Chapter 15

Tearlach drifted in and out of consciousness for two days, during which time Norah sat beside him, watching every move he made and listening for any sound that he might be waking up. She helped Tommy change Tearlach's bandages, only leaving when the other men came to help with washing him and helping him with more personal things.

In the meantime, she made herself useful by preparing meals, and even mended a few of the men's clothes, many of which badly needed attention. If she had thought that she might be bored, she was happy to be proved wrong. The men could all read and count a little, and although they were not well-educated, each was intelligent in his own way, and each could hold a good conversation and express himself well.

Somehow she had always thought of rebels as vicious heathens who killed and maimed everyone they saw, but they were not like that at all. Every one of them missed his family and friends, and spoke of them with tenderness and affection.

Norah admired the way their skills had blended together to make the shelter they were living in, and how they cooperated with each other to share out the duties that made their little band work. In turn, they appreciated her presence, and made Norah feel like an asset to them and not a burden.

"It is good to have a woman's company about the place," Tommy remarked to Murdo, Alec's brother, as they watched Norah sitting by Tearlach's side sewing. "It makes us a' behave better, an' too many men together can end up actin' like animals!"

Murdo laughed, and Norah joined in. "That is true," he remarked, looking at Norah appreciatively. "An' it helps that she is quite bonny to look at as well. It's good for the spirit to have a lovely face about."

"An' makes a nice rabbit stew wi' all those mushrooms she finds," Murdo remarked. "Aye, I could get used to havin' Norah around." He sighed. "Pity ye have to go, hen."

Norah shrugged and smiled at both of them. "My friend Caitrin likes to have a man around the house," she told them. "So it seems that we need each other, and I have had no problem living with you ‘animals'. You have all been perfect gentlemen, and nobody has ever complimented my cooking before!"

A few days after their arrival at the hideout, when she was just about to prepare supper, Norah was pleasantly surprised to find a book lying on the floor beside the foodstuffs.

"Gulliver"s Travels!" she gasped in wonder, as a smile spread over her face. She held the volume up for the group of men to see. "Whose is this?"

Murdo laughed. "I suppose ye could say it is mine, Norah," he answered. "I stole it out of a dead Redcoat's pack. I thought I might read it sometime, but -" He shrugged his shoulders. "I havenae had time, an' to be truthful, it is a wee bit beyond my skills. I am no' much of a reader."

"Would you like me to read it to you?" Norah asked eagerly. She had heard that the story was excellent, but had never managed to acquire a copy of the book, since her father did not approve of learned women. God forbid that she should be cleverer than her husband! "I haven't read it myself yet, and I would love to."

There was a chorus of approval. "That would be grand, Norah!" Murdo said, grinning. "I was that tired o' playin' dice wi' this lot!"

"Only because ye always lost!" Alec protested.

Norah was glad that she could repay the men for their kindness in some little way, and began to read the book that evening, glad to see that they were fascinated by the story. It turned out to be the most pleasant evening she had spent in ages.

Before she lay down to sleep she kissed Tearlach's forehead. "I promise I will read this to you as soon as I can, love," she whispered. "Goodnight." She thought she saw a ghost of a smile on his face. Or was it her imagination?

Tearlach finally woke up on the morning of the third day after their arrival at the hideout. He was groggy and his voice was hoarse from lack of use, but the injury from the musket ball was beginning to heal.

"It is no' infected," Tommy announced, smiling as he looked at the wound. "It will take a wee while to close up, big man, but knowin' you, it will happen twice as fast as anybody else. Ye will always have a scar, but the lassies like scars. They make ye look like a hero." He reached into his pocket and produced a small ball made of a dull grey metal. "Here is what did the damage. Dae ye want to keep it as a keepsake?"

Tearlach smiled weakly, "I think I can dae without it," he replied, shuddering in revulsion.

Then Tearlach saw Norah, his face lit up, and he opened his arms. He had never been so glad to see anyone in his life.

She knelt down beside him, and hugged him gently, trying not to press against his wound. "Are you feeling better?" she asked softly. "I have been so worried about you."

"I am feelin' fine," he whispered, kissing her cheek. "I think I might be a wee bit stiff for a while, but I know I have been well looked after. Tommy can work miracles."

Norah looked into his apple-green eyes and stroked some of his shaggy red hair off his forehead, then she frowned. "I need to shave you." Her words were firm, her face determined.

"An' I need to kiss you," he replied, grinning.

His wish might have come true, but at that moment the rest of the men came bursting in, each of them looking as though they had been running for miles without a break, which indeed they had. They collapsed into chairs or on the floor, trying to recover their breath before finally Davie managed to speak.

"Redcoats!" he gasped. "I was huntin' near the burn an' I had a nice big doe in my sight when I saw seven redcoats on the other side. They a' have muskets, an' it looked as if they have plenty o' ammunition too. We need to get out of here!"

