On the verge of tears, I pressed my fist into the wet ground to keep from screaming. “Henry, if you don’t let me go, I’ll be cursed for the rest of my life. It’s my duty and I have to at least try.” No matter how much I hated the man.
The urgency in my voice was enough for Henry to release his hold, and I crawled the remaining distance to Nathan’s side. Tearing his shirt away from the wound, I placed my hands directly on his skin. Teme had intended the shot to be deadly, piercing the left lung and nicking the heart. Blood trickled from Nathan’s mouth, carried up by his labored breathing as he fought to live.
While assessing the damage, I felt his heart seize. Summoning the necessary strength, my power surged into his chest, causing him to convulse and lifting him several inches from the ground. I did it again, filling Nathan with so much power that his skin crackled with Brigid’s fire. From close behind me, Henry drew in a sharp breath and cursed.
Once the heart steadied, I began to guide the arrow out of the lung, gently pulling it along its original path until it fell from Nathan’s side. It was too late to worry about being discovered, and I allowed a constant stream of warmth to flow into him, mending both heart and lung within minutes. I then healed the torn muscles and chipped bones, working my way from the inside out. By the time I finished, there wasn’t a mark left, or any way for Henry to doubt what I would soon tell him. Exhausted, I collapsed in the grass next to Nathan.
“Selah!” Henry yelled, rushing to my side.
“I’m all right,” I reassured him. “I just need to rest. Please bring Nathan up to the house.”
“You carry Selah,” Teme said. “I’ll take Nathan.”
Henry lifted me into his arms, cradling my head against his chest. Teme retrieved his arrow from the grass before hoisting Nathan over his shoulder. We made a somber group as we trudged up the lawns to Brighmor where Mrs. Ryan met us at the front door.
“Oh my!” she exclaimed, seeing my disheveled appearance. “Are you hurt, ma’am?”
“She’ll be fine,” Henry said. “Please send a large basin of warm water up to our room. And show Teme to my old room. Nathan Crowley will be staying the night.”
Mrs. Ryan exclaimed once more when Teme came into the house with Nathan tossed over his shoulder much like a sack of wheat. Regaining her composure, she hurried up the stairs just ahead of us.
Henry carried me into my room and laid me down on the bed. Not bothering to ask permission, he unhooked my ruined gown and pulled it over my head. My hoops and stays posed some difficulty since the ties were wet, but he worked the knots until these also came free and joined the growing pile of wet clothing on the floor. Going no further, he pulled a thick quilt over me.
“Can you remove your shift and stockings by yourself?” he asked.
I wrestled out of the garments, handing them over a piece at a time.
Henry dropped the last bit of clothing to the floor. “Mrs. Ryan will be up shortly with warm water,” he said. “I’m going to speak with Teme. Nathan needs to be guarded tonight until I can get George out here in the morning. Will you be all right by yourself for awhile?”
I yawned in reply and snuggled into the quilt.
Henry leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. “I’ll have tea brought up. We have some things to discuss before you fall asleep tonight.” Then he stood and left the room.
Well, that was an understatement if ever I’d heard one. Thankfully, Henry had refrained from demanding answers on the spot, and I snuggled deeper into the bed to wait for Mrs. Ryan.
A good hour passed by the time Henry returned in a fresh linen shirt and woolen breeches. He wore no stockings and his tawny hair fell loose to his shoulders. I had donned a linen nightgown and now sat in the chair by the hearth with my legs tucked up beneath me, nursing a cup of tea. Henry didn’t bother to carry over the chair from my dressing table, choosing instead to lean against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. From the hard look in his eyes, I knew the time of reckoning had arrived and I would receive no quarter or further reprieves from the truth. Our future teetered on a thin edge, poised to fall either way depending on this moment. Having no idea where to start, I remained silent and waited for him to speak first.
“I’ve seen Nathan,” he began tentatively. “His wounds are completely healed.”
Already well aware of Nathan’s condition, I kept an impassive face and sipped my tea as I waited for him to continue. At my request, Mrs. Ryan had added willow bark to the pot to help with the goose egg currently throbbing on the side of my head where Nathan had struck me. I also tasted valerian root—not that I would need any help falling asleep tonight.
Henry stayed against the wall, his green eyes fixed on mine, holding me in place despite the distance between us. Silence prevailed except for the heavy thump of my heart; it seemed to pound with the steady force of a Lenape drum. The seconds stretched into an uncomfortable minute, and then another, before he finally spoke.