Dorian nodded and Devon reached out again, “Keltis,” he said, and Mordecai’s body went limp, yet still he did not breathe.
“What did you do?!” Dorian kicked the other man sending him sprawling. Raising his sword he made ready to cleave the traitor’s head from his shoulders. ont colDorian no!” it was a woman’s voice, but Dorian didn’t care. He would have blood for his friend’s life. A small hand reached for his arm, to stay his strike. Without thought he swatted the hand away, backhanding the one who sought to stop him, and then his eyes saw Rose Hightower falling back. That stopped him, and he saw her reach up to wipe the blood from her lip. His rage left him, as shock at what he had done brought him to himself.
“I was trying to help him… and this idiot brute attacked me!” Devon never managed to stay silent for long; even now he was regaining his feet.
Rose spat at him, “Silence fool! You think your lies will be heard here? Count yourself lucky I stopped this man; else your head would be parted from your shoulders. Even so I would not have saved you if I did not fear a good and honest man might hang for your murder.” Rose Hightower drew herself up and looked at Dorian.
“Gods! Rose! I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Never! Not for the world!” Dorian’s eyes were wild with grief and he saw Penny kneeling next to his fallen friend. “He’s dead Penny, he’s dead, and that bastard did it, I swear!” He raised his sword again, pointing it toward Devon Tremont, a growl rising in his throat.
Rose Hightower was having none of it, and she flung herself at Dorian, a flurry of skirts and hair whipping around her. “Stop it you stupid stupid man! Goddammit Dorian, I won’t let you throw your life aside like some cheap token.” She was a tall woman, but Dorian Thornbear was a mountain of a man, still she climbed him like a furious cat, striking him with her fists.
Astonished Dorian stopped, during his year in Albamarl he had never touched Rose, and their only words had been the measured speech of polite society. Now she was hanging from him like some maddened wild creature, a more absurd picture he could not have imagined. He had a sudden urge to kiss her, but suppressed it immediately. “Lady, I think perhaps we are both overwrought,” he said, as he began to disentangle himself. He managed to get her back on her feet, but Rose steadfastly refused to let go of him, and he didn’t have the strength to force her.
Penny was on the ground, her hands on Mordecai’s chest, gripping his shirt, “Live damn you! You can’t be dead. We still have too much to say,” her tears left wet spots on the cloth of his shirt. The pain and sorrow were too much for her and without pausing to consider she leaned down to kiss him, ignoring the blood staining his face. She laid her head on his chest while her world unraveled, the only man she had ever cared for lay dead, and she was to blame. Then she heard his heart, beating slowly. “He’s alive!”
Silence reigned for a moment as everyone took in what she had said. “He’s alive I said! Someone get help, we need to get him back to the keep!” Her eyes flashed, “You!” She pointed at Devon, “Get someone, get everyone… go!”
“I’ll go,” said Rose, but Penny forestalled h er with a raised hand.
“No, I need you here, and I don’t trust him without Dorian here,” she replied. Soon enough Devon was on his horse, angry at being ordered about but fearful of Dorian’s response should he balk at her commands. He rode off quickly and headed for Lancaster Castle.
The rest of the afternoon was a frenzied blur as they got him to the castle. Penny refused to leave his side during the entire affair, not trusting him out of her sight. Once Marc arrived things got much more organized and they soon had him in his own bed. The Duke’s own physician, Sean Townsend was sent to examine him.
The room was full of people and the doctor quickly waved everyone out, “I’ll need some privacy to examine him.” Most of them went. “Miss you will have to go, it’s hardly proper for me to examine the young man with a woman present, I’ll have to undress him.”
Penny didn’t move, “I won’t leave him. So you might as well get to it.”
The physician looked at her for a moment before appealing to the Duke, “Your grace if you don’t mind, I can’t have women in here while I work.”
James walked over, reaching out to take her hand but she stepped away, “Try it, you’ll draw back a nub next time…,” she glared at him, “Your grace.” She added belatedly.
The Duke of Lancaster stared at her for a long moment, considering, then spoke, “Very well, doctor you’ll just have to work with a lady present.”
“I have to remove his clothes your grace, you can’t mean to let…” he started.
“I won’t repeat myself sir, be about your work,” without another word the Duke left the room. The physician was huffy at first but when he saw that she had no intention of giving in to him after having faced down a duke he relented.
His first move was to remove Mordecai’s clothing which proved to be difficult, till Penny began assisting him. He gave her an odd look at first but said nothing. Once that was accomplished he carefully went over Mordecai, checking his neck and chest, feeling his head and looking into his eyes and mouth. Eventually he sighed and stood up. “He’s got several cracked ribs and I think one of them may have pierced his left lung. In addition he certainly has a concussion from the blow to his head. From the description of his fall I’m surprised his neck wasn’t snapped, but something protected his neck. He should be dead already.”
“Well he’s not dead, so what do you plan to do?” Penny asked.
“There’s not much to be done, bleeding him might help a bit though. Let me get my case…” he headed toward the black leather bag he had left by the door.
The doctors had bled her mother till she was too weak to survive the illness that claimed her life. “You’re not bleeding him. He’s bled enough already, if that’s the best you have to offer you can leave,” she said, standing between the doctor and the bed.
“Fine, you already seem to think you’re a doctor.” Sean Townsend was annoyed, he had dealt with troublesome family members before but this woman was beyond frustrating. “If he wakes, try not to let him go back to sleep, he might not wake again. Don’t get your hopes up though; he probably won’t make it through the night.” With that pronouncement he left. She could hear him muttering about stubborn women as he walked out the door.
Some of those who had been waiting outside filtered back in, anxious to hear what the doctor had said. Penelope related the physician’s words to them. There was quite a bit of discussion over that, but eventually most of them left, and finally only Marc, Dorian and Rose were still there.
“You should go, get some rest Penny; fretting over him won’t help,” Marc said.
“I’ll leave when he’s dead,” she replied frankly. “Take your own advice. I’m sick of people telling me what to do.”
He started to argue but Rose got his attention, “Let it go Marcus, she’s not leaving, and I don’t blame her. If you want to help, try to keep the rest of them out of here.”
“I can manage that,” Dorian said, “I’ll be outside, making sure his lordship doesn’t come back to finish the job. In the end only Rose remained, sitting with Penny through the long evening and into the night.
“You need some rest Penny,” she said at last, when midnight was approaching.
“I’ll sleep here,” Penny replied.
“There’s only one bed, and it has a naked man in it,” Rose raised her eyebrow.
“Everyone knows I’m a ruined woman anyway, what more can they say about me? Leave me be, I’ll lie with him till it’s over,” she never took her eyes off Mordecai. Rose nodded then stood, without a word she left.
Once she was alone Penny barred the door and removed her dress, she hadn’t brought her nightclothes but she hardly cared. She eased under the covers and lay beside him, watching him breathe till the candles burned down and darkness covered the room. In the dark she still kept her hand on his chest, feeling it rise and fall, listening to the wet sound of his breathing. She never meant to sleep, but at last she did anyway.