Passions - Healing Passion Part 7

Though the king was concerned about his absence, he'd never mentioned any personal care for the man himself.If he guessed right, Lord Groswick had not left the keep, or at least not left the area.

Which meant he was either dead or in hiding. Groswick hadn't inspired the kind of loyalty in his people that would allow him to remain long in hiding with no one betraying him. Nor did there appear to be any motive for him to absent himself from his keep and comfortable life.

If he were dead, though, why had no one reported it to the king? Juliana might be concerned about her future prospects, but she had too much honor to let that stop her from doing her duty in the situation.

It made no sense.

They made two more stops on their way back to the keep, but those yielded no more information or clues.

The sun sank below the tree line just as they approached the barbican. The gate began to

screech as it opened for them.

The sound must have hidden the click and snap of the crossbow firing. It almost

drowned out Ralf's sudden cry, but Thomas happened to be riding close by and heard it. He swung around to look at the squire.The boy swayed on the horse and would have fallen off had Thomas not caught and supported him. He didn't have to look far to find the cause. A crossbow bolt protruded from the young man's left shoulder.Bertram joined them and steadied Ralf's nervous mount while Thomas pulled the boy across to sit in front of him. The squire's eyes were wide and startled, but his expression pulled into a frown of pain.

"Hold on," Thomas implored Ralf. "We're not far from the keep. There's help for you there."

Ralf nodded. His face had paled alarmingly, and his breaths came out in loud pants, but no blood dribbled from his mouth, a good sign that the wound might not be fatal.

"Bring the horse," Thomas shouted to Bertram, then kicked his mount into a canter toward the gate. It stood almost half open, but Thomas ducked under it rather than wait.He yelled, "To me, to me," as he rode into the bailey, stopping in front of the steps to the main door.

A crowd gathered and willing hands helped support Ralf while he dismounted. "Carry him inside," he told a pair of men he recognized from his sessions of arms training.As they entered the hall, several servants came running toward them, followed by Lady Juliana herself. "Take him to my quarters," Thomas told the men carrying Ralf.

"What happened?" Juliana asked. "What is wrong with him?""A crossbow bolt. Again."Juliana stopped and went pale. "Oh, no!"Thomas regretted the harshness of his words. "Juliana! We need your help. Do not faint on me.""I never faint," she answered. "I'm very strong." She grimaced. "Oh, dear, that was not worded as it should have been. Rather, I try to be strong. At times, though, it seems all the strength in the world wouldn't be enough.""You manage under difficult circ.u.mstances better than any lady I've ever met.""Thank you. I do what I must. How badly is he hurt?""The bolt is in his shoulder. High. More than that I cannot say."She nodded and called to one of the servants nearby. "Gwen, go fetch William Barber. I fear we'll need his services." The young woman nodded, turned, and raced the other way down the corridor.They arrived at the door of Sir Thomas's quarters, just as the two men lay Ralf on his side on the bed.

They had to cut away the squire's leather jerkin and s.h.i.+rt from around the protruding shaft. The bolt had entered his left shoulder very near the armpit and gone through at a sharp angle, so that the triangle-tipped front emerged below the collarbone nearly under his chin. It had mercifully missed his neck. Blood seeped from the injuries on either side.

Juliana winced, but probed around the wounds on either side. Ralf gasped and flinched

several times, though she tried to be gentle and avoid jostling the shaft."No blood is coming from his mouth," she said. "I believe that is a good sign. And I cannot feel any bones misplaced. Can we keep the wound from going morbid, I believe he should survive this."

She put a gentle hand on the young man's forehead. "Hold on a few moments, and we'll have you put right. I'll get you something to help the pain as well.""'Tis not so bad. I can bear it," Ralf answered, through clenched teeth. His pale skin, shallow breathing, and tense frown belied the bravery of the words, however.

Juliana turned to another of the servants gathered round to see what was happening and standing ready to help. "Avice, go fetch some of the pain infusion I make for my mother. And the salve for wounds. Sarah, clean linens." Both girls acknowledged the orders and departed.

Lady Ardsley came into the room as the girls left, leaning heavily on her cane. She

looked even smaller and more frail than she had just a couple of days ago. Her expression was grim as she surveyed the area, and saw Ralf's injury.Juliana turned to look at her mother. The younger woman's expression changed briefly, turning from grief to something darker and grimmer, with a hint of determination and

possibly challenge.

