informed of your plan to bring Louddon's sister back with you? I have only just learned that Gilard understood the way of it from the beginning.'
'I suppose he boasted of it too,' Duncan said, shaking his head.
'He did.'
'Gilard exaggerates, Edmond. He had no knowledge of my intentions.'
'And your reason for keeping this plan secret, Duncan?' Edmond asked.
'You would have argued over it,' Duncan remarked. He smiled over his own admission, as if he would have found pleasure in the fight.
Madelyne observed the change in Duncan 's manner. She was truly amazed. Why, he looked so ruggedly handsome when he smiled. Aye, she thought, he looked human. And that, she scolded herself, was all she would allow herself to think about his appearance.
'When have you ever turned your back on an argument?' Edmond shouted at his brother.
The walls surely rocked from the noise. Madelyne wondered if both Edmond and Gilard suffered from a hearing problem of some sort.
Edmond wasn't as tall as Duncan, not when they stood so close together. He looked more like Duncan than Gilard did though. He was just as mean-looking when he scowled. The facial features were almost identical, down to their frowns. Edmond 's hair wasn't black though; it was as brown as a newly plowed field and just as rich in thickness. And when he turned to look at her, Madelyne thought she saw a smile light those dark brown eyes before they turned as cold as stone.
'If you think to yell at me, Edmond, I must tell you I'm not up to listening,' Madelyne said.
Edmond didn't reply. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at her, long and hard, until Duncan told him to see to her injury.
When the middle brother walked over to the bed, Madelyne began to get frightened again. 'I would prefer that you leave me alone,' she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
'Your preferences do not concern me,' Edmond remarked. His voice was now as soft as hers had been.
She admitted defeat when Edmond motioned for her to show him which leg he was to tend. He was large enough to force her, and Madelyne needed to keep her strength for the ordeal ahead of her.
Edmond 's expression didn't change when she lifted the covering. Madelyne was careful to shield the rest of her body from his view. She was a modest lady, after all, and it was best that Edmond understand that from the beginning. Duncan walked over to the other side of the bed. He frowned when Edmond touched Madelyne's leg, and she grimaced in pain.
'You'd best hold her down, Duncan,' Edmond remarked. His voice was mild now, his concentration obviously centered on the task ahead of him.
'Nay! Duncan?'
She couldn't keep the frantic look from her eyes.
'There isn't any need,' Duncan instructed his brother. He looked at Madelyne and added, 'I'll hold her down
Madelyne's shoulders sagged against the bed again. She nodded and a look of calm settled on her face.
Duncan was certain he'd have to restrain her, else Edmond wouldn't be able to complete the task of cleaning the wound and sewing her flesh back together. There'd be pain, intense but necessary, and it would be no disgrace for a woman to scream during the ordeal.
Edmond lined up his supplies and was finally ready to begin. He looked at his brother, received his nod, and turned to look at Madelyne. What he saw surprised him into stillness. There was trust in those magnificent blue eyes, and not a trace of fear in evidence. She was quite beautiful, Edmond admitted, just as Gilard had claimed.
'You may begin, Edmond,' Madelyne whispered then, interrupting Edmond 's thoughts.
Edmond watched Madelyne wave her hand in a regal gesture indicating she was waiting. He almost smiled over her show of authority. Her husky voice surprised him too. 'Would it be easier if you just used a hot knife to seal the wound?'
Before Edmond could answer her, Madelyne hastened on. 'I do not mean to tell you the way of it,' she said. 'Please don't take offense, but it does seem barbaric of you to use a needle and thread.'
'Barbaric?'
Edmond looked as if he were having trouble following the conversation.
Madelyne sighed. She decided she was too exhausted to try to make him understand. 'You may begin, Edmond,' she repeated. 'I'm ready.'
'I may?' Edmond asked, looking up at Duncan to catch his reaction.
Duncan was too worried to smile over Madelyne's conversation. He looked grim.
'You're a bossy bit of goods,' Edmond told Madelyne. The rebuke was softened by his smile.
'Get on with it,' Duncan muttered. 'The waiting is worse than the deed.'
Edmond nodded. He closed his mind to everything but his duty. Bracing himself against the screams he knew would start as soon as he touched her, he then began the cleaning.
She never made a sound. Sometime during the ordeal, Duncan sat down on the bed. Madelyne immediately turned her face into his side. She acted as though she were trying to squeeze underneath him. Her fingernails dug into his thigh, but he didn't think she was aware of what she was doing.
Madelyne didn't think she'd be able to bear the pain much longer. She was thankful Duncan was there, though she couldn't understand why she felt that way. She couldn't seem to think much at all now, only accepted that Duncan had become her anchor to hold on to for dear life. Without him her control would collapse.
Just when she was certain she was going to start screaming, she felt the needle pierce her skin. Sweet oblivion claimed her, and she felt nothing more.
Duncan knew the second Madelyne fainted. He slowly pried her hand away from his thigh and gently turned her cheek until her entire face was visible to him. Tears wet her cheeks and he slowly wiped them away.
'I think I would have preferred her yelling,' Edmond muttered as he worked the ragged flesh together with his needle and thread.
'It wouldn't have made it any easier for you,' Duncan answered. He stood when Edmond finished and watched his brother wrap a thick cotton strip around Madelyne's thigh.
'Hell, Duncan, she's probably going to get the fever and die anyway,' Edmond predicted with a scowl.
His comment infuriated Duncan. 'Nay! I'll not allow it, Edmond.'
Edmond was shocked by Duncan 's vehement statement. 'You would care, brother?'
'I would care,' Duncan admitted.
Edmond didn't know what to say. He stood with his mouth open and watched his brother walk out of the room.
With a weary sigh Edmond followed his brother.
Duncan had already left the castle and was making his way to the lake located behind the butcher's hut. The bitterness of the weather was welcomed, for it took his mind off the questions nagging him.
The ritualistic nightly swim was yet another demand Duncan made on his mind and his body. Aye, it was a challenge meant to toughen him against discomfort. He neither looked forward to the swim nor avoided it. And he never wavered from this ritual either, be it summer or winter.
Duncan stripped off his garments and made a clean dive into the frigid water, hoping the cold would be enough to put Madelyne out of his thoughts for just a few minutes.
A short time later Duncan ate his supper. Edmond and Gilard kept him company, an unusual occurrence to be sure, as Duncan was in the habit of taking all his meals in solitude. The two younger brothers talked of many things, but neither dared question Duncan about Lady Madelyne. Duncan 's silence and perpetual scowl throughout the meal didn't lend itself to discussion of any issue.
Duncan couldn't remember what he'd eaten. He determined to get some rest, but when he finally took to his bed, the picture of Madelyne kept intruding. He told himself he'd become accustomed to having her near, and surely that was the only reason he couldn't sleep. An hour passed and then another, and still Duncan continued to toss and turn.
By the middle of the night Duncan gave up the battle. He cursed himself all the way up to the tower room, telling himself he wanted only to look in on Madelyne, to make certain she hadn't defied him by dying.
