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Greer merely grunted a "thanks" as he settled in one of the chairs by the fire and arranged Saidh in his lap. He wasn't leaving her side until she was up and about and well again, and then he would only leave her side if at least two of his men--no four, four of his men were there to guard her. He wasn't going to risk losing his bride again. Today was the last day she would suffer harm in any way.
Saidh opened her eyes with a little sigh and peered at the sleeping boy beside her. Alpin, she realized. Lying on his side facing her and sound asleep. The boy looked sweet as could be in repose. One could almost forget the pain in the arse he could be when awake, she thought, and smiled faintly, only to frown in the next moment as it occurred to her to wonder what the boy was doing in her bed.
"Oh, there ye are. Ye're awake."
Saidh followed that voice to the woman seated in a chair on Alpin's side of the bed. Lady MacDonnell was leaning forward in the seat, beaming at her as if she'd just done something incredibly clever by opening her eyes.
"M'lady," Saidh said uncertainly, and then her eyes widened slightly as her gaze slid past the woman and she took note that she wasn't in her room, but the master bedchamber.
"I thought we'd agreed ye'd call me Aunt Tilda," Lady MacDonnell said gently and then tilted her head and frowned slightly. "Ye look confused, dearling."
"I--aye, I am," Saidh admitted almost apologetically. "Why am I--" She started to turn on her back, intending to sit up, but stopped abruptly when her movement sent pain shooting through her arm and chest. She glanced toward the shoulder where the pain seemed to be situated, but all she could see was the heavy cloth of what she guessed was a sleeping gown.
"Oh dear, I fear that knock ye took to the head may ha'e done some damage," Lady MacDonnell said, sounding concerned.
Saidh glanced to her with amazement. "Knock to the head?"
"Aye. Yer brother, competent as I am sure he is, was so busy tending yer shoulder he ne'er e'en looked to see if there was aught else wrong with ye. It was my Helen who found the bump on yer head. Ye must ha'e hit it as ye fell from yer mount," she added with a frown. "I can't imagine that whoever shot ye troubled themselves to then kosh ye in the head too."
"Shot," Saidh breathed, her memory returning. Someone had shot an arrow into her as she was heading back to the castle. She'd woken up here in the master bedchamber where Rory had forced the arrow through her back and . . . well, she must have fainted. She didn't recall anything after that.
"Are ye remembering now?" Aunt Tilda asked with concern. "Ye look as if ye might be."
"Aye," Saidh smiled at her weakly and relaxed back onto her uninjured side in the bed. "Someone shot me with an arrow as I was returning to the keep and Rory removed it."
"Good, good." Aunt Tilda smiled and sat back in her seat again. "Head wounds can be so tricky and then ye've slept fer so long . . . for a moment I feared it had done some permanent damage."
"How long was I sleeping?" Saidh asked curiously.
"Three nights and two days," Lady MacDonnell said solemnly. "This is the third morning, and I can tell ye we've all been worried sick. Why, Greer refused to leave yer side the first two nights and days. Last night, though, I insisted he go find some sleep. As I pointed out, it would do little good if ye woke up only to have him drop across ye with exhaustion and relief the minute ye opened yer eyes. I promised to send for him though if ye woke while he was no' here, so I guess I'd best--"
"Nay! Wait," Saidh protested when Lady MacDonnell stood and moved toward the door. When she paused and glanced back with surprise, Saidh hesitated, but then flushed and admitted, "I ha'e to relieve meself and I'd rather--"
"Oh, o' course ye do. Where is me head?" Lady MacDonnell muttered, rushing back to the bed. "Why ye must be full to burstin' after sleeping so long. Shall I fetch a basin, or do ye think ye can manage the garderobe do I help ye?"
"The garderobe," Saidh said, though she wasn't at all sure she could manage it. Still, it was that or here in the room with Alpin in bed next to her. Even the thought of that was too distressing to bear, so she took a deep breath and forced herself upward on the bed into a sitting position. It was harder than she'd expected and not just because of the pain it sent shooting through her chest and arm either. She was alarmingly weak after so long asleep, or perhaps it was the blood loss, she thought as Lady MacDonnell bent to help her sit up.
"All right?" Aunt Tilda asked once they had her sitting up in bed.