Lady Ardsley saw it and grew even paler, were that possible. She shook her head, but said nothing.

William Barber, a large man of middle years and gruff manner, arrived just then, distracting everyone's attention to him. He took a quick look at the young man. "'Twill be best to cut off the tip at the front, then pull the bolt out the back," he said. "We'll have to slide it forward some first, though." The tip just barely protruded from skin, not far enough to be easily cut off as it stood, but far enough that it would likely cause more damage should he try to pull it out from the back. William turned to a boy who'd run along behind him and asked him to get some tools.

With Sir Thomas, Bertram, William, and Juliana all steadying him, they s.h.i.+fted Ralf to make it easier for William to reach the arrow from either side. The squire gasped a couple of times as he was moved.

"Now, hold him very steady for me," William instructed. "Sir Thomas, and you there,"-he pointed to Bertram and another man watching-"Get on the other side of him and don't let him move when I push. My lady, keep his head lifted and well away."

The men got in position, holding Ralf steady. William pushed the shaft forward into the wound, forcing the tip further out from his chest. The young man gave a short, sharp cry when the bolt moved, then clenched his teeth together hard and was silent.

"There, 'tis done." William released his hold and looked around for the boy he'd sent off. The youngster arrived at that moment, holding a saw and grippers. "Bring them here, lad."

William took the saw from the boy and moved around to Ralf's front. Before he started, he redistributed the men around the squire to hold him steady.It took several agonizing minutes to saw the head off the bolt. William had difficulty maneuvering because the tip was still so close to Ralf's body, just below his face.

Still steadying his head and trying to keep it out of the way, Juliana took Ralf's right hand and let him squeeze hers. Tears ran down her face, but she said nothing, and held on firmly. Because he couldn't bear to look at Ralf or the work on the arrow, Thomas instead watched Juliana.

Her gaze focused on Ralf, and the combination of compa.s.sion and determination in her expression struck Thomas to the heart. Juliana was everything a man could want in his

lady. He could scarce believe his good fortune to find her, and now, when she should be

free to make her own decisions about her future.After a minute or two of William's sawing, Ralf suddenly let out a sharp cry and went silent. Thomas looked at his face. His squire's eyes had closed and his expression smoothed out. Thomas must have made some outcry because all looked at him.

Juliana tried to offer a rea.s.suring smile. It mostly failed in that effort but her words

succeeded. "He's fainted. A mercy. G.o.d keep him so until we're done."In that much, at least, G.o.d was merciful, and Ralf didn't waken. William worked faster with the squire unconscious, and soon had the head off the shaft. Then he switched sides again to pull it free of the young man's body.

Blood poured from the injuries both front and back. William and Juliana cleaned them both, spread the ointment Juliana had sent for on them, then bandaged them as tightly as they could.

They turned Ralf and settled him on the bed. Servants volunteered to keep watch on him through the night, so after cleaning themselves, the rest of the household retired for the night. Before they left, Juliana and Thomas both requested they be notified if there were any change in Ralf's condition.

Since Ralf occupied Sir Thomas's bed, Juliana somewhat shyly invited him to share hers. He was too tired to do more than drop into bed and fall asleep immediately, but in the few seconds between lying down and drifting off, Thomas realized again how much he loved having her in his arms, snuggled against his body. He found so much to admire in Juliana beyond her beauty: her strength, courage, compa.s.sion, fairness, and a sweet sense of humor. It had taken him long years to find his lady, but she more than justified the wait.

Chapter Nine.

Though it felt wonderful to be tucked into Sir Thomas's arms and nestled against his warm, strong body, Juliana had a difficult time falling sleep. She lay awake for a long time, rolling over and over in her mind what to do next.

She couldn't let the charade continue. Poor Ralf had nearly been killed today-and might yet die-in a murder attempt that was likely aimed at Sir Thomas and was surely intended to help keep her secret. Her efforts to prevent any more violence on her behalf had failed. There was only one way to keep anything more from happening now. If Sir Thomas knew her secret and went immediately to the king with it, it would eliminate any reason for murder.That didn't solve the problem of her mother, however. Would Thomas allow her to remain here long enough to see her mother's last days lived in peace and comfort? Would the time it took him to get to the king and return be long enough? And could she keep from her mother that Sir Thomas knew? Her mother hadn't much more time and Juliana desperately wanted that time to be peaceful and free of worry. The thought of losing her mother made the tears start again, though she tried to keep her weeping as quiet as possible to avoid disturbing Thomas.