"But you have muskets too," Norah observed, frowning. "I have seen them."

Davie was still breathing heavily, but he said, "we have pistols, lass, but our last raid failed. We needed some lead for our muskets, an' we were goin' to steal it fae the redcoats, but we messed the raid up an' now we have nae ammunition. If they catch us in here we are trapped. They might decide we are more trouble to them alive than dead an' shoot us where we stand. An' I hate to think what they would dae to you - a woman will be easy game for them, if ye know what I mean."

Norah was horrified at the meaning of his words, so much so that she could not speak for a moment. She nodded. "I do," she said grimly.

"There really isnae any way out - we need to run," Davie said grimly.

Tearlach gazed at Norah for a moment, knowing that this was goodbye. He took in the beautiful angles of her face, her silver-grey eyes, and even the animated way her hands moved when she spoke.

Now she was reaching out to the others, begging them to see things her way. "But Tearlach is not ready to move!" she cried. "Look at him! He is too weak to walk!"

Tommy moved over to Tearlach's side and helped him to his feet. "Will ye try, Tearlach? We dinnae want to leave ye behind."

Tearlach hesitated, but Norah did not. She moved over to his side and put her arm around his waist. "I helped him before," she stated firmly. "I will help him again."

Tommy looked at Tearlach as if to seek approval, but Tearlach only shrugged. "Ye might as well try to wrestle wi' a bull, Tommy," he said, sighing. "She has a will of iron."

Tommy looked at Norah doubtfully but she stared back at him, her gaze defiant, till he turned and walked away. She said nothing more, but began to pack away Tearlach's few clothes and other possessions into a bag.

Davie lent her a cloak to wear, since the nights were beginning to cool down, then he looked at the little woman who was about to try to support the big man all by herself. Had Norah known it, all the men admired her greatly for her fighting spirit, determination, and most of all her refusal to give up in the face of enormous odds.

Now she was about to prove herself once more. Her shoulders still ached from half-carrying Tearlach for miles, but she told herself that if she had done it once she could do it again. One thing that no one could fault her for was her stubbornness.

"Let us help ye," Tommy told her. "A wee thing like you is too weak for this, Norah, an' I can see your shoulders are still hurtin' fae the last time. Ye can walk beside us an' talk to him. That will keep his spirits up."

Norah sighed and nodded slowly. This made sense.

Shortly before they left, Tearlach called Norah to his side. She could see that he was still in pain, since he winced every time he moved his arm or his shoulder came into contact with a hard surface. They had nothing left to kill the pain with, since Tommy had used the last of the poppy syrup and the rest of the whisky.

Norah lamented that the season for wild poppies was over. These were not the strong kind that put a person to sleep, but the field poppies that grew in spring with the corn, barley and wheat. Caitrin had taught her how to make a soothing syrup from them, the kind that Tommy had just used. If only it was still summer!

"The men will help me along, if they have to," Tearlach said gently, "but I still think ye should leave me behind, Norah. I am nae use to ye if I cannae run away."

"No." She shook her head and glared at him. "If I have to drag you along by myself I will do it, Tearlach. You know I have done it before."

Tearlach grinned at her, unable to help himself. "You are a mad woman, Norah," he said fondly, "but I am glad I found ye again." Then he kissed her.

If anything could have lifted Norah's spirits more, it was that kiss. Tearlach might have been injured and weakened, but ironically he still had the capacity to make her feel safe. Now, however, she knew that he needed her too. She rubbed her palms over the rough hair of his beard, thinking that it was growing too long, then she chastised herself for her frivolous notion at a time like this.

His tongue was tangling with hers, his lips soft and caressing, and Norah was slowly being lulled to a gentle state of calm, which ended abruptly when Tommy came up behind them.

"Come on, ye two!" he bellowed. "There's nae time for this! We need to get goin'."

They sprang apart, and a moment later they were on their way. Fortunately, with two men supporting Tearlach, they would be able to make the journey to the horses more quickly. The marshes were a nuisance, but they deterred the redcoats from coming near their shelter. Now, however, their advantage had been turned against them, since the enemy was on the same side of them as the horses.

"I wish Rory was there," Tearlach groaned as he stumbled along. "He could have outrun any of them."

"You will see him again." Norah's voice was soothing.

Tearlach said nothing, but screwed up his face in pain once more. They stumbled forward a few more yards before he fell forward on his knees, almost taking Davie and Norah with him.

"This is nae good," Tearlach said hoarsely. "Ye will have to go without me, Norah. I am holdin' ye back, an' it is better that they should take only one of us than all of us. I am bein' selfish, allowin' ye to dae this. It is better for all of ye that ye should leave me behind."

"No!" Norah hissed. "Not in a thousand years, Tearlach. You