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"I feel fine," Alex interrupted patiently. "Good as new in fact. It must have been that vile mixture you made me drink, 'tis surely a miracle cure. I slept another hour or two, woke up pain-free, and decided I was fine for traveling today. So here we are, halfway through the day and another half day closer to Donnachaidh."
Merry was sure he was lying. While she didn't doubt the tonic she'd given him might have helped him feel a bit better, it would hardly make him feel good as new. She had no doubt his head was probably still pounding at least a bit, and his shoulder was probably tender. He, however, was apparently unwilling to admit it. She didn't know what to think of that. Merry was used to men who whined and carried on at the least little ache or pain...and then used it as an excuse to drink to excess.
"You were exhausted from watching over me last night," Alex went on. "So I let you sleep as we broke camp and then brought you onto my mount again so that you could continue to catch up on the sleep you'd missed."
Merry grimaced. Only complete exhaustion would have allowed her to sleep through it all, but then she supposed she had been pretty exhausted. Her husband had kept her awake most of the night before the journey with the bedding...or beddings. The few hours of light sleep she'd managed to snatch in his lap during the afternoon the day before had hardly made up for it, and then she'd stayed awake to watch over him through last night. Aye, Merry supposed, she shouldn't be surprised that she'd slept through the men breaking camp and part of the ride today.
Raising her head, she suddenly asked, "Did Gerhard and the men find out who pushed the boulder down on you?"
Alex was silent so long, she thought he might not answer, but then he said, "Nay. He had the men search the area. It was probably just some bandits who saw me alone and thought I would be easy pickings. Your arrival must have scared them off."
Merry eyed him doubtfully at the suggestion, finding it hard to believe that her presence would scare off anyone. It was possible, though, that they'd thought him alone, and her arrival had made them realize he wasn't, and fear that others were with them and might follow.
"'Tis well past the nooning hour," Alex announced, distracting her from such thoughts. "Are you hungry?"
Merry glanced to him, started to open her mouth to answer, but paused as her stomach emitted a loud rumble at the thought of food. She flushed with embarrassment, but he grinned and retrieved a small bag from his pommel.
"There is food in there for you," Alex said quietly as he gave it to her.
Merry managed not to rip and tear at the cloth bag, but just barely. She hadn't eaten a thing last night as she'd watched over Alex and was terribly hungry. She paused in surprise, however, when she got the bag open and began to remove item after item. There was a bit of bread, cheese, an apple, and even what she at first thought was leftover roasted rabbit from the night before.
"'Tis quail," Alex told her quietly as she unwrapped the cloth around the meat and saw that it was indeed a small, full bird. "I was up before everyone else and caught and cleaned it and then put it over the fire to roast while the men broke camp this morning, thinking you might like it when you woke."
Merry swallowed the lump that had suddenly lodged itself in her throat at his taking such effort for her and then, not knowing what else to do, raised the bird toward him in offer.
Alex shook his head. "'Tis for you. Eat."
Merry hesitated, but then lowered the offering and began to do just that. She couldn't possibly eat everything he'd packed for her, however, and when that became obvious, Alex did accept one of the bird's legs. Once they had both finished and the remains had been once more packed away, Alex began to ask her questions about her childhood again. She answered them willingly enough, but asked questions of her own in return, and the afternoon passed surprisingly pleasantly, with their conversation then moving on to other topics. Even as they talked, Merry couldn't help but note to herself that it was a much different journey than the one she'd undertaken to reach England from Stewart. That had been silent, uncomfortable, and grim, with her father and brothers avoiding talking to her, let alone showing any concern for her well-being or comfort. Once again she was forced to acknowledge that Alex was different from the males in her family. Perhaps she had married into a happier situation after all.
Alex's hand suddenly went up and Merry glanced around to see Gerhard urging his horse up beside them. The man had been riding behind them since she'd awakened, his eyes on her husband every time she'd glanced his way. But then Alex had talked a little about his time on crusade that afternoon and told her how the man had saved his life a time or two in Tunis and looked out for him. He obviously looked up to the older man, and it appeared, despite their being back in England, Gerhard, too, still felt the need to look out for him.
"Keep an eye out for a likely spot to camp," Alex said once Gerhard reached them. "We are nearing the border and I would rather spend this last night in England and cross the border tomorrow."