Saidh hesitated, waiting for her pain to ease and the room to stop spinning. Dear Lord, she felt like hell: weak, nauseous and she was starting to sweat just from the effort to sit up. How the devil was she supposed to make it to the garderobe? She wasn't even sure she was going to make it to her feet.
Apparently, Lady MacDonnell had some doubt that she could manage it as well, because she suddenly said, "Helen left a basin. Perhaps we should just--"
"Nay. I'm fine," Saidh said determinedly and then forced a smile. At least she hoped it was a smile. It felt more like a grimace on her face. Setting her teeth, Saidh held her breath and shifted her feet off the bed, so she was sitting on the side of it. Relieved to manage that part so easily, she smiled at Aunt Tilda. "If ye could just . . ."
She let her words trail away. Lady MacDonnell was already shifting to a half crouch beside her to draw her good arm over her shoulder.
"On three," Aunt Tilda said and then counted off. When she reached three, Saidh lunged upward even as Lady MacDonnell pulled.
"There," Lady MacDonnell gasped, once they were both upright.
Saidh merely grunted and closed her eyes. The room was spinning like crazy now and she was quite sure she was swaying on her feet.
"Are ye sure ye'd no' rather I fetch the basin and--"
"Nay," Saidh interrupted, forcing her eyes open and sucking in a deep breath to steady herself. "I can do this."
Aunt Tilda didn't argue, she simply waited until Saidh started to shuffle forward and moved with her, taking as much of her weight as she could.
The master bedchamber was a good-sized room, but it had never seemed as large to Saidh as it did that morning as she struggled to get out of it. Dear God, the walk to the door seemed like miles, and getting there seemed to take forever, but they did finally reach it. When they paused for Aunt Tilda to open the door, Saidh reached out to press her hand on the wall and lean against it as she tried to catch her breath. She was panting as if she'd just run all the way from the loch, and her back, her whole body, was damp with sweat.
"Here we go," Lady MacDonnell said as she pulled the door open wide.
Sighing, Saidh shuffled forward again, trying not to think about just how far away the garderobe still was. It was at the opposite end of the hall. By her guess she had to travel at least three times the distance she'd just traversed, possibly five or six times and she was beginning to seriously doubt she could manage it. Chances were she'd collapse before she got halfway there and then further humiliate herself by relieving herself there on the hall floor.
"Saidh!"
Pausing, she glanced up sharply to see Greer rushing toward her from the open door of the room she'd o
ccupied since arriving.
"Ye were supposed to fetch me if she woke," Greer growled as he scooped Saidh off her feet.
"I was going to, dear," Aunt Tilda assured him. "But she needs to use the garderobe. Once we'd tended to that, I would ha'e fetched ye. I promise."
Greer had been about to carry her back into the master bedchamber, but paused abruptly and turned to head down the hall instead. "I'll take her. Ye should go and get some rest, Aunt Tilda. Ye sat up with her all night. Thank ye fer that," he added.
"Aye, thank ye, Aunt Tilda," Saidh said over Greer's shoulder, managing a smile despite the fact that her mind was now racing with the worry that her husband was taking her to the garderobe. How embarrassing was that?
" 'Twas my pleasure, dear," Aunt Tilda called out just before Greer paused and shifted her so that he could open the door to the garderobe.
Saidh swiveled forward again to glance around with alarm as he carried her inside the tiny room. There were two garderobes at MacDonnell. One large one with a long bench with several holes in it where many could tend their needs at the same time, and then this one, a very narrow cubicle with a small bench seat and one hole. It was not made to house two people, but Greer didn't seem to care. He was obviously aware of it since he had to maneuver carefully to avoid banging her head or legs into the walls, but it didn't stop his entering.
Saidh breathed a little sigh of relief when he set her on her feet. She then peered up at him expectantly.
Greer raised an eyebrow and frowned at her expression. "Do ye need me to lift yer nightshirt fer ye?"
Saidh blinked in dismay. "Nay!"
"Then what are ye waiting fer? Get to it," he said with a frown.
"I am waiting fer ye to leave and give me some privacy," Saidh said dryly.
That made him frown. "But what if ye need me?"
"I do no' think I need help with this task me laird husband," Saidh said solemnly. "But ye can wait outside the door and I'll shout if I do."
"Verra well," he said unhappily, but hesitated briefly, then bent to press a kiss to her forehead. " 'Tis happy I am to see ye up and about, Saidh," he said huskily. "I was verra worried about ye."