She would tell him as soon as she reasonably could, beg him to forgive her and give her

the time she needed, and offer her promise she would face whatever consequences arose from her actions. Would he take her word, after the lies she'd already told him, though? In truth, so long as they didn't torture her, she could face the thought of death. It seemed a fine irony that she should have that shadow hanging over her now, when she'd finally found the sort of love, sharing, and companions.h.i.+p she'd looked for in marriage.

It would hurt him to know she'd lied, and to have to report her guilt to the king. She hated she'd done that to him. She'd put him in a horrible position of having to make his report to the king or sacrifice his sense of honor to save her.

After a while she fell into a restless doze.

Near dawn, a knocking at the door woke her. "My lady," a man called from beyond the door. "My lady."She pushed aside the bed curtains to see that one of her ladies had answered the door and was speaking with the man. After a moment, the maid came back to her. "My lady, Wendell says that Ralf is half-awake and thras.h.i.+ng around in pain. They beg you to come."

Juliana stood and let the maid help her into her wrapper.

Sir Thomas also stirred. "Find my man, Bertram, and send him to me," he requested of the maid.Juliana nodded for her to do as Thomas asked. She hurried across the corridor to the room opposite.

Ralf moaned loudly as she entered. His eyes were open but glazed, and his pale skin

showed spots of high color on each cheek. As she approached the bed, he shouted something and an arm swung wildly."Keep him still," she ordered the woman sitting with him. "We don't want the bleeding to start again."Between them they held Ralf down to the bed. Thomas came in and a.s.sisted them. Juliana put a hand on Ralf's forehead. "He has a fever, but 'tis not too high as yet." She moved a hand away from the bandage on his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "No bleeding again here." Thomas helped her roll him far enough to let her ascertain no fresh blood stained the bandages at his back either.Two other servants came into the room to check on Ralf's condition. Juliana sent one of them to fetch more medicine, while asking the other to fetch a basin of water from the well, and then relieve the woman who'd been sitting with Ralf for the past few hours. Together she and Thomas kept Ralf still while they waited for the others to return.

"Is this bad?" Thomas asked.The concern in his tone was another knife to her heart. He cared for his squire and worried about him. "'Tis expected that he would run some fever. If 'tis just reaction to the wound, he should get over it well enough. A bigger concern is that the wound turn morbid. Should that happen..." She couldn't bring herself to say the words. "But I've put a salve on it my mother taught me to make. She swears it has kept many an injury clean and helped it heal. We can only wait and see. But his youth and good health work in his favor."Thomas sighed and nodded. "I'll be off as soon as he's settled. I want to go look at the place where the bolt was fired to search for clues. I will find out who did this thing.""And then?"He shrugged. "You are the lady of the keep. 'Tis for you to say what punishment might be appropriate.""Do you find him, we'll discuss what punishment would be suitable.""I will find him," he said, the statement so harsh and confident, she couldn't doubt it was true.

A servant arrived with the water, followed rapidly by another with the medicines Juliana had requested. Juliana took a cup and gave Ralf an infusion meant primarily to

bring down fever, then, using a spoon, she gave him a few drops of the tincture of poppy to relieve his pain and help him sleep.

A short while later, his attempts to thrash around stopped and he eased into sleep. By

then the sun had risen and its light poured in the window.Thomas breathed a loud sigh of relief. "Will he sleep for a while?""Aye, most likely.""Good. I'll take my departure then. I want to get out where it happened before others trample the ground and no possible sign remains of who fired the bolt."Juliana stood up and moved toward him. "Take care out there. 'Tis likely whoever fired that bolt intended it for you. And they may well try again. When you return this evening, we must talk. There are things I need to tell you." Ralf groaned in his sleep. "Later."He leaned down and kissed her. "Send word to me if he..."

