“Ye remember, then?” Dwyn asked quietly.
“Aye,” Geordie managed, though his voice was raspy. “How long?”
“Ye slept fer two weeks,” she said solemnly. “Well, really, ye were awake but feverish most o’ the first week, but then ina sleep so deep we could no’ wake ye this last week. Rory said yer body had shut down to allow ye to heal, and ye’d hopefullywake soon.”
She paused then, but he saw something flicker in her eyes and the worry pulling at her lips as she peered at him, and he asked,“What?”
Dwyn hesitated, but then admitted, “Rory said ’twas possible the sleep was due to yer brains boiling from the fever, and yemay no’ be quite the same when ye woke,” she admitted reluctantly, and then asked a bit anxiously, “Do ye feel any different?”
“Nay,” Geordie assured her, but wondered if that were true. The lass was sitting there on the bed with him and he was feelingno urge to tup her. He was quite sure that never would have been the case before the wound and fever. He hadn’t been ableto keep his hands off her prior to that. Dear God, what if the fever had taken his manhood from him?
“Oh, good,” Dwyn sighed out on a relieved breath, unaware of the worry suddenly plaguing him.
His gaze slid immediately to her chest to see if she’d unseated her breasts and her nipples might be poking out at him. Surelyhis interest would return then? But the neckline of her gown was so high there was no chance of them escaping. Before he couldcomment on that, she was up and heading for the door. “I’d best go let Rory ken ye’re up. He’ll want to see ye. I’ll fetchye some broth too while I’m below.”
Geordie watched the door close behind her, and then glanced fretfully around the room, trying to tell if there was any damageto his mind. He didn’t know. How would he be able to tell? Would he be able to? He was still fretting over the issue whenthe door opened again and his brother entered. Rory wasn’t alone, he saw as he turned his gaze that way. Aulay was with him.Both looked relieved to see him awake.
“How are ye feeling?” Rory asked as he reached the bed, and looked him over.
Geordie grunted noncommittally and waited as Rory bent to listen to his heart, and then held his eyes open to peer at thembriefly.
“Ye seem well,” Rory decided, relaxing a bit. “Do ye remember what happened?”
“Aye,” Geordie growled, and then turned to peer at the drink on the bedside table.
Getting the message, Rory held it for him to drink. He was more cautious even than Dwyn though, and allowed him only two sipsbefore setting the goblet back, and asking, “How does yer chest feel?”
“Like it had a sword shoved through it,” Geordie said dryly, but then admitted, “No’ as bad as I’d expect though.”
“Ye were lucky. It slid between yer ribs rather than smashing through them, and it missed yer heart or anything else o’ note.I worried at first that it might have nicked yer one lung, but if it did, it healed itself up well enough and quickly becauseother than when ye first arrived ye’ve no’ seemed to have trouble breathing,” Rory told him, and then added, “And too, ye’vemissed the worst of the healing since ye were out o’ yer mind the first week and slept the second,” Rory said solemnly.
Geordie nodded, and then asked reluctantly, “How will I ken if the fever damaged me brain?”
Rory’s eyes narrowed. “Is there something specific ye’re worried on?”
He hesitated, his gaze sliding to Aulay and away before he admitted, “I’m no’ feeling like tupping Dwyn.”
A startled laugh of disbelief burst from both men, but Rory stifled his quickly, and used his most patient voice when he said,“Geordie, ye just woke up, and ye’re still healing from a terrible injury that could have killed ye. I’d be more surprisedif ye were feeling up to tupping yer wife.”
Geordie relaxed at that and asked, “Where’s Dwyn?”
“She went to the kitchens to fetch ye broth as we came up,” Aulay explained as Rory pulled the furs down and then the linensto reveal his bandaged chest. Moving around the bed, Aulay climbed on to kneel beside him and lifted him to a sitting positionand then held him there so that Rory could remove the bandages that ran around his chest and back. It was obviously somethinghe’d done many times. Rory hadn’t even had to ask.
They were all silent as Rory examined his wounds. Geordie couldn’t see the one on his back, but did glance down to see theone on his chest. The stitches made it look bigger than it was, and he was surprised at how far along the healing was. Byhis guess Rory would be able to remove the stitches in another week or two.
“’Tis doing well. Another week and a half, or more, and I’ll take the stitches out,” Rory announced, applying fresh salve,and then beginning to bandage him back up.
Geordie merely grunted at that and glanced to Aulay. “Did ye find the men’s camp?”
“Aye. I set Simon to the task when we found you and Dwyn.” Mouth tightening, he added, “They had cleared out by the time themen found it though, and they did it quickly. They left food cooking over a small fire and a half-skinned rabbit on a rocknearby. Obviously, one o’ their men caught wind o’ the search and gave the warning.”
Geordie scowled at the news. “How many men? Could he tell?”
“From the food and the compressed grass where people had slept, he guessed there were probably six including the two ye killed,”Aulay told him solemnly. “The men followed their trail to the edge o’ our land, but then turned back.”
“They should have hunted them all down,” Geordie growled. “The bastards who had her told Dwyn all the men were going to havea go at her.”
“She did no’ mention that,” Aulay said with a frown.
“Do
