Page 48 of To Win a Highlander’s Heart
She gaped at her brother. “You never challenged these English soldiers?”
“Nay,” John replied. “There were too many of them.”
Isolde was suddenly furious that her brother had never even tried to break free of someone holding him and his people captive. “Never do you give the enemy that much power over you. Even faced with inconceivable odds, you fight back. That is what Father and Alaric taught us.” Isolde looked about the chamber. “Where is Alaric? Surely he would have led you into battle.”
“Alaric left us shortly after you did. He was angry with me for sending you away. He took it upon himself to search for you, wherever you had gone.” Her brother’s gaze dropped to the ground. “Since you ask that question, I assume he never found you.”
“Nay. He never did.” As she looked about the chamber, Isolde’s gaze lit on a curious sight. An arrow hung on the wall just above the doorway that led in and out of the great hall. “What is that?” She angled her head towards the arrow.
“That is the arrow you shot Sarah with, the arrow that put her into labour, the arrow that harmed my child.” He stared at Isolde angrily. “I put it there so that all of us might remember who we had to blame for our current circumstances.”
Isolde put her hands on her hips. “You cannot blame me for your lack of action, Brother. Only yourself. If I were here, I would have fought the English, all alone if no one else had joined me. I would rather have gone to my death knowing I tried to make my life better than letting despair choke me.”
She turned and strode through the hall back to the door. There she stood on her toes and stretched to take the arrow down before bringing it back to her brother. “This arrow is not responsible for your—” She looked down at the arrowhead and her heart stumbled. “The steel . . . there is a tiny piece missing.” She shoved the arrow into her brother’s hands and moved to Sarah and her niece.
Orrick joined her, watching her intently. “What are you thinking, Isolde?”
“The injury to her leg. I may know what is wrong. Might I have a look at Brea’s leg?” Isolde asked Sarah.
Sarah startled. “You know her name?”
“Rowena MacLeod told me. Might I take a look at her wound? I might be able to help her.”
The anger and pain in Sarah’s features were replaced with hope. She held Brea out to Isolde.
Isolde carried the child to the long table behind them all, and set her down, stretching her out to study her leg.
“What can I do?” Orrick asked, stepping away from Graeme and the others.
“Distract her while I check her leg.”
“That, I can do.” Orrick smiled down at the curious little girl. “Hello, my sweet. Now you see me.” Then he covered his face. “Now you don’t.” A moment later, he uncovered his face and looked at Brea with wide eyes and an open-mouthed smile. “Surprise.” The little girl gave a full-bellied chuckle in response.
As the two of them continued the game, Isolde examined the child’s leg, then shifted her gaze between John and Sarah. “I believe a part of that arrowhead is still inside Brea’s leg. It’s presumably been there since her birth.” Isolde drew a breath. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but I am begging you to do so at this moment. While in the wilderness, I studied nature and learned many things.” She reached down and pulled her sgian-dubh from her boot. “Someone warm this blade in the fire until it glows red.”
“I’ll do it,” Sarah said, taking the knife. “I don’t trust you, but I want my child to live.” She turned to John and said, “If we don’t do something soon, we’ll have to cut off her leg in order to save her.”
John nodded.
“I’ll also need some linen for a bandage, a cloth to place under her leg to absorb the blood, and some whisky.”
John sent someone to find what she needed. While Sarah was away, Isolde found a water basin and washed her hands.
When the linen arrived, Isolde slid it under the child, keeping a long length for a bandage. Sarah returned the small dagger to Isolde. She allowed the blade to cool. Then, with a warning glance at Orrick who stopped his game and instead held the little girl’s arm and legs still, Isolde scraped away the rotting flesh until she found an area where the pus and drainage seemed to originate. Isolde placed her arm across the little girl’s injured leg and leaned down, pinning her to the table so she could not move. Brea started to cry even as Orrick tried his best to distract her. Knowing it had to be done, Isolde steeled herself, then inserted the blade into the putrid area little by little until blood flowed freely instead of only pus.
Brea cried out, now more stridently. Sarah came to comfort her, and John came over and held the child’s leg so Isolde could manoeuvre better.
Deep inside the child’s leg muscles, Isolde finally saw something that didn’t belong. Something shiny and hard. The metal fragment. She removed it, then inspected it to make certain it was the missing piece and that no other fragments remained behind. Satisfied that she had retrieved the only arrow fragment, Isolde breathed a sigh of relief, before reaching for the whisky and pouring it over the wound, cleansing it.
Brea cried all the harder for a long moment as the whisky entered her wound, but then after a short while her sobs lessened, then quieted.
Isolde took advantage of the momentary stillness to wrap the long length of linen around Brea’s little leg. “Normally, I would stich the wound, but leaving it open will help it fully drain. When the wound starts to heal, spread honey over it daily,” Isolde told Sarah.
Sarah scooped her daughter into her arms and held her tightly. “Where did you learn all this?”
“In the wilderness, as I said, and also from the MacLeods’ healer, Lottie.” Isolde pushed aside her cloak and exposed her injured arm to her brother and sister-in-law. “There is a long story behind this, but needless to say, I understand what Brea was going through just now.”
“If we gather your men and mount an attack against the English, then you’d be free to travel back to Dunvegan with us. Lottie would be pleased to watch over your daughter until she returns to full health,” Orrick offered.
