Page 62 of Historical Hotties
Dacia got a good look at the wound between washing it with wine and picking out the debris, and it didn’t seem to her that it had hit anything vital. It had passed through skin and fat and muscle, embedding itself about three inches into the side of his torso. It was a miracle it hadn’t done more damage.
Even so, it still took Dacia a couple of hours to remove every particle she could find and when she was certain there was no more, she stitched him up with her careful, tight stitches and applied a wine-soaked chamomile poultice to keep any swelling at bay. As Edie bandaged up the wound with more clean linen, she moved to the shoulder wound.
This wound wasn’t as clean and it had already begun to coagulate, so she had to pick out the newly formed clots to get into it and remove the same debris that she had found in the other wound– pieces of cloth, mail, and leather, all of it shoved down into a wound that went into his armpit. This one seemed to be deeper and she thought it might have nicked a bone, but it was difficult to know. It had torn up the muscle of his shoulder and once she picked out the rubbish, she washed it with more wine before applying another chamomile poultice and stitching it closed. Packing boiled linen on top of it, she bound up the shoulder tightly.
At that point, it was well after midnight, but she didn’t feel any fatigue, only great concern for Cassius, who had fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep. Edie cleaned up the bloody bandages andrags, tossing out bowls of bloodied water, moving quietly about her duties. Dacia remained seated next to Cassius, putting her hand on his forehead every so often to gauge his temperature, and generally watching how he was handling everything. She was so wrapped up in watching him that it took her a moment to realize there were two big, gray paws sticking out from underneath the bed.
A smile came to her lips as she realized Argos had somehow gotten into the chamber and she hadn’t even noticed. Bending over, she caught sight of big doggy eyes looking at her from underneath the bed. Reaching into the darkness, she petted the dog on the head, comforting the animal. He may have been a silly fool of a dog, but he was sweet and loyal.
She was coming to like him, just a little.
Sitting back in her chair, Dacia took a moment to breathe. She also took a moment to thank God that Cassius hadn’t been more badly injured. All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but time would tell whether or not any poison took hold. That was the big fear with battle wounds. If they survived the actual wound, all of that could be ruined in an instant if a fever came upon them as a result of the injury.
He wasn’t out of the woods by any means.
Dacia looked over at Cassius, sleeping heavily, and put a gentle hand on his forehead. His dark hair was dirty, oily, but it didn’t matter to her. She stroked it softly, feeling a great deal of affection for the man lying before her. He was magnificent to look at. And he was witty, charming, brave, and strong. There was nothing about him that wasn’t perfect in her opinion. There wasn’t anything about him that wasn’t to love.
Love…
Dacia realized that she was falling in love with him. She wasn’t shocked by the awareness, mostly because it seemed completely natural. She never thought she’d find someone shecould love, so the moment was both unexpected and a little intimidating. She reminded herself that Cassius wasn’t meant to remain at Edenthorpe, that he would soon be moving on once he healed, and she didn’t want to love a man who would soon leave her.
But it was too late.
Thoughts about Cassius leaving Edenthorpe reminded her that he had not come to Edenthorpe to stay, but to relay a message. That had been his only purpose in coming, but that brief visit had turned into something far more than anyone had anticipated. He had ended up fighting a battle and now he was lying here, wounded because of it. Wounded because of his knightly sense of honor and duty. He had spoken of his desire to see his grandmother, and now those plans were in jeopardy because of her grandfather’s selfishness in asking Cassius to stay.
Somehow, it didn’t seem fair.
Dacia loved her grandfather, but even she could see how selfish this had been on his part. He had never considered what Cassius had wanted or why he had ever really come to Edenthorpe in the first place. Cassius had made it clear he had not come to stay, but her grandfather had clearly ignored that.
Now, Cassius was paying the price.
As Dacia sat there and watched him breathe, slowly and heavily, it occurred to her that his family might like to know that he had been wounded. He had mentioned Castle Questing as well as Berwick Castle, so she decided to send them word about his injury.
She thought, perhaps, that they might want to know.
As she sat there and thought on Cassius’ family, Argos suddenly let out a growl. Curious, she looked at the dog just as someone knocked on the door, softly. Rising to her feet, she went to the door and quietly opened it.
Rhori and Bose stood outside, covered in grime and sweat and blood. Their expressions were grim as they looked at Dacia.
“My lady,” Rhori greeted, his voice hoarse from screaming battle commands. “How is Cassius?”
Dacia opened the door so they could come in, but she had her finger to her lips in a gesture of quiet.
“He had lost a great deal of blood by the time he got here,” she said softly. “We removed the arrows and I cleaned and stitched the wounds. It does not look as if anything vital was hit, miraculously, but the wounds were dirty. There was a good deal of debris in them. I removed everything I could see, so I hope it was enough.”
Rhori bent over Cassius, taking a good look at him. “He is sleeping heavily,” he said. “Did you give him something?”
Dacia shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “Exhaustion and blood loss will do that. But I will give him something for the pain when he awakens.”
Rhori simply nodded, a lingering glance to his friend before turning away. “You have my thanks for tending him, my lady,” he said. “Cassius is… important to me. He is important to many people.”
Dacia could see how grieved he was. It was actually quite sweet that the man should be so loyal and concerned but, then again, Cassius seemed to bring that out in people. He’d certainly brought it out in her.
“I will do everything in my power, I assure you,” she said. “I will not leave him, not even for a moment. But I was thinking that we should send word to his family. They will want to know about this and if the worst happens and a poison takes hold… his father will want to know, don’t you think?”
Rhori nodded. “I will send word to him immediately,” he said. “And to Castle Questing. You have never seen a family sodevoted to one another, my lady. If one suffers, they all suffer. They will want to know.”
“And the king,” Bose said quietly. “We must send word to him also. He must know that Cassius was wounded defending the Duke of Doncaster. It will elevate Cassius in the king’s eyes tremendously for his heroic deeds.”
