Fragments of Grace (Prequel to the Dragonblade Trilogy) (41 page)

Keir nodded sharply, snapping his fingers at Michael
and Kurtis, who were already herding Cassandra and Blanche from the room. The
women protested but did as they were asked. Keir focused on the old physic, who
didn’t seem to think the orders to clear the room pertained to him, and snapped
his fingers sharply at the man, pointing for the door. 

In a huff, the old man swept from the chamber. When
everyone had cleared the room save Keir, he turned to Lady Summer.

“May I stay?” he asked politely.

“Please,” she replied.

Keir shut the door quietly, ignoring the collection
congregated in the landing outside.  A host of curious and insulted faces were
looking at him but he shut the door to block them out. He returned to the
enormous bed just as Summer pulled back the coverlet.

“Stand up, my lady,” she commanded softly.  “Let us
see what you can do.”

Chloë looked a little fearful but dutifully began to
move. Slowly, she swung her legs over the side of the bed but Summer put out a
hand to Keir when he moved in to assist her.

“Nay, my lord,” she told him. “I want to see what
the lady can do on her own.  Only then will we know the true extent of her
injuries.”

Keir nodded reluctantly, crossing his big arms over
his chest with his hands tucked into his armpits as he fought the urge to help Chloë.
It was difficult for him to watch her struggle and not move in to assist.

Chloë was pale and exhausted by the time she swung
her legs over the side of the bed.  She was also trembling; both Keir and
Summer could see it.  It took Chloë three tries to finally stand on her feet,
unassisted, and even then she could not maintain her balance for more than a
few seconds.  She fell backwards on the bed before struggling to her feet a
second time. It was very hard to watch.

Summer was gentle with her. “Can you take a step, my
lady?”

Shaken and struggling against tears, Summer nodded. 
She was staring at her feet, her face down so that they would not see the tears
in her eyes.  She took one halting step, and then a second.  By the time she took
her third, she was sobbing softly and Keir looked at Summer.

“Please,” he begged quietly. “Let me help her. Can
you not see how it pains her?”

Summer held out a quieting hand to silence him as
she focused on Chloë. “Where is the pain, my lady?” she asked steadily.

Chloë was trying very hard not to break down. “My…
my back,” she whispered tightly. “The pain runs from my back down my hips and
legs.”

“Do you feel any numbness?”

Chloë shook her head, the unbrushed red hair
settling around her shoulders. “Nay,” she gasped as she took a fourth and fifth
step. “No numbness. I can feel everything.”

“So it is the pain that makes it difficult to walk,
not the lack of feeling?”

Chloë nodded, biting off more sobs. Yet, she still
continued to walk, very laboriously and haltingly. Summer watched her take
another few steps before looking at Keir and motioning for him to go to her. 
He did, swiftly, and scooped Chloë up into his enormous arms.  She wrapped her
arms around his neck and wept quietly into his shoulder.

Summer watched the pair, thinking a great many
things at that moment. She could feel the love and devotion radiating from them
like a great palpable thing.  But more than that, Summer was thinking on Chloë’s
symptoms and the causes. She had seen such things before and was fairly
confident in her assessment.

“Sir Keir,” she indicated the bed. “Please put her
back to bed.”

Keir, pale and watery-eyed, did as he was told.  He
lowered Chloë down to the mattress, smoothing her hair comfortingly as she
wiped the moisture off her face and looked to him for reassurance. The both of
them turned to Summer expectantly.

Summer approached the bed. “My lady, will you be so
kind as to lay upon your stomach?”

Chloë appeared both fearful and confused. “My
stomach?

“Aye,” Summer replied. “Do you need help to
accomplish this?”

Chloë shook her head hesitantly. “I think I can do
it myself. I will try.”

She shifted around stiffly but didn’t make much
progress. Summer eventually moved to the other side of the bed and between her
and Keir, they managed to put Chloë onto her belly.   The shift she wore was of
fine linen, soft, and Summer immediately put her hands on Chloë’s lower back
and began to feel around.

Keir watched her with a mixture of fear and
anticipation. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Summer was focused on Chloë’s back. “I am trying to
feel her spine to see where the swelling is, and how much of it there is.”

Keir accepted the reply, kneeling beside Chloë’s
head and putting a great hand on her head.  He stroked it tenderly, smiling at
her when she looked at him.

“Not to worry, sweetheart,” he kissed her forehead.
“Is she hurting you?”

Chloë smiled in return, weakly.  “Nay,” she replied.
“She is much more gentle than the old man.”

Keir’s smile faded somewhat. “He touched you?”

Chloë could see from his expression where he was
leading and she softly reassured him. “He had to examine me, Keir. How else was
he to know how injured I am?”

Keir understood but he didn’t like the idea of any
man, even a physic, putting his hands on Chloë.  Seeing his cloudy expression, Chloë
touched his face with the hand resting near her head.  Keir kissed her hand,
her forehead again, before returning his attention to Summer’s activities.

The dark-haired lady was engrossed in the lower part
of Chloë’s spine. She caught Keir’s attention when she realized that he was
watching her.

“I am going to lift her shift so that I can see her
injury more clearly,” she told him. “You will look away, my lord.”

Keir didn’t have the strength to argue with her and
he didn’t feel it was any of her business to know that not only had he seen
that part of Chloë’s anatomy, but he had done wicked things to it.  He simply
refocused on Chloë’s face as Summer lifted the shift.

When her patient was naked and exposed from the
waist down, Summer paid very close attention to the lower spine.  She ran her
fingers over it and visually inspected the area. She could see green bruising
from the lady’s waist to the tailbone.  There were also bruises on the lady’s
buttocks and a big black and green bruise on her right thigh. After more poking
and prodding, she gently lowered the shift.

