He leaned his head down to Elysia as she finished dressing his wound and she almost drew back as his breath was so heavy with ale.
“The curse doesn’t care if you’re kind or innocent. It will get you any way it can. Be careful, Elysia.” He turned and filled his tankard once again.
Elysia winced when she stretched awake. The amount of wounded men who had arrived in the last few days had dwindled considerably. She hoped it meant that the battle was waning and would soon end. With more time, she was able to visit with the wounded more frequently and was pleased that many were doing well.
She threw the blanket off herself and hurried to the hearth to add wood and warm the cottage that had chilled as the fire died down throughout the night. She set a brew to heat, then hurried into warm garments and after giving her hair a good combing, she secured it with two combs.
With a tankard of a soothing brew in hand, she sat at the table, her shoulders slumping. She didn’t need more time to confirm for certain what she believed—she was with child. She had no desire for food in the morning, her stomach often churning, though she hadn’t been sick like many women and it was two months without her monthly bleed.
Her hand rested on her stomach and she caressed it gently. Part of her was thrilled that she carried Saber’s child and another part worried what her husband would say no matter how many times she told herself he loved her and would be pleased.
A soft tap at the door chased the worrisome thought and she opened it to find a young lad she didn’t recognize, no more than ten or twelve years, standing there. His garments were worn and in dire need of a washing, as was he. His hair looked to have been badly chopped, it sticking out here and there in tufts. He reached up with a grimy hand to rub the back of it under his nose, leaving a streak of wetness through the grime.
“You Elysia, sister of Annis?” he asked in a whisper.
Elysia’s heart pounded in her chest. “I am.”
“I’m Dugan. Annis sent me with a message. She told me to show you this but you ain’t taking it from me. She promised it to me, though she did say you’d feed me.” He held up one of the coins Annis had taken with her.
“Annis gave it to you, then it’s yours. But before you enter my home, you will fill that bucket,”—she pointed to the bench where the bucket sat— “with water from the rain barrel and wash your face and hands. Then you will come inside and deliver my sister’s message while I get you some food.”
Dugan looked about to protest.
“I have honey oat cakes you might like,” Elysia said.
“I’ll wash up and be right there,” Dugan said and hurried to fill the bucket.
Elysia was surprised to see the dirt had hidden the lad’s fine features and she was glad to see that his hands were scrubbed cleaned.
“Help yourself,” she said with a nod to the bowl of honey oat cakes on the table.
His hand snatched one right up and his eyes went wide when she placed meat, cheese, and bread on the table. Lendra, and many of the women whose men she had helped, had been keeping her well supplied with food, not that she’d been eating much.
Elysia could see the lad was hungry, his skinny body a good sign that he didn’t get to eat often. It made her wonder why he hadn’t spent the coin on food for himself.
“Annis is great. She saved me from getting a good beating,” he said through the food he shoveled into his mouth, one piece after another.
“Slow down or you’ll make yourself sick,” Elysia said, seeing that the lad was more than hungry, he was starving. “You can have as much as you want.” She filled a tankard with cider and placed it in front of him. He gulped it down.
“Can I take some food with me?” he asked anxiously.
“Aye, you can,” Elysia assured him.
“Thanks, my mum will be grateful. It’s only her and me and we don’t have much.” He shoveled more food into his mouth.
Elysia held her hand up when he went to continue to talk. “Eat first, then we can talk.”
Dugan nodded. “Thanks, I’m awfully hungry. How about you?”
“I ate,” she said, though she hadn’t. She had little appetite when she woke and she was too anxious to know about Annis to even think of eating.
He nodded and continued eating. When he finally slowed down, he said, “I better deliver Annis’s message as promised since I’ve got to get home to my mum.”
“Tell me,” Elysia said, eager to hear.
“Annis says that all goes well and she is sure her mission will be successful and not to worry,” Dugan said.