catching. “Margaret might have been there, but I wasnae.”
Creighton shifted. Glancing over at him, she found his gaze fixed on her once more. There was sympathy in his eyes.
“I sent guards to look for her,” he murmured. “Daenae fret about that. We searched the market for her, and I sent Andrew to lead them, seein’ as he kens her. But she wasnae there this time.”
“Wasnaethere?”
“Her stall wasnae there,” he explained. “Nae every seller comes to every market every time. It’s nae unusual. Look, this is still good news. Ye have a solid lead to find her. This means that she’s alive, and if she’s runnin’ a stall in the market, she’s probably here out of her own free will. Ye havenae found her yet, but ye will.”
Nora bit her lip, nodding tightly. “Ye are right, I ken that, I just cannae help wonderin’ why she hasnae come home, or told me where she is. Does she nae care that I am worried?”
“Whatever her reasons, ye can talk to her about them to yer heart’s content later, when we finally do find her,” he promised firmly. “And wewillfind her. All will be well.”
I wish I could believe that,Nora thought, but chose not to say it.
“Is there any food?” she asked instead, changing the subject. “Nothin’ heavy, just a wee bit of broth.”
“Aye, I’ll order some,” he answered, nodding. “In the meantime, do ye wish to bathe? The healers didnae want ye disturbed more than necessary, so ye were nae given any bed-baths or washes. Ye probably feel a wee bit sticky.”
She offered a weak smile in response. “I do feel sticky. What about me hair, then? There are nay tangles in it. Did the maids do that, too?”
Creighton cleared his throat, glancing momentarily away. “I ken how tangled and matted Laurie’s hair gets if she sleeps on it and does nae brush it. Yers is even longer than hers.”
“Ye mean ye brushed…”
“Do ye want a bath or nae?” he interrupted a little testily. “Ye can bathe while they prepare food for ye.”
“Will I nae have to wait for the bath to be prepared?”
Creighton shook his head. “There’s one waitin’. It’ll still be hot.”
Nora shifted forward, poised to clamber out of bed, then paused.
“But how did ye ken I’d be wakin’ up now?”
He chuckled, rising to his feet and offering a helping hand. “I didnae. I’ve had them prepare a bath for ye three times a day, just in case.”
She snorted, accepting his hand out of necessity. Her limbs had gone to jelly, and she was not entirely sure she could even stand on her own at the moment. Three days in bed and a case of poisoning would do that to a person.
“I’m sure that’ll make me popular with the staff, haulin’ all the water up and down here three times a day.”
“Ah, but it was me who was askin’,” Creighton shot back, amused. He stood still, providing a firm point for her to anchor herself again. She stood, wobbling, as unsteady as a newborn deer on ice, and allowed herself a moment of pure gratitude that Creighton was there.
He was the one who began to guide her toward the washroom.
“I once found meself confined to bed for a handful of days, after an injury,” he remarked, off-handedly. “An arrow came a wee bit too close to me spine. I had to lie still and nae move while it healed. When I was allowed to get up, four or five days later, I was as weak as a kitten. Muscles atrophy quickly. But three days is nae an eternity, and ye will recover soon. Food, a bath, and a little rest will see ye right again.”
“I hope ye are right,” she mumbled. “I feel like an old woman.”
“Would it help if I told ye that ye looked like an old woman too, shufflin’ along like that?”
