Page 90 of While Angels Slept
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It was noonbefore the physic could be found and instructed to examine the woman in the cart, mostly because the castle physic of Rochester, although a knowledgeable man, was something of a drunk and it had taken that long to find the man sleeping off a binge in a muddy crevice of the castle.
Myles had manhandled the old surgeon to one of the unused smithy shacks where they had the woman called Louisa sequestered. Tucked away on a straw bed with a serving woman to watch over her, the surgeon took his time in examining the woman, struggling to shake off the after effects of too much drink with the big knight glaring daggers at him. The man felt her pulse, looked in her eyes and ears, and listened to her lungs. He also poked and prodded a good deal, and thumped her several times on the back and listened to the results.
Myles stood in the entry to the shack, watching, glancing over his shoulder now and again to make sure Val or Cantia weren’t around to wonder why he was hanging around an old smithy shelter. Cantia was curious but Val was worse. She had the senses of a trained knight and he swore the woman could move like a phantom and read minds like a witch. He rather liked it, though. The past two months had been the best of his life.
Grinning when he thought of his lovely, strawberry-blond wife whowas trying very hard to learn to be a good chatelaine, he refocused on the old surgeon as the man thoroughly examined the patient, who was by now becoming semi-lucid. Folding his arms across his big chest, Myles leaned against the door jamb, his mind wandering, when someone stuck a finger in his ear.
“Boo!”
Myles jumped as much from the finger in his ear as the voice, turning to see Val grinning back at him. He returned her smile as he turned his back on the door to block her view of the interior. Then he wrapped her up in his embrace.
“Greetings, wife,” he kissed her sweetly.
Val put her arms around his neck, accepting his affection. “Greetings,” she kissed him in return, savoring the gesture. “What are you doing?”
He shook his head, trying to distract her with sweet kisses and moving away from the shack at the same time. “Nothing of note,” he said, trying not to lie to her. “More importantly, what areyoudoing?”
Val had her arms wrapped around his neck as he picked her up and began to walk off with her, her legs trailing down his long body. She giggled as he swung her around playfully.
“Walking with Arabel,” she said, removing an arm and pointing over to her niece several feet away. “She wanted to come outside on this lovely day.”
Myles smiled over at Arabel in her specially built chair with wheels on it, being tended by the two women who had raised her. She lifted a weak hand to wave at Myles and he waved back.
However, as Myles was smiling and waving, he was also quite frantic to move them both away from the old smithy shack. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen them coming. His mind must have been wandering more than he realized. But to take the blame off himself, he silently reiterated that his wife moved like a wraith and he was paying the price for it by being surprised at her appearance.
“Arabel,” he called over to the girl. “I saw that a dog had a litter ofpuppies over in the stables. Do you want to see them?”
As he hoped, Arabel was properly distracted. She cried out gleefully. “Aye!” she clapped her hands. “Perhaps my father will allow me to have a dog like Hunt does!”
Myles grinned at her enthusiasm. “Perhaps,” he said. “But do not tell him I told you about the puppies. He will berate me when he is unable to refuse you.”
Arabel nodded happily and her women began to wheel her off in the direction of the stable. Just as Myles settled Val in beside him to follow, the physic emerged from the shanty and called out to him.
“My lord!”
Myles came to a halt, inwardly groaning as the physic made his way towards him. In fact, he was rather desperate to remove Val so he gently turned her in Arabel’s direction.
“Go with Arabel,” he said. “I will join you in a moment.”
Val started to agree but the physic started talking before she could move out of earshot.
“My lord,” the physic said again. “It would seem the woman has a disease of the lungs. I have seen it before. It is indeed contagious but should not create an issue if we keep her isolated and keep her mouth covered so she cannot breathe out her disease on others. I believe I can keep her contained.”
Val heard him. She came to a halt, looking at the physic curiously even as Myles tried to turn her around.
“What woman?” she wanted to know, then looked at her husband with concern. “Do we have sickness at Rochester?”
Myles shook his head and started to reply to her, but the physic interrupted. “They call this diseasephithisis,” he said to them both. “The woman coughs up black blood. I can hear her chest laboring. She is far gone with the disease and will not live much longer.”
Val looked very concerned as well as puzzled. “But I have not heard of anyone at Rochester being ill,” she said to Myles. “Is this woman from the village?”
Myles sighed heavily, glancing at the physic and making a gesture for the man to vacate. As the old surgeon wandered back towards the shack, Myles turned his attention back to his wife. Gazing into her dark eyes, he knew he had to tell her. He could easily make up another story to satisfy her, but his conscience would not allow it. He had never lied to her before and wasn’t about to start. Moreover, Tevin was sure Val could identify the woman if, in fact, it was Louisa. He put his arm around her shoulders and turned in the direction of the shack.
“Early this morning, we had visitors,” he said quietly. “I must ask you now to keep this to yourself until Tevin informs Cantia. It is important.”
Val nodded seriously. “Of course, Myles. What is it?”
