“Good,” he said without any further inquiry. “Then ye would help me greatly, if ye could take care of them.”
“Very well,” she said with a nod.
When she approached, two of the men let out small groans. The third appeared to be sleeping. Elaine, on the other hand, wanted to be certain, so she brought her cheek to his mouth and waited until she could feel his breath on her face. He was still alive, albeit weak.
“Help me,” one of them croaked. “Please, help me.”
“I’ll fetch ye some water,” Elaine replied, pressing her hand on his arm to try and comfort him.
After retrieving a bucket of fresh water, she helped the soldier to a slight sitting position and holding the wooden cup to his lips, helped him to drink. Much of the water fell onto his chin as he struggled to hold himself up. Elaine tried to support him as best as she could, but he was heavy and almost dead weight.
“What’s yer name?” Elaine asked, once he was lying back down on the table. She wanted to check the dressing on his stomach and needed to distract him. From the amount of blood on the cloth that lay tightly wrapped around him, it was likely going to be painful if she needed to clean and dress it again.
“Angus,” he croaked.
Elaine turned around to face him. He was a far cry from her brother simply because he was much larger. However, the mention of the familiar name drew her attention, only to make her sad at the thoughtof never seeing her brother again. More guilt arose as she reflected on last night, for while she had been swept along by Duncan's attentions, Angus had not once entered her mind. Was she such a horrible person to allow the man who murdered her brother to take her body so easily?
The soldier lying before her moaned again. This was neither the time nor the place to allow herself such considerations. She had a job to do. She may no longer have Angus by her side, but she would do the very best she could to give this man all the care he needed.
“All right, Angus. I want ye tae try and relax. I ken yer in pain, but I need tae check yer stomach.”
“Is it bad?” he cried, fear dancing in his eyes.
“I cannae ken that ‘til I’ve seen it. Let me tak’ a look.”
With a heavy thud, he lowered his head back onto the wooden table and sighed, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Elaine couldn't blame him. He was clearly in a lot of pain, and it was now feared that he might not recover. Shecarefully pulled back the blood-soaked cloth to inspect the wound. The six-inch-long gash had been neatly stitched together, most likely by Samuel. Though the wound appeared angry and fresh, the bleeding seemedto have stopped.
“Well? How’s it looking?” Samuel was suddenly by her side, bending over and looking closely at the damage.
“It appears tae have stopped bleeding,” Elaine offered. “Though I could clean it if ye think it needs it.”
“I think ye should leave the cleaning for now,” Samuel replied. “The body is doing what it is supposed to dae. Heal itself. I would worry that by any intervention on our part, we might disturb the natural process.”
The healer’s words made sense and Elaine trusted his wisdom. And with his calm and logical manner, she assumed him to know what was best for Angus. Leaving her to her duties, the older man walked away and moved to more soldiers lying on another table further across the hall.
“I dinnae want tae die,” Angus said, a tear trickling from the corner of his eye.
“Samuel has done a fine job in stitching yer wound, Angus,” Elaine said kindly. “I’ve seen many wounds like it,” she lied, “and I think yer going tae be just fine. I’ll be back tae see ye in a wee while.”
She didn’t really know if her words would bring him any comfort, but she had to try. What was one little white lie, anyway?
Ye should ken. Ye have told enough of them.
Elaine tried to shake the guilt from her mind and moved to see to the next soldier on the table. In complete contrast to Angus, his face was firm and determined.
“Naeone will tell me, but did we beat the bastards?” he growled.
“Ye did. The castle is safe once more, and we all have ye tae thank for that.”
“Dinnae flatter me, woman! I didnae do it all mysel’. But as long as the laird and his family are safe, that’s all that matters.”
“What’s yer name?” Elaine asked.
“Connor. Connor MacDougall. And the MacDougall clan will nae be bullied or relinquish what belongs tae them. I serve my clan with pride, mistress, and as soon as I’m fit, I will serve them again.”
It was only then that Elaine looked fully at the proud soldier to assess the injury he had sustained. When the extent of his wounds caught her eye, she clenched her jaw, for she refused to look as shocked as she suddenly felt. One leg had been cut off below the knee, a heavy dressing wrapped around the remaining stump. With fire in his belly and the desire to protect his people, she simply could not tell him he would never be able to fight again. Yet, at the same time, she could hardly understand how he was not aware of it.
Later, when she was washing the cloths she had used to dab the soldiers’ brows, Samuel approached her once more. A station had been set up at a far wall of the Great Hall for convenience. Rather than needing to travel to the kitchens in-between seeing to each soldier, water and buckets had been arranged on a long table for ease and swiftness.