charged through and into the yard beyond, servants emerged from the house carrying fish oil lamps to illuminate the night. They ran straight for the cart as Kevin pulled it to a halt.
“Get this man inside, for he has a terrible wound,” he commanded, unable to say the word “mortal” where it pertained to Sean’s wound. “This horse is to be well tended and well fed, for it has seen a great deal of terror this night.”
He was leaping off the wagon as servants swung into action. He rushed to the rear of the cart as Caius and William were getting a good grip on Sean, who had passed into unconsciousness by this time. Kevin took his brother’s legs and, between him and Caius and William, they managed to shuffle him into the darkened manse.
The majordomo, a man named Bowes, directed them into a chamber on the lower floor of the manse where a large bed was the focal point of the room. The chamber was cold and dark, but that quickly changed as a gang of servants began to stoke the hearth and light the way. Sean was carefully deposited upon the bed as the old physic once again hovered over him, checking wrappings, checking the hasty stitching he’d done earlier at the Tower to ensure it had held.
Caius sent William out to make sure that the manse was secure and they’d not been followed. When the squire dashed off, he stood with Kevin at the end of the bed, watching the servants crowd around Sean as the small physic tried to save his life. They were still in battle mode, still fleeing with a wounded brother, and it took them both a moment to settle down and realize that, for the moment, they were safe.
But battle mode wasn’t so easily shaken.
Sweating and twitching with adrenalin, Kevin moved towards the old physic as the man re-stitched the wound under Sean’s right armpit.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“Wine,” the old man said. “I need wine and boiled linen. Hurry!”
Kevin lifted his head to the group hovering in the chamber, but he never got the words out of his mouth before the servants began to scatter, going to collect the items. The majordomo continued to stand next to the physic with the oil lamp, holding it over the bed so the old man could see what he was doing.
“We heard about the siege at the Tower,” the majordomo said to the knights. “I see that it is true.”
Kevin was looking at the wounds his brother had sustained, taking a moment to inspect the damage and realize the severity of the situation. He hadn’t wanted to, but now he found he couldn’t look away.
“Aye,” he said after a moment. “It is as bad as you can imagine and The Marshal is in the middle of it.”
The majordomo nodded, appearing a bit apprehensive at the realization. They’d all seen the armies entering the city and they could hear the distant battle. He quietly ordered a lingering servant to bring more light into the room and the man ran off.
Meanwhile, Kevin had leaned down, getting a better look at what the physic was doing. Now, he had a full view of the damage to his brother and his composure threatened to weaken. He glanced at the old man, small and gray, trying so hard to save his brother.
“I do not even know your name,” he said hoarsely.
The old man didn’t look up from his task. “Gilby,” he said.
“Gilby,” Kevin repeated softly. “This is my brother. You will do all you can for him, I beg you.”
That made Gilby look up, seeing the knight in the light for the first time. His yellowed gaze drifted over his features, similar to Sean’s.
“Kevin?”
“Aye.”
“He said you two did not speak much.”
Kevin sighed faintly. “There is rare opportunity to do so.”
“He said he’d not seen you in years.”
“It has been some time.”
The conversation faded off after that. The wine and boiled linens were brought and Gilby, along with the majordomo, set about cleaning the wounds that Gilby had only been able to stitch so the knight wouldn’t bleed to death in minutes.
Kevin could only watch what they were doing for so long before he began to feel ill. The weight of the situation was bearing down on him now that the rush of battle and their escape from The Tower was over. He moved to Sean’s other side simply to allow the physic room to work, but the old