“Nay. I’m tired,” she said quietly, but the truth was she was ashamed of herself and didn’t want to face the accusing eyes of the others. For surely they must blame her for the danger she’d put everyone into with her little jaunt.
Conran hesitated, but then nodded solemnly. “I’ll send word about Cormag as soon as there is some, and return as soon as I can. In the meantime, why do ye no’ try to rest?”
Evina nodded and walked over to lie down on the bed on her side.
Conran hesitated another moment, but then turned toward the door. “Geordie and Alick are standing guard outside the door. Shout if ye need anything.”
Evina merely watched the door close behind him and then turned her head back to stare at the drapes overhead with a sigh. She felt a complete ass, a selfish monster. And she kept seeing Cormag’s eager face as she’d explained how he should hold the broadsword, and then his crumpled form and the arrow sticking out of his back afterward.
Closing her eyes, she tried to block those images from her mind, and sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come and she laid there for a long time with those images replaying through her thoughts until she thought she would go mad.
Evina was finally able to push them from her mind by turning to thoughts of how to catch her attacker. That was the only way to ensure no one else was hurt by the man—capturing him and eliminating him as a threat. Evina knew the men were probably looking for him even now, but he had proven elusive before and she had no doubt would again. It seemed to her that luring him into a trap was the only answer, and she was pondering just how to do that when a knock sounded at the door. Sitting up abruptly, she glanced toward the door, and called, “Enter.” She then got to her feet as it opened, and she saw that it was her cousin Gavin.
Moving toward him, she asked, “What news?”
“Conran asked Rory to let ye ken how Cormag was,” he explained as he closed the door.
“And?” Evina prompted anxiously, taking his hands in hers.
“And Cormag’s going to be fine, cousin,” Gavin assured her, squeezing her hands. “Rory is still sewing Cormag’s wound, but didn’t want ye fretting any longer than necessary. He said ’tis just a flesh wound. It missed bone and everything else. He’ll be up and back in the practice field within two or three days.”
“Thank goodness,” Evina breathed, and bowed her head with relief.
“’Twas no’ yer fault, cousin,” Gavin said quietly, slipping a supporting arm around her back and patting her awkwardly. “Ye did no’ shoot the arrow at him. ’Twas just good luck it missed ye and hit him instead.”
Evina pulled back to peer at him with eyebrows raised. “Good luck?”
“Well, I consider it good luck,” he admitted with an apologetic smile. “I ken I probably should no’ and Cormag may no’ agree, but I’m glad ye were no’ killed.”
Smiling crookedly, Evina hugged him tightly and then stepped back to ask, “Did I get ye in trouble fer letting me go down to the practice field?”
“Nay. No one’s said aught about it. Yet,” he added dryly. “They’re all busy at present.”
“Doing what?” she asked. “Trying to sort out what to do about me would-be killer?”
“Nay. There’s little enough to say about that. No one can figure out the who or why of it, other than that ’tis most likely that bandit I let escape from the clearing,” he added, his mouth tightening unhappily. “I should have chased the bastard down and run him through at the time. I was just so worried about yer wound and getting ye back to the keep and help, I—”
“Ye did right,” she interrupted to assure him solemnly. “I might ha’e died had ye and Conran no’ got me back to the keep and tended me wound so quickly.”
“And ye might still do so do we no’ catch the bastard,” Gavin growled.
Evina patted his shoulder soothingly, and urged him toward the door. “Why do we no’ go below and see if Cook has anything to feed us? I’m hungry now that I ken Cormag will be all right.”
“I doubt he will,” Gavin said. “He and his helpers were forced into the great hall along with everyone else during the search.”
“What search?” Evina asked with surprise as he reached for the door to open it for her. But she forgot the question and gaped in amazement as she saw the soldiers marching past in the hall.
“That search,” Gavin said dryly. “Conran and the others are searching the bailey, the practice field and everywhere else within the wall with Donnan and most of the soldiers, and Uncle Fearghas has the rest of the soldiers searching inside the keep itself for yer attacker. They’re determined to find him this time.”
“Oh,” Evina breathed, and then gave her head a shake and straightened her shoulders. “Well, if they are up here, they must be done below, which means Cook might be able to scratch up something for us.”
Stepping out into the hall, she offered a smile to Geordie and Alick when they immediately straightened and moved closer. Evina slipped her arm through her cousin’s, and urged him around the soldiers moving past and toward the stairs.
“Will ye be able to manage the stairs?” Gavin asked with concern, drawing her to a halt at the top. “I can carry ye, if ye like.”
Evina wrinkled her nose at the suggestion, and raised her shoulders determinedly. “I can manage. We’ll just go slow.”
Ignoring his dubious expression, Evina tightened her hold on his arm and reached for the rail with her other. She started down at an extremely slow pace that she knew chafed the men’s patience, but she had to regain her strength and wasn’t likely to do so if she wasn’t allowed to use her muscles. Still, Evina was regretting her decision by the time she stepped off the last stair tread. By then her legs were shaking, and she was panting as if she’d just finished a run across the bailey.
“Let me carry ye the rest o’ the way, cousin,” Gavin insisted, turning to face her.
With a hand pressed to her breast as she tried to regain her breath, Evina glanced to the trestle tables and almost moaned at how far away they looked to be. But she shook her head. “I needs must—Oomph!” she gasped as Geordie suddenly scooped her up off her feet to stride toward the tables.
Evina took another moment to regain her breath and merely scowled at the man as she did. They were nearly to the table before she had enough breath to mutter, “I notice ye Buchanan men have a terrible habit o’ carrying women around whether they like it or no’.”
“And I notice ye’re as stubborn as our Saidh,” Geordie responded dryly, and then shrugged. “There is no arguing with stubborn, and I’m too thirsty to wait another half hour fer ye to get across the hall so I can have a drink.”
Evina merely shook her head and then forced a smile for Saidh and the other women as Geordie set her on the bench next to them.
“How are ye?” Saidh asked at once. “Ye were no’ hurt, were ye?”
“Nay. I’m fine,” Evina assured her.
“I thought so, but when Conran carried ye straight above stairs I feared he’d knocked the wind out o’ ye or bruised ye up when he tackled ye to the ground,” she said with a grimace.