Chapter Fifteen
Three long days…
That was how long Cassius had slept. Dacia knew it was only sleep because he would wake if she roused him, but he had slept like the dead for two long days.
She woke him periodically to force him to drink a small cup of boiled, salted water because she knew that the human body was comprised of fluids and if he didn’t have enough, his body would take longer to heal.
She was also giving him a poppy potion for the pain, which contributed to his heavy sleep.
The poultices and the bandages on the wounds were changed regularly. There was a dousing with wine and a poultice of chamomile, repeated several times during the night and day. The wounds seemed to be doing well enough, which was good news, and Cassius had not developed a fever.
Dacia said prayers hourly for that very critical blessing.
No fever, no poison, and Cassius had a good chance of recovering completely.
Rhori and Bose were regular visitors to the sick room, as well.
It was Rhori who would sit with Cassius while Dacia slept for a few hours, but the truth was that she was seriously sleep deprived because she didn’t want to leave him.
Sometimes, it took both Edie and Rhori to convince her that it would be okay for her to leave him for a short while.
She would go to her chamber, fall asleep for a couple of hours, and then rush back to Cassius.
It had become a regular cycle.
On the morning of the third day, Dacia was sitting at Cassius’ bedside, reading a book from the faraway, mysterious kingdom of Harsha.
The book was written in their mysterious language but, at some point over the centuries, someone had translated it into French, which Dacia could understand.
It wasn’t a book of treatises or recipes, but more of a religious book, something that she was certain the priests of St. George’s would not approve of.
As the fire in the hearth snapped softly, she continued to read, noting that the sky outside was becoming lighter as a new day dawned.
Edie slipped into the chamber, bringing food and tending to the hearth.
She put a big pot of porridge over the flame, bringing honey and butter, bread and warmed wine for Dacia to eat when she grew hungry.
The problem was that Dacia wasn’t eating much at all and often let Argos have her food.
The previous night, Rhori and Bose had brought their meals into the chamber to eat with her, gently forcing her to eat with them so they would not be ashamed to eat in front of her.
They coerced her to eat a full meal that way and Dacia was touched that they would be so concerned for her.
Until she’d met Cassius, she’d never had anyone show such concern in her entire life.
Now, his knights were doing it, too.
When Edie brought the food this morning, Argos came out from his position under the bed and immediately turned eager eyes to the food being set out.
Exasperated, Edie lured the dog out of the chamber with buttered bread, promising to take him to the kitchen and feed him a decent meal.
That left Dacia as the only partaker of the food left behind but, true to form, she didn’t touch it.
She was more interested in her book, and in Cassius, unable to relax enough even to eat.
The morning progressed. Dacia could hear men out in the bailey, going about their duties, and the occasional neigh of a horse.
There were birds all around the keep because they had made their nests high in the eaves.
She could hear them tweeting, feeding their newly hatched babies because spring was here.
In fact, everything seemed to indicate a fine spring day.
She would have thought so, too, had Cassius not been laying in a bed, recovering from battle wounds.
The morning continued towards noon. Dacia was still reading her book, now listening to Cassius as the man began to snore.
He was breathing heavily now and she put her book aside, standing up to go to the bed and put her hand on his forehead, something she did twenty times a day. Only this time, it was different.
He was hot.
Her heart sank.
Quickly, she went to her medicament bag, pouring a little white willow powder into some wine.
White willow was known to fight fevers. After three days, Emmeric the physic had not yet been located, so Dacia was having to rely entirely on her knowledge and what ingredients she had with her.
Though she was confident in her knowledge, she was hoping they would be able to find the physic at some point, especially if Cassius was going to run a fever.
She didn’t want to do this all on her own if his condition grew more serious.
Mixing the powder with her finger, she went to Cassius, gently rousing the man.
“Cassius?” she said softly. “Cassius, please awaken.”
He snored a few moments longer before abruptly falling silent. Dacia shook him again.
“Please, Cassius,” she said. “Wake up and look at me.”
He remained still, his eyes closed. But then, his head turned in her direction. “I will gladly look at you, my angel,” he mumbled, though his eyes were still closed. “What is amiss?”
