walk away.
Only to react instantly when Rowan rapped out, “Give me some help here, woman.”
It only occurred to Maddie that perhaps he hadn’t been addressing her when she was helping him hold up a wounded man he’d eased down from one of the horses.
They shared a glance as she wondered just how she’d gotten through the crowd so quickly to reach Rowan’s side. Then she looked at the man they held between them. He was young, blond, totally unfamiliar to her. Maddie had a good memory for faces and she definitely didn’t recall seeing this one at either the banquet or at the wedding.
“Who is he?” she asked as she helped Rowan guide the young man through the crowd that had closed back around them.
Her answer came when Micaela pushed through to them and cried, “Burke! What’s happened to him, Rowan? You’ve killed him, haven’t you?”
64
A Kind of Magic
“I don’t carry dead men into my house,” Rowan gruffly told his sister. They slowly moved on toward the entrance ladder to the tower. “Not that a living Harboth’s any more welcome than a carcass.”
Maddie looked from Micaela’s anxious face to the semi-conscious man slung between her and Rowan. Oh that Harboth, she thought. No one had actually come out and told her that Micaela was interested in one of the enemy, but the hints had been broad enough.
“Is he your prisoner then?” Micaela demanded. “Will you torture him to death for stealing cattle?”
“He would be, and I would—if he’d stolen the livestock. He’s my guest, girl, now hush your wailing and hold the ladder steady. And keep away from him,” he ordered.
“He’ll need his wounds tended,” Micaela protested. “Or do you hope he’ll die without nursing?”
“What happens to him is no business of yours. My wife will nurse him,” he added.
Me? Maddie thought, but she didn’t say anything. She had enough to worry about just helping Rowan get the man up the ladder. “He’s heavy,” she pointed out, and glanced at the watching crowd over her shoulder. “Why didn’t you get one of your strapping clansmen to help you?”
“You’re strapping,” was his answer.
All right so she wasn’t delicate and feminine. She didn’t need to be reminded. She didn’t even know why she was bothered rather than complimented that a medieval male assumed she was strong and competent—just like all the modern males who’d treated her as one of the boys all her life. She sighed.
“Besides, you gave me help when others wouldn’t,” he added as they hauled Burke Harboth through the doorway.
“You need a stairway, you know,” Maddie said, rather than respond to the flash of gratitude that passed across Rowan’s face.
“This way,” he said, and they stumbled into the smoky hall.
“And a chimney,” she went on. “And plumbing.”
“Stairs make it too easy for raiders,” Rowan replied. “Can’t pull stairs up after you if the walls are breached.”
“I suppose not.” She gave him a quizzical look. “Do the walls get breached often?”
“Never. No use taking chances though.” Not knowing what the other things she wanted were, he didn’t comment on whether they were needed or not. “We’ll put him here,” he directed after he kicked a dog away from a choice spot near the hearth.
“The wound’s not bad,” he added after they’d settled Burke on the floor and Maddie had not bent solicitously over his ailing form. After a strained silence, he said,
“He’ll not need much nursing.”
“That’s nice.”
65
Susan Sizemore
The woman still made no move. Rowan puzzled over her uncharitable behavior.
“Have you a feud with the Harboths as well?”
“No.”
“Well, then. Do your duty.”
The man on the floor looked up at them, and said, “I’m going to be fine.” They both ignored him.
Maddie crossed her arms under her very ample bosom. Rowan tried not to think about her bosom. He’d been thinking about it far too much since leaving Cape
Only to react instantly when Rowan rapped out, “Give me some help here, woman.”
It only occurred to Maddie that perhaps he hadn’t been addressing her when she was helping him hold up a wounded man he’d eased down from one of the horses.
They shared a glance as she wondered just how she’d gotten through the crowd so quickly to reach Rowan’s side. Then she looked at the man they held between them. He was young, blond, totally unfamiliar to her. Maddie had a good memory for faces and she definitely didn’t recall seeing this one at either the banquet or at the wedding.
“Who is he?” she asked as she helped Rowan guide the young man through the crowd that had closed back around them.
Her answer came when Micaela pushed through to them and cried, “Burke! What’s happened to him, Rowan? You’ve killed him, haven’t you?”
64
A Kind of Magic
“I don’t carry dead men into my house,” Rowan gruffly told his sister. They slowly moved on toward the entrance ladder to the tower. “Not that a living Harboth’s any more welcome than a carcass.”
Maddie looked from Micaela’s anxious face to the semi-conscious man slung between her and Rowan. Oh that Harboth, she thought. No one had actually come out and told her that Micaela was interested in one of the enemy, but the hints had been broad enough.
“Is he your prisoner then?” Micaela demanded. “Will you torture him to death for stealing cattle?”
“He would be, and I would—if he’d stolen the livestock. He’s my guest, girl, now hush your wailing and hold the ladder steady. And keep away from him,” he ordered.
“He’ll need his wounds tended,” Micaela protested. “Or do you hope he’ll die without nursing?”
“What happens to him is no business of yours. My wife will nurse him,” he added.
Me? Maddie thought, but she didn’t say anything. She had enough to worry about just helping Rowan get the man up the ladder. “He’s heavy,” she pointed out, and glanced at the watching crowd over her shoulder. “Why didn’t you get one of your strapping clansmen to help you?”
“You’re strapping,” was his answer.
All right so she wasn’t delicate and feminine. She didn’t need to be reminded. She didn’t even know why she was bothered rather than complimented that a medieval male assumed she was strong and competent—just like all the modern males who’d treated her as one of the boys all her life. She sighed.
“Besides, you gave me help when others wouldn’t,” he added as they hauled Burke Harboth through the doorway.
“You need a stairway, you know,” Maddie said, rather than respond to the flash of gratitude that passed across Rowan’s face.
“This way,” he said, and they stumbled into the smoky hall.
“And a chimney,” she went on. “And plumbing.”
“Stairs make it too easy for raiders,” Rowan replied. “Can’t pull stairs up after you if the walls are breached.”
“I suppose not.” She gave him a quizzical look. “Do the walls get breached often?”
“Never. No use taking chances though.” Not knowing what the other things she wanted were, he didn’t comment on whether they were needed or not. “We’ll put him here,” he directed after he kicked a dog away from a choice spot near the hearth.
“The wound’s not bad,” he added after they’d settled Burke on the floor and Maddie had not bent solicitously over his ailing form. After a strained silence, he said,
“He’ll not need much nursing.”
“That’s nice.”
65
Susan Sizemore
The woman still made no move. Rowan puzzled over her uncharitable behavior.
“Have you a feud with the Harboths as well?”
“No.”
“Well, then. Do your duty.”
The man on the floor looked up at them, and said, “I’m going to be fine.” They both ignored him.
Maddie crossed her arms under her very ample bosom. Rowan tried not to think about her bosom. He’d been thinking about it far too much since leaving Cape
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