Ceci Giltenan(39)

“Aye, my lady, I’ve been itching to go down to the lake and fish for a spell, anyway,” he said with a wink.

Katherine retrieved her bag of medicinal supplies before walking with Caolin to Kara’s cottage. “Kara’s husband is one of the men-at-arms here and he is away on sentry duty,” Caolin explained as they walked. “Their four-year-old daughter Ailis is terribly ill, she can barely breathe. Lady Katherine, they lost a baby last winter to a fever. Kara is beside herself with worry.”

Caolin hadn’t exaggerated, when they arrived they found Kara in a panic and Ailis struggling to breath between coughing fits. Katherine stepped in, calmly taking control. The smoke from burning rosemary filled the house. Many people believed it would ward off infection, but Katherine had found the smoke seemed to make things worse, particularly for coughing illnesses. She had Kara remove the burning herbs from the cottage then open the windows and doors to help clear the smoke.

While Ailis’ skin felt hot and her lips looked dry and cracked, Katherine didn’t think the little girl had a dangerously high fever. The things Katherine had found to be most helpful in relieving a serious cough were steam and getting the patient to drink plenty of fluids. Katherine bade Caolin to heat a kettle of water. In the meantime, she held the child upright on her lap, speaking to her in a soft, calm voice while supporting her during the coughing spells.

Once the water boiled, Katherine poured some in a bowl placed on the table. Then she had Kara sit with Ailis on her lap. She put a linen towel over their heads, covering the bowl and trapping some of the steam. She replaced the water in the bowl as needed to keep it steaming. The child’s breathing eased a bit, but she was still not out of the woods. Katherine knew she had to get some fluids into the wee lass, too, so she made a tisane of peppermint, chamomile, and lemon balm, sweetened slightly with honey. Even if it was just a spoonful at a time, she made sure Ailis drank as much as she could between coughing spasms. After several hours of spooning liquids into the lass, Ailis still hadn’t used the chamber pot.

As afternoon faded into evening, Katherine saw Kara’s exhaustion. Clearly another long night lay ahead for her, so Katherine insisted she rest. Caolin kept the water heating and Katherine continued to keep Ailis as calm as possible, encouraging her to breath the steam and drink the tisane. As darkness fell, they heard a knock at the door. With her head under the towel with Ailis, Katherine couldn’t see who had arrived, but she heard Caolin’s gasp.

“Laird.”

Katherine slipped her head out from under the towel to see her large, clearly angry husband filling the doorway.

“What’s the matter?” Katherine asked, sounding concerned.

“No one knew where ye were,” he growled. His tone of voice caused Kara to awaken. Little Ailis began to tremble and Katherine felt warm moisture spread across her lap. At least that was a good sign.

“Mind your tone,” shushed Katherine, “you’re scaring the lass.”

Niall arched an eyebrow and, if anything, his scowl darkened. Caolin and Kara both looked petrified.

“I don’t understand why you are angry. Hendry knew I was coming here to care for the wee lass. She has been very ill.”

“Did ye know Hendry was going fishing at the loch?” His voice sounded quiet and calm, but it covered barely controlled rage.

“Well, aye, I did know that,” she admitted.

“So no one at the keep knew where ye were until he returned just now. Were ye trying to worry me?”

“Nay, of course not. Niall, I am sorry. I didn’t leave the walls, so I didn’t think it mattered.”

“It does matter. Ye know there is always a guardsman in the castle. if ye leave for any reason I expect ye to tell him where ye are going.”

“I didn’t know that,” she said meekly.

“What do ye mean, ye didn’t know that? Is it not the same everywhere? Was it not that way at Cotharach?”

“There were guards, but no one cared where I went. We’ve been through this, Niall.”

“Aye, we have and ye know I care where ye go, so I will make it clear for ye. When I am in the keep, ye don’t leave without telling me, and when I’m not there, ye don’t leave without telling a guardsman, even if you are just going to the village. If he thinks ye need an escort, he will arrange it. Do ye understand?”

“Aye, I understand. I don’t understand why, but I understand what ye’ve asked.”

“Ye truly don’t understand why? By all the saints, Katherine, ye are my wife, that’s why.”

Katherine looked at the faces of the other women in the room. This obviously made sense to them, so she simply said, “Oh.”