Dacia sat on the bed next to him, putting her arm behind his neck. “I need you to sit up a little and drink this.”
His eyes lolled open but he was having a difficult time staying awake. Still, he did as she asked, weakly lifting his head as she helped him and draining the wine cup. Carefully, Dacia lay him back down.
“Good,” she said. “I am sorry to have awoken you. Go back to sleep.”
She tried to move away but his hand shot up, grasping her wrist. “Nay,” he muttered. “Do not move away. Stay here with me.”
She set the cup aside but remained on the bed. His hand moved to hers and he grasped it, bringing it to his lips and kissing it sweetly. “Sweet Dacia,” he slurred, his eyes finally closing. “What would I do without you?”
Dacia smiled in spite of herself. “You would be in the hands of someone not as competent as I am,” she said. “Consider yourself fortunate.”
He grinned, dimples carving through his unshaved cheeks. “I consider myself the most fortunate man in England,” he said. “How am I faring?”
Her smile faded, just a little. “As well as can be expected,” she said, not mentioning the hint of a fever. “The arrows didn’t strike anything vital and I was able to clean out the wounds and stitch them up. Barring anything terrible, you should recover.”
He kissed her hand again. “Sweet girl,” he said, laying his cheek against her palm. “You have my unending gratitude.”
He was rather adorable in his sleepy, slurring state.
Dacia could have quickly become accustomed to his touch as he held his face against her hand.
There was something so comforting and intimate about it, something she’d never experienced before.
She’d never been close enough to a man not her father or grandfather to be hugged or touched in any way, and she knew that she liked it. Very much.
His touch was magic.
“And you have my undying gratitude for riding off to save the village from the raiders,” she said. “You did not have to go. You could have very well remained in the hall and let the Doncaster men go forth, but you did not. You risked yourself for us. The least I can do is tend to your wounds.”
His eyes rolled open again and he looked up at her, the pale eyes studying her. “Be under no false impression,” he said. “I risked my life for you and no one else. Those bastards weren’t going to come anywhere near my sweet angel.”
Dacia flushed furiously. “I think I must have given you too much of my potion,” she said. “You are being silly now.”
He shook his head, slightly. “Not at all,” he said. “I am quite within my right mind. Dacia, will you do something for me?”
“Anything.”
“Kiss me.”
Her eyes widened. “K-Kiss you?” she stammered. “Now?”
“Now.” When she hesitated, off guard by his bold request, he sighed heavily. “I am dying right before your eyes and you will deny me a simple kiss? How can you be so cruel? I would have done better had I asked my dog to kiss me.”
He said it so dramatically that she knew he was jesting, but she still wasn’t over his request. It was titillating, wildly exciting, and wildly intimidating all at the same time. Fighting off a smile, she started to look around.
“That can be arranged,” she said. “Argos has been under your bed nearly the entire time. I will happily put him next to you so he can kiss you to your heart’s content.”
“It’s not the same.”
Their eyes met and Dacia knew she was going to honor his request no matter how much she was pretending to debate it.
He smiled at her, lifting a weak finger to teasingly poke her nose.
That freckled nose she’d always been so ashamed of, but something he found beautiful.
The next thing she realized, she was kissing his bearded cheek.
But that wasn’t enough for Cassius.
He turned his head, his lips latching on to hers, and that weak hand holding her head had surprising strength.
His hand was so big that it encompassed more than half her head, holding her fast to him.
It was a sweet, delicious, and alluring kiss, and just when he shifted himself so he could embrace her with his good arm, he torqued his torso and the wound in his gut pained him greatly.
He grunted and the momentum of their kiss was shattered.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Dacia asked, leaping off the bed to get a look at the bandages around his midsection. “This is my fault. I should have let the dog kiss you.”
Cassius had been wincing from the pain, but he suddenly started laughing. Dacia was trying not to laugh as she checked the bandages, making sure he hadn’t torn anything. She was bent over, peering at the edges of the bandage, when there was a soft knock on the door and Rhori entered.
“Cass,” he said with surprise. “You’re awake!”