"I will."The rest of the day was fairly quiet. Juliana sent someone to ask Peter Randolph to come to her, but by evening he'd failed to respond. She spent most of the day on routine jobs, but stopped in to see how Ralf fared every hour or so.Thomas returned in the late afternoon, looking tired and discouraged. His expression suggested he didn't have much success, but she hadn't the opportunity then to question him except briefly. At the time he came in, Ralf was stirring again and moaning in pain. In addition, his temperature had started to rise.

"I've sent for more of the pain infusion for him," she a.s.sured Thomas when the knight frowned over his squire. "Did you find any signs of who shot him?""Nothing," he admitted. "There were no footprints, signs, or anything else to help. No one saw anything. Though we were in sight of the keep walls, the bolt was fired from the woods between the road and the hillside. I-"

Ralf kicked the covering off and waved an arm around, nearly knocking over the cup on the table nearby. Thomas helped her hold him still again while they waited for the medicine to arrive. The squire's skin felt very hot and beads of perspiration stood out at the young man's temples.

"Is this bad?" Thomas asked. "He feels much hotter than this morning."

"Aye, he does. 'Tis normal that he should run some fever following such an injury. We can only hope he can come through it.""What do you think?" Thomas asked.As much as she wanted to rea.s.sure him that the young man would soon be well, she couldn't in all honesty. "I believe that as young and strong as he is, he should be able to survive it. But only G.o.d can say for sure what will happen."

The second dinner bell sounded."I doubt not you're hungry," she said to Thomas. "I'll stay here with Ralf for a while. When you go down to dinner, would you ask one of the servants to have a tray sent up to me? Ask for more cool water to be sent up as well, if you please."

"Perhaps I should stay with him while you go down. You're no doubt in need of a respite yourself.""Nay, 'tis better I stay. I want to watch the medicine and its effect on him. There may be need to give him more, but it must be carefully measured."

Finally Thomas nodded. The servant arrived with the medicine shortly thereafter.

Another dose calmed Ralf, though it took a while, but his fever remained high. Juliana began to bathe him with the cool water every few minutes.

She was wiping the cloth across the young man's forehead when Sir Thomas himself returned with a tray of food. A servant followed him, bearing a basin of fresh water.

Thomas set the tray down on a table. "Let Mary tend him for a few minutes while we eat." He dragged a pair of chairs over to the table and set them on either side of it. Juliana handed the cloth to Mary, gave her a few instructions, then joined Thomas. He'd brought them each a beef pie with savory gravy and a pitcher of ale. Juliana feared he'd want to talk about his investigation or ask her who she thought might have fired the crossbow, but he didn't. Instead he questioned her about various aspects of running the keep, its history, and the people who lived there.

Juliana breathed a sigh of relief that she hoped he would interpret as exhaustion. She couldn't make her confession here and now. Not in the same room with Ralf and the servants. Not when they were both absorbed by worry for Ralf and grief for his pain.

After a quick meal she returned to Ralf's side, where she planned to stay for the rest of the night or until the fever broke and he began to recover. Thomas spelled her for a while so she could get a quick rest, but she felt so uneasy about the squire, she did no more than doze lightly before rising again to return to him.

For most of the night he remained feverish, sometimes muttering in delirium or waving arms and legs. One of the servants stayed up with her, and the two of them bathed him with cool water and tried to keep him from moving, lest he break open the wounds. By morning he seemed calmer and no worse, but no better either.

Thomas again brought her food to break her fast in the morning, and sent her off to bed for a time while he sat with Ralf. He promised to call her should there be any change. She slept longer this time, but still woke feeling sluggish and unrested.

William Barber came in around midday to look at Ralf's wounds and help her change the bandages. Both of them were relieved to find the injuries had closed and, aside from some drainage from the hole in his back, showed little sign of going morbid. Juliana smoothed more salve over both wounds before they wrapped them in clean linen. Still, his high fever worried her, and she continued her efforts to cool him down.

Just after midday, her labor was rewarded and the fever broke. Juliana had noticed that the squire seemed calmer, even when he should be due for another dose of the fever medicine. His color improved as well. When she touched his face, she found it cooler, though still clammy with sweat. She sponged him off and sat by his side, ready to act again should his fever climb. By the time she finished, Ralf had sunk into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Thomas found her dozing in the chair later in the afternoon. His kiss woke her from the light sleep in the nicest possible way.

"He looks better," he commented when he saw her eyes open.