Gerhard nodded. "I shall ride ahead and see what I can find."
The soldier waited just long enough for Alex to nod his approval and then headed off up the lane.
"Gerhard was worried about ye last night," Merry murmured as the other man disappeared around a bend in the path. "He must have come to the tent to check on ye at least twenty times. He even offered to sit with ye so I could rest."
"There was no need for either of you to miss your sleep just to watch me snore the night away," he said gruffly.
"Head wounds are tricky," Merry said firmly. "Someone had to watch over ye."
"Then you should have let Gerhard take half the night, so you both at least had some sleep."
Merry snorted at the suggestion. "Oh, aye. As if I could sleep while worried about ye. Besides, I'd have been lying right there beside ye, and I'd ha'e never managed to sleep with him sitting there watching anyway."
"Aye, and he might have heard you snore, too," Alex said solemnly.
Merry turned a glare on her husband, but it became a reluctant smile when she saw the teasing glint in his eyes. In the next moment, she stifled the smile and said primly, "I hate to be the one to tell ye, me laird, but if ye're trying to be amusin', ye're failing miserably." When he arched an eyebrow at that, she added, "The English are no kenned fer their sense o' humor."
"Is that so?" he asked dryly.
"Aye. Everyone kens the English are all grumpy sods who walk around bemoanin' everything and lookin' like they just buried their brother."
"What?" he asked with disbelief.
Merry shrugged. "Deny it if ye will, but 'tis the truth. The English haven't a clue how to have a good time or enjoy life."
"Ha!" he barked with a laugh. "That sounds more like the Scots to me. They are the ones who are sour-faced, dour, and forever bemoaning. We English are renowned for our sense of humor."
"In yer own minds, mayhap, but then the world kens ye're all mad as well as dour," she said with a sniff, and raised her nose in the air in a superior attitude that was difficult to maintain when his jaw dropped at her sally.
"Why you--" he began, but stopped as Gerhard suddenly appeared on the lane before them.
"I found a spot not far ahead," the soldier said by way of greeting as they reached him. "'Tis along the river and large enough for our party."
"Good." Alex nodded. "Lead on."
He waited until Gerhard had turned to lead the way to the spot he'd found before glancing down at Merry to say, "I shall punish you for insulting my countrymen later, wife."
The sparkle in his eyes and promise in his voice sent a little shiver down Merry's back. The man wasn't talking about spanking her bare bottom. Their mock argument had been all teasing, and while he promised punishment and it might include bare bottoms, she knew it would be a "punishment" that left her satisfied and smiling.
They soon reached the spot Gerhard had found, and Alex dismounted and helped Merry down. After giving the area a quick appraisal, he nodded his approval and gave some orders, then
took Merry's hand to lead her farther along the river in search of privacy. It was late afternoon and early yet, but the sky was overcast and threatening rain, so they were quick about their ablutions. The men were just finishing erecting the tent when they returned. While Alex helped the men finish all that needed doing, Merry immediately headed to the tent to help Una arrange things inside for the night. She'd just reached the tent flap when the first bit of rain began to spit down.
Merry glanced back to see the men moving busily about, ignoring it. She grimaced, but ducked into the tent with a shrug. There was little anyone could do about rain. It fell when it fell, and they, like the birds and forest creatures, would just have to put up with it. She did spare a moment to feel bad for the men, though. The Stewart party had been plagued by rain twice on the journey to England from Scotland, but they'd had their greased plaids and had all bundled up in them against the weather. The Englishmen didn't have that, however. Fortunately, rain never fell very hard or lasted long in England. It was probably why it fell so frequently. This would pass soon enough, and then the men would merely have to contend with the damp, an ever-present issue here.
"You look lovely by candlelight."
Merry glanced up with surprise at her husband's words. They were inside the tent, a meal laid out before them. Despite the rain, the men had managed to catch some game. The moment the rain had stopped they'd built a fire to roast it. However, when Merry had gone out to join them by the fire for the meal, Alex had pointed out that it looked as if it might rain yet again and suggested they should eat in the tent. She had agreed at once. Now they sat on a fur next to their bed of furs; roast meat, cheese, bread, and wine laid out between them.
