"Hold him down," the healer said to someone.
Darack rasped a curse.
"Shh, Darack, you must remain calm." That was his mother's voice.
Mairiana felt left out… isolated and abandoned in the midst of the Grant clan. Darack's extreme pain caused tears to prick her eyes.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she returned to the trunk, placed her face in her hands and cried her eyes out, quietly. She didn't want anyone to see or hear her. And with all the noise inside the room, no one would pay her any mind. At least Darack was back into the arms of his family. They would take care of him better than anyone else. But she wanted to help take care of him.
She did not realize she'd fallen asleep until someone was rousing her. She lifted her head from her arms on her lap and straightened.
"Who stitched up his wounds?" Darack's mother asked.
Mairiana blinked the sleep from her eyes. "Sully."
"Who?"
"The first mate. We traveled on a ship from Dundee to Inverness. That was where the sword fight took place. The ship's first mate was the only one on board who knew how to stitch wounds."
Her face pale, Lady MacGregor pressed a hand to her forehead. "Oh, good heavens."
Mairiana stood, panic shrieking through her. "Did he not do it right?"
Lady MacGregor shook her head. "Pieces of Darack's shirt were left deep inside the cut. 'Twas why it festered and brought on the fever."
"I'm sorry." Feeling faint, Mairiana caught against the wall. "I didn't know. We were trying to stop the bleeding."
"Aye, 'twas not your fault. You did all you could. The healer has opened up the wounds again and removed the small slivers of cloth, washed out the wound with strong whisky and stitched him up again. His fever will likely get worse before it gets better."
"Oh." Mairiana felt the blood drain from her head. She certainly did not want him to get worse. "A healer in Inverness applied the poultices."
Lady MacGregor nodded. "They drew out some of the poisons, so that helped."
"Will he recover?" Mairiana found she was holding her breath.
"We must have faith that he will, lass."
Mairiana nodded, tears welling in her eyes.
With dark eyes so like Darack's, Lady MacGregor watched her with speculation. "What is your name?"
"Mairiana MacKerrick. My brother is chief of the MacKerrick clan."
"'Tis a pleasure to meet you, Lady Mairiana. Are you married?"
Her question, so off topic, startled Mairiana. "Nay."
"Come. While you eat, you can tell me how you met my son."
"Could I see him first?" Mairiana wiped the tears from her eyes.
Observing her with great interest, Lady MacGregor nodded and stepped to the doorway. "Make way for Lady Mairiana."
When the two guards stepped back, Mairiana entered the room.
Darack lay on the bed, his face ashen, his eyes closed. Her throat tightened and she couldn't breathe for he looked… dead.
