There, she saw a heart-rending sight. She was just in time to watch as the young man she had seen cleaning the weapons earlier collapsed onto the muddy ground. Still screaming, he lay on his back on the ground, his limbs thrashing for a few seconds before he stilled completely, and Amanda’s heart skipped a beat as she thought for one terrible moment that he was dead.
However, when she reached his side and put her hand to the pulse on his throat, she felt a strong, steady heartbeat, and she breathed a mighty sigh of relief. She looked up to see a crowd around her, all looking down at him with faces full of curiosity and concern.
Amanda turned back to him and saw that his face was red, but since he was now almost unconscious she was able to examine him properly. She peeled his clothing back to feel for any wounds that could be causing an infection, and found a deep cut on his upper arm that was oozing yellow pus.
That was the moment that she saw Fiona parting the crowd and frowning down at the figure on the floor. Amanda suddenly felt a wave of rage sweep over her.
“I told you he had a fever!” Amanda yelled. “You said he was playacting. Are you happy now?”
The men around her turned on Fiona to hear her answer. Fiona’s face was a mask of fury and humiliation. “Ye had better make sure he is well before Hamish comes back, healer!” she yelled, wagging a warning finger at Amanda. “Or he will make ye very sorry ye were ever pulled fae that carriage!”
5
Amanda looked down into the flushed face of the young man, then raised his head off the ground and felt his forehead with the back of her hand, finding it unnaturally hot and sweaty. He was not deeply unconscious, but delirious, muttering unintelligible words and shivering uncontrollably. She knew that if he was not treated quickly, his condition would become worse and might even be fatal.
She knew what to do, but she had none of her medication with her, since it had all been left at the carriage. Then she remembered one thing that she always carried with her, and took it out of her pocket.
Willow bark was the best thing for lowering fever, and Amanda made sure she always had some on hand, but there was not enough for her needs.
“I need some more willow bark,” she said urgently, “and water. Can any of you get some for me?”
“Get it yourself!” Fiona snapped, before turning on her heel and flouncing away.
Forcing down her anger, Amanda tucked the piece of bark under his tongue.
“Do not spit it out,” she told him.
She was not sure if he could hear her, but she had to try. She asked two of the men to lift her patient into a place where she could treat him, and was led to one of the biggest tents, which she thought that she could make into a makeshift infirmary.
He was laid down on a cot, and Amanda checked him over again to see if he had any more wounds, but there were none. She was not happy about leaving him in this situation, however, but it seemed that she had no choice. She asked one of the women to sit by him, then asked his name.
“Jimmy,” the woman replied. “He sharpens a’ the blades o’ the swords an’ knives. That is likely how he cut himself.”
Grateful for her help, Amanda said, “Can you tell me your name, please?”
“I am tellin’ ye nothin’ more, Sassenach,” the woman said scathingly, then walked away.
Amanda sighed. Getting these people’s cooperation was like banging her head against a brick wall. She looked around, saw a bucket in the corner of the tent, and picked it up. She ran outside, but stopped first to go to see the women who were grinding the herbs.
“I need some willow bark,” she said hurriedly. “There is a young man called Jimmy out there who has a fever and an infection, and I need to lower his temperature. Do you have any?”
They conversed briefly amongst themselves, looking concerned, then one of them said, “We dinnae have any here, but there are willow trees down by the river. Ye can get some there.”
“Thank you.”
Amanda turned and ran a few hundred yards down to the river, where she saw two willow trees standing with their branches drooping into the fast-flowing water.
She stopped to strip off some bark and stuff the fragments in a pouch she kept tied to her belt for that purpose, then wentdown to the waterside, where she took off her boots. Looking at the river, she was not at all sure that she wanted to go in again, but she had to. Jimmy’s life might depend on it.
Once again, Amanda thought of the helpless young man lying on the ground and a wave of pity washed over her, as well as anger that very few people in the small community seemed to want to help him.
The ground beside the river was slick and muddy, so Amanda stood on a boulder to steady herself, then she bent down to dip the bucket in the water. At that moment, however, there was a splash as a large stone fell into the river, and the boulder on which she was standing suddenly became too slippery to stand on.
She yelped, and her arms windmilled in the air as she tried to balance, but it was no good. Her feet could not gain purchase on the slick surface of the rock, and they skidded out from under her.
As she slid into the water, the back of her head hit the hard surface of the boulder, and stars erupted before her eyes before blackness took over. However, it was only for a few seconds, and she recovered momentarily as her head was sucked under the turbulent water, and she breathed in a lungful of it.
The shock of the icy river brought her consciousness back, and she managed to reach the surface again, then took in great gulps of air, her heart hammering in panic as she did so. She tried to find purchase on the bottom of the river, but it was too deep, and her feet could not reach far enough.
