Page 81 of Warrior’s Lady

She kept dipping her cloth, then swiping.

"Violet, why are you down here?" his voice filled with agony.

"I wanted to help."

"You are so very much like your mother." He gave her what he hoped was a comforting smile before he turned to Rhiannon.

"Rhiannon, can you hear me?" He dropped to his knees beside her. "Are you well? Dear God, answer me."

Her gaze finally focused on his face. "Camden?"

Relief lightened his chest. "Aye, my love."

"Camden!" Her eyes widened with horror, her faculties suddenly restored. "Get away from me!" She scooted away from him, frantic. "Plague. I'll kill you. Go away."

Violet offered him a ragged smile. "She's been ill for several hours, Uncle Camden. I did not know what to do."

He stood and grasped Rhiannon in his arms. She struggled desperately to free herself. He drew her closer, tucking her head beneath his chin. "Shh, my love. Help is on the way."

When she stopped struggling, collapsing against his chest, Camden held out the Charm Stone to Violet. "Will you treat the water while I hold Rhiannon?"

She bit down on her lip. "The cistern is dry and the well is so far away. We've used all these buckets of water. There is nothing in the castle left to drink."

"The ale," he said softly over Rhiannon's head. "Use the ale."

Violet nodded. Before she could turn toward the storeroom, Orrin and the other warriors who'd ridden out with them entered with several casks of ale.

"When I saw that the cistern was dry, I knew you would need something to use as a tonic. I figured the ale was the quickest choice."

"Aye," Camden agreed. "Set the casks down here." It took four men to carry each of the big casks that they set down near where he held Rhiannon so fiercely.

"Help Lady Violet by drawing the ale into those buckets," Camden ordered the returned warriors. "Once the ale is treated with the Stone, each of you should drink before you treat the others." At Orrin's puzzled expression, he added, "It will not help to have any of you fall ill."

Orrin nodded, then handed Camden a mug of the treated ale. "When that is done, what should we do with the dead?"

Camden closed his eyes. The image of twenty or more bodies in the hall was there right behind his eyelids. He blew out a heavy breath. There had to be others, he deduced from how rapidly the disease had spread from Rhys to everyone else. "Set them in the courtyard for now. The Stone can do nothing for those who have already died."

Orrin nodded.

"And, Orrin, I shall also need you to find the others who have left the castle in fear. Send a contingent of men out to round them up. They must be treated or the chain of death could continue unchecked."

"Agreed," he said. A moment later, he and the others set to work.

Camden drank the contents of the mug, then cradled Rhiannon in his arms, unwilling to release her. He turned to Violet and dipped the wooden mug into the ale she had just treated. "Drink."

The girl put the cup to her lips. When she was finished, she pursed her lips into a frown. "Your ale tastes terrible."

He laughed. "Duly noted. I will try to meet your standards in the future."

She smiled, then giggled, the sound a balm to his heart. Violet had suffered so much, yet she was strong, a survivor, just like Rhiannon, and just like him.

His gaze shifted to the woman in his arms. "Will you be all right," he asked his niece, "if I take Rhiannon upstairs to her chamber? She needs to rest."

"I agree," Violet said. "She wouldn't allow me to help her until a short while ago."

He scooped Rhiannon up in his arms, then stood. He grabbed the handle of a pail of healing ale that Violet had just prepared before carrying Rhiannon up the stairs to her chamber.

He settled her gently upon the crimson damask that covered the bed and drew a cup of ale from the bucket. "Rhiannon, you must drink." When she didn't respond, he shook her gently. No response. Determined that she should live, he lifted her head to the cup, and pressed the liquid through her unresponsive lips.