Evanna lit two candles and sat down in the big, comfortable winged armchair beside the bed, then put her feet on a footstool in front of her, covered herself with a soft blanket, and picked up a book. Lexie had taught her to read when she was younger, and it was a pastime that gave her a great deal of pleasure. A fire was burning cheerfully in the grate beside her, and despite her best efforts to stay awake, she was so warm and cozy that she fell asleep in moments.
Halfway through the night, however, she woke to find that she was suffering from almost unbearable cramps in her back, shoulders, and arms, and she had been forced to walk around the room until they faded away. After that there was no question of sitting in the chair again, so she took her pillow and lay down on the hard floor, then put a blanket over herself. However, this was no better, and eventually, she resigned herself to a sleepless night.
3
Bruce Mulholland was not yet fifty-five years old, but his mind was that of a very old man. Evanna and Lexie cared for him as best they could, but he could wander from the present to the past in a matter of moments, and sometimes he did not even recognize his own daughter.
Occasionally he would return to his early childhood and forget how to do very basic things, like relieving himself, then Evanna and Lexie would have to clean both him and his soiled clothes. However, Lexie took on her father’s bathing herself since she deemed it improper for Evanna to do it. Her work as a healer meant that she had dealt with both men and women, and nothing shocked her.
Bruce Mulholland sometimes became a danger to himself by accidentally burning himself on the stove or spilling boiling water over himself. Indeed, he was covered in the scars of many burns and an equal number of cuts, and Lexie was constantly having to patch him up.
One day, when they had an hour’s respite in the middle of the afternoon, Evanna and Lexie were sitting at one of the tavern tables to enjoy a simple meal of bread, cheese, and apples. Both were in a state of utter exhaustion, and Evanna felt like laying her head on the hard tabletop and going to sleep.
“How are ye?” Lexie asked as she saw the dark half-moons of tiredness under the younger woman’s eyes.
Since the stranger had come amongst them, he had added to the already heavy burden of washing and bathing, cooking, cleaning, and serving at the bar. Tonight would be Evanna’s third night of sitting by his side, but at least she had made proper sleeping arrangements by laying a thick straw pallet on the floor.
“I think Da is becoming worse,” Evanna said sadly, shaking her head. “He woke up twice last night looking for my mother. It is no good tellin’ him she is dead, for that just makes him angry an’ he hits out an’ hurts himself, an’ sometimes me too.” She shuddered. “I told her she was goin’ tae stay wi’ her sister for a wee while an’ I would let him know when she came back. His normal days are becomin’ fewer an’ fewer.”
“Let me look after our patient tonight,” Lexie suggested. “Take my room. Ye look done in, Evanna. If ye go on like this ye will make yerself ill. Go for a wee sleep now while things are quiet.”
Evanna reached for an apple and bit into it. “It has been days since I went to pick stuff from the woods,” she said, sighing. “We need some mushrooms, an’ nobody else knows the right ones.”
“Then it is time ye taught them.” Lexie’s voice was sharp. “Flora and Donna are not stupid. They just pretend tae be so they don’t have tae do it. But we can do without mushrooms tonight, lass. Go an’ sleep an’ let me take care o’ things.”
“Thank ye, Lexie.” Evanna stood up, but as she pushed her chair back, someone bumped into her from behind, and she looked up into the startled blue eyes of a grey-haired man in his middle years. He was tall and well-built, but not as much so as Fraser.
“I am so sorry,” he said, his voice practically a whisper. “Did I hurt you?”
“Not at all,” Evanna replied with a little smile. As soon as she heard his voice, however, she knew why he was speaking so quietly. He had the smooth velvet accent of South East England, and he could not be too careful since that manner of speech was not popular in this or any other part of Scotland. However, Lexie had taught her never to judge people and that there was good in everyone.
“Can I help ye?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
He looked surprised at her lack of hostility. “Do you have a room I can rent for the night?” he asked. “And a meal?”
“We do,” she answered. “Let me show ye. It is no’ very big but it is tidy an’ clean.” She led him along a passage to a room right close to the end of the passage, where he would hear no noise from the bar. “It gets a bit rowdy when the men start drinkin’, so I would advise ye to stay inside if ye want peace. The privy is outside.” She opened a door to show him.
He smiled at her, and a look of relief came over his face. “You don’t mind that I am English?” he asked.
Evanna shook her head. “As long as ye can pay, I do not care,” she answered, smiling. “But keep yer voice down for yer own safety.”
The man laughed, and they entered the room. It was, as she had said, plainly furnished with a bed, a wooden chair, and a small table, but it was spotlessly clean and had a fireplace with a stack of wood beside it. As well as that, there were two thick blankets on the bed and sturdy shutters on the windows to keep the wind out.
“It is perfect,” he breathed, looking around with a broad smile.
If this is yer idea o’ perfect,Evanna thought,I would hate tae see yer idea of a mess.
The man took out a handful of silver coins from a pouch and displayed them on his palm. “Is this enough?” he asked, frowning.
Evanna’s eyes widened as she looked at the silver shillings in the man’s broad palm. He could have rented the room for a quarter of the amount he was offering. She shook her head. “No,” she answered, watching his expression change to one of disappointment. “It is far too much.” She picked out the appropriate amount of coins from his hand and put them in her pocket, watching as he closed his hands around the rest and returned them to the pouch.
“You are an honest woman,” he observed, smiling at her. “If you had taken all of it I would not have known the difference.”
“I like tae think I am.” Evanna smiled at him. “We serve our evenin’ meal at sunset, but I advise ye tae eat it in here. If ye come intae the bar for anythin’, keep yer mouth shut. I do not want a riot because there is a Sassenach in my tavern.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
“Evanna,” she replied politely.