“No.” Sebastian shook his head. “His outrage is genuine. I can tell the difference. That’s what bothers me. I looked all around at faces and everyone was stunned.”
At this, I saw a possible opportunity to at least give a warning. “Lady Rosamund asked for our invitation to this gathering, and the only noble who’s ever made a move to harm us is Allemond Monvílle.”
Jarrod’s eyes met mine. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. We’ve no proof, but this could have been arranged.”
I knew it had been.
We were all quiet for a while, and then Sebastian asked, “Father, once we get home, do you want me to handle it my way?”
Jarrod nodded.
“You’ll have to give me a free hand.”
Jarrod nodded again.
I had no idea what this meant.
Near midnight, Sebastian ordered me to go to his guest room and sleep for a few hours. He promised to sit with Kai and come fetch me if my husband woke up.
Exhausted, I fell asleep, and light outside the window was just appearing when I opened my eyes. I’d remained dressed, so I rushed from the bed and hurried the few doors down the passage to the room I’d been sharing with Kai.
When I entered, Sebastian was sitting by the bed, leaning in, and talking to Kai, who was awake. Sebastian’s face was troubled, and his voice was intense.
“Don’t say that! It’s not true.”
Kai’s face was hard and angry as he stared up at the ceiling.
As I entered, Sebastian stood. “Here’s Megan. Maybe she can talk some sense into you.”
Without another word, he swept of the room. Feeling cautious, uncertain what I’d walked into, I went to the chair and sat down, grasping Kai’s hand. He didn’t grasp back, nor did he take his eyes off the ceiling.
“Sebastian says the physician doesn’t even know if I’ll ever be able to put weight on my leg,” he said.
“No, he said that time will tell.”
“Same thing. I may not walk again.”
He sounded as angry as the day I’d met him, almost like a stranger to me now, who’d come to know the other side of him.
“And you may,” I said.
“He also told me you jumped down into the area, ran in, and threw yourself over me?”
He didn’t remember? Maybe he’d been in too much shock and pain.
“Yes.”
“You should have saved yourself the trouble. Then I’d be dead, and you’d be free. Now you’re saddled with a cripple.”
“Kai!” I couldn’t help the exclamation. “How can you say that?”
“Because it’s true.”
My heart was breaking at his pain, and there was nothing I could say to help him.
“Get out, Megan,” he ordered. “Send in a maid to nurse me if you must, but I can’t have you in here.”
“Kai . . .?”
“Out.”
We remained at the Cornetts for three days, and then Jarrod decided it was safe to take Kai home in the wagon. He had to be carried down on a door, and I knew how much the shame of this hurt him. He hadn’t said another word to me.
Upon arriving home, we settled him in his room on the third floor of the tower.
“Betty can look after me,” he said, lying in his bed and once more looking up at the ceiling.
“No, she will not,” I answered. “I will.”
“I don’t want you in here.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate because you have no say in the matter.”
Being home again gave me strength. There was nothing he could say or do there that would send me away. I fed him, nursed him, and changed his dressing, and made certain there was no sign of infection in his wound.
It closed up and began to heal.
Unlike when I was nursing Jarrod, Sebastian was eager to help with Kai, and this made things easier. After a week, he got Kai up on his feet and had him limp around the room, putting some weight on the leg.
At first, Kai was resentful of this to the point that I wanted to slap him, but the second time they tried it, he actually put some weight down. I could tell it hurt, but the leg held.
After this, he was encouraged and worked harder.
The next day, Sebastian came to me and said, “I’m leaving, and I may not be back until tomorrow.”
Nonplussed, I asked, “Where are you going?” I didn’t want him to leave. Not now.
He smiled. “Tell you when I get back.” Leaning down, he kissed the side of my face. “Kai needs you. Just stay in the room with him.”
Sebastian never expressed physical affection to me, and this worried me more than anything else.
That day, I had Kai lean on me as he practiced walking. He was doing better.
“Good,” I said, trying not to struggle beneath his weight.
He didn’t answer. He still wasn’t speaking to me much, and at times, I struggled to remain patient with him. It was difficult to believe he was still angry with me for having saved his life, but this was the front he insisted upon showing.
I walked him around the room until he began growing tired, and then I led him back toward the bed. As he was getting settled, a knock sounded on the door.
“My lord?” a familiar voice said. “My lady?”
“Come in,” I called.
The door opened and Daveed walked inside carrying a set of wooden crutches. “My father was a carpenter, and I’ve been working on these.”
For the first time since his injury, Kai’s face lit up. “Let me try them.”
He was already tired, but I wasn’t about to stop him. Daveed got him up and helped him arrange the crutches under his arms. Within moments, Kai was swinging himself around the room with no help.
“If you like,” I said, “we could have a bedroom made up for you downstairs. That way, you’d have the run of the main floor, even the courtyard.”
Though nothing really made him happy anymore, this idea appealed to him—enough that he let Daveed half carry him down the stairs. I had a room made up for him near the great hall, and Kai’s world became a little wider.
That night, when dinnertime arrived, he swung into the hall on his crutches and Jarrod watched him coming.
“How’s the leg?” Jarrod asked.
He’d been less helpful these past days, but I knew he was suffering inside. His own wound prevented him from being of much physical assistance, and he was hardly the type to give comfort or encouragement. He’d lost his eldest son, and now his youngest son’s mobility was in question.
“I don’t know,” Kai answered honestly. “The pain is lessening. And thanks to Daveed, I can get around on my own.” He looked around. “Where’s Sebastian?”
“Gone out.”
Jarrod didn’t elaborate, but I had a feeling he knew exactly where Sebastian had gone. I couldn’t help wondering. Sebastian rarely left the grounds of the keep.
We ate dinner, and Kai played a few games of chess with his father while I worked on some sewing. The evening felt almost normal, so much so that when Kai took up his crutches and announced he was going to bed, I walked with him to the room I’d had made up.
At the door, I touched his arm. “Should I stay? I’d like to.”
The tone of my voice made my meaning clear. We’d not slept in the same bed since that first night at the Cornetts.
He turned away. “No. I’m . . . I’m better off sleeping alone.”
After going inside, he closed the door. Standing outside, facing it, I wanted to weep. I’d felt alone at times in my life, but never this alone.
Had I lost him?