only one who found the hound intimidating. She took sympathy on the women and went over to collect her supplies from them.
'Do be careful, m'lady,' Leila whispered.
Johanna nodded. She was ready to begin her work a few minutes later. Keith wasn't about to let her take the chance of being bitten by the hound while she worked on him. He knelt down behind Dumfries and positioned himself so that he could easily grab hold of the dog's neck and pin him down if he tried to harm his mistress.
The dog amazed both Johanna and the soldier. He never made a sound all the while she prodded at him. Johanna made enough noise for the two of them. She whispered apologies and moaned every time she touched the injury with the linen square she'd soaked in the cleaning salve. She knew the medicine burned, and so she blew on each spot after she'd applied the thick liquid.
Into the chaos came Gabriel. Johanna had just threaded the needle when she heard her husband's voice behind her.
'What the hell happened?'
Johanna let out a little sigh of relief. She turned on her knees to look up at her husband. Lord, she had never been so relieved to see him. She watched as he walked across the hall to stand over her. His big hands were settled on his hips. His gaze was directed on his hound.
Keith immediately stood up. The other soldiers who'd followed him into the great hall moved back to give Keith room.
'I'd wager Dumfries met up with a wolf or two,' Keith speculated.
'Think he found our pet?' Calum asked the question. He walked over to stand next to Keith.
Johanna went back to her task. She tied the knot in her thread, then put the needle down and reached for the second jar of medicine.
'You have another pet, m'lord?' she asked while she gently dabbed the yellow ointment on the cut. She used another linen square to smooth the healing salve along the jagged edges.
'The Maclaurins call one particular wolf Pet. Your hand's shaking.'
'I can see it is.'
'Why?'
'Your dog terrifies me.'
Johanna finished dabbing the medicine on the injury. The salve would protect the cut from infection. It also had a side benefit of numbing the area. Dumfries would barely feel the sting of her needle.
'Yet she's tending him, Laird.'
'I can see she is, Keith,' Gabriel replied.
'The difficult part's over,' Johanna said. 'Dumfries shouldn't feel the rest of my prodding. Besides…'
'Besides what?'
She whispered her explanation, but Gabriel couldn't make out the words. He knelt down beside his wife. He placed his hand on the dog's neck. Dumfries immediately tried to lick his fingers.
'What did you just say?' he asked his wife while he stroked his hound.
'I said, you're here now,' she whispered. She glanced over, saw his arrogant expression, and immediately added, 'Dumfries will be comforted. He has great affection for you, m'lord. I imagine he knows you'll keep him safe.'
'You know it too, Johanna.'
She knew he expected her agreement. She decided his arrogance would get completely out of hand if she admitted she did feel safe when he was near, and so she remained silent.
It didn't take her any time at all to sew the injury closed. Gabriel helped her wrap wide cotton strips around and around the dog. He tied the ends together.
'He won't leave this alone for long,' her husband predicted.
She nodded. She was suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue. Fear had drained her of her strength, she supposed.
She collected her supplies and stood up. A crowd of curious men and women stood behind her. Johanna spotted Glynis in the group and immediately turned her gaze away.
'She carried your dog inside, MacBain. Aye, she did.'
As Keith told a somewhat exaggerated version, Johanna continued through the crowd. She hurried up the steps and down the hall to her chamber. She put her supplies away, washed her hands again, and then took off her shoes so she could stretch out on the bed. She planned to rest for just a few minutes and then return to the hall for dinner.
She fell asleep a few minutes later. Gabriel came up to the room twice during the evening to look in on her. He finally came to bed around midnight after making certain Dumfries was resting comfortably.
Johanna barely moved while her husband took off her clothes. She opened her eyes once, frowned up at him, and then promptly fell asleep again. Gabriel took a fresh blanket from the chest and covered his wife before he stripped out of his own clothes and got into bed beside her.
He didn't have to reach for her. The minute he was settled, she rolled over into his embrace. He pulled her closer. She tucked her head under his chin.
Gabriel recounted in his mind the story Keith had related to him. He tried to picture his wife wrapping her arms around Dumfries and dragging the hound up the steps.
The courage his wife had shown pleased him. Still, he didn't want her to take such chances in future. Dumfries had been in pain, and a wounded animal, no matter how loyal, wasn't to be trusted.
Tomorrow he would order her never to take such risks again. Gabriel fell asleep worrying about his delicate little bride.
Chapter 9
Gabriel knew, before he'd even opened his eyes the following morning, that his wife wasn't in bed with him.
Hell, it was just a little past dawn, and he as laird and husband should have been the first to leave the bed. His irritation softened, however, with the thought that she was probably downstairs waiting for him in the great hall. She had looked worried about Dumfries the night before, he remembered, and she was no doubt still fretting over the animal.
The Maclaurin plaid was draped over a chair. Johanna had gotten her days mixed up, for she had obviously dressed in the MacBain colors two days in a row. The Maclaurins were sure to kick up a fuss, and damn it all, he didn't have time for such puny, inconsequential matters.
Both Keith and Calum were already waiting for him in the hall. They bowed to their laird when he appeared at the entrance.
'Where's my wife?'
Calum and Keith exchanged a worried look, then Calum stepped forward to answer. 'We thought she was above the stairs with you, MacBain.'
'She isn't.'
'Then where is she?' Calum asked.
Gabriel glared at the soldier. ' 'Twas the question I just put to you,' he snapped.
Dumfries lifted his head at the sound of his master's voice. His tail thumped against the rushes. Gabriel went over to the hound, bent down on one knee, and pounded the side of the dog's neck.
'Do I have to carry you outside, Dumfries?'
'Lady Johanna has already taken your pet outside, Laird.'
Leila called out the news from the entrance. She hurried down the steps, smiled at Calum and Keith, and then turned to her laird. 'She gave him food and water, too. She declared your pet's feeling much better today.'
'How would she know so soon he's better?' Keith asked.