“Well,” Summer said thoughtfully. “It would seem to
me that the physic was correct – you indeed injured your back when you fell.
But I believe it will heal in time. The fact that you suffer no numbness tells
me that there is no great damage, only bruising. It is my opinion that a good
deal of rest, coupled with daily walks, will help you recover completely.  As
for your head, that too is something time will heal. I do not suspect you will
have any permanent damage from your staircase adventure.”

Keir looked at her as if he was afraid to believe
her. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.  She will recover.”

Keir closed his eyes with relief and gratefulness.
He held Chloë’s hand to his lips, eyes still closed as if praying.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said softly. “You have no
idea how much relief you have given me.  I cannot adequately express my
gratitude.”

Summer smiled as she stood up from the bed and
pulled the coverlet over Chloë.

“You already have,” she told him. “It is my pleasure
to help an old friend of my father’s.”

Chloë turned slightly as Summer came within her line
of sight. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I feel much better having you
examine me.”

Summer’s smile broadened as she gazed down at her
patient. “You are most welcome,” she said, sighing after a moment and brushing
the stray hair from her eyes. “If you do not mind, now that I have accomplished
my task, I would be very grateful for something to eat. We have been on the
road for days and….”

Keir was already on his feet. “Forgive me, my lady,”
he said as he moved for the door. “I should have been more thoughtful. You have
proved yourself incredibly durable and selfless in accompanying me from the
borders and all I have done is think of my own problems.”

Chloë was in the process of shifting to her back.
“Have you not taken care of this woman, Keir?” she demanded, although there was
jest to it. “How unchivalrous. I suppose you made her ride like the wind just
to keep up with you, too.”

Keir was at the door, lifting a blond eyebrow at
her. “It was I who was riding like the wind to keep up with
her
,” he
pointed out. “You should see this leggy gelding she rides. I swear the horse
has wings.”

Chloë giggled softly, looking up at Summer. “He is
usually much more thoughtful. I apologize if he put you to any hardship on your
ride here.”

Summer helped Chloë shifted onto her back. “He was
considerate and kind,” Summer assured her, putting two pillows under Chloë’s
knees to take the strain off the lower back. “Moreoever, he had more important
things on his mind.”

Chloë cocked a doubting eyebrow. “Somehow, I think
you are being kind. I know how the man is when he becomes singularly focused.
He is blind to all else.”

By this time, Keir had opened the door. He rolled
his eyes at Chloë.

“You ungrateful woman,” he muttered, finding
Cassandra on the landing outside of the door.  He addressed her. “Your sister
is going to recover and when she does, I will spank her soundly for her
insults.  But for now, we would like some food, if you please.”

Cassandra half-grinned, poking her head inside the
chamber. “Chloë?” she couldn’t see her sister from the angle of the bed. “Who
are you insulting?”

Chloë grinned up at Summer as she spoke. “Keir,” she
said. “He has been rude and thoughtless to the woman who has assured me that I
will heal.”

Cassandra laughed softly, glancing at Keir as she
moved for the stairs. Blanche, Kurtis, Michael and Garran were still in the
small hallway, with varied degrees of curiosity and anxiety on their faces.
Keir opened the door wide to admit them entrance.

“Lady Summer has declared that Chloë will heal and I
choose to believe her,” he announced. “For now, she requires much rest and
daily walks, and I require food, sleep and a priest.”

As Blanche went straight to her daughter, Kurtis
looked at Keir curiously. “A priest?” he asked.

Keir nodded wearily, finally allowing himself to
feel his exhaustion. Now that they had arrived at Aysgarth and he was assured
that Chloë wasn’t on death’s door, he permitted himself the luxury of
exhaustion. He hunted for the nearest chair, realizing he was at the point of
collapse.

“Aye,” he muttered. “I will not leave this place
without marrying Chloë. Summon a priest.”

Blanche heard him.  She turned away from her
daughter to gaze steadily at the big, blond knight, now slouched with his hands
wiping wearily at his face.

“Sir Keir,” she began somewhat hesitantly, an odd
manner for the usually confident woman. “There have been some… issues since you
left. I was told that you were to be informed. Perhaps we should retire to the
solar to….”

Keir looked at her, the ice blue eyes blazing. “I
know of these issues,” he didn’t give her a chance to finish. “I know that Ingilby
sent a missive addressed to me to which you inappropriately discovered the
contents of, and I furthermore know that you quite presumptively responded to
the missive.  It was not your right, Lady de Geld, in any fashion, and I take
issue with you for having sanctioned the action.  Was your husband a part of
this?”

He was standing up and growling at her by the time
he was finished. Blanche was not intimidated but she did have a healthy respect
for the man. She tended to respect men who stood up to her, not cower at her
feet like her weak-willed husband.  Blanche held up her hand to calm the man.

“Since you left for Wales and the controversy that
surround my husband’s decision not to allow you and Chloë to wed, he has left
all subsequent decision making to me,” she said, somewhat softly. “In answer to
your question, he was not a part of the response to Ingilby.”

“So it was you who took charge of something that was
not your right?”

She was subdued. The woman didn’t seem at all like
the austere, self-assured women he had come to be acquainted with as Chloë’s
mother.  She was quieter somehow, perhaps even timid to a certain extent.
Perhaps all of the events over the past few weeks had caught up to her and even
she was showing signs of weakness.

“Believe me when I say that it was not my choice,”
she replied quietly. “Chloë read the missive and believed it was in your best
interest for her to make the decision. She did not want you to go through the
hell of having to choose between her and your son. She is my daughter, Sir Keir
– I agreed to help her because it meant so much to her. She was determined to
do it with or without my help and, like you, I cannot refuse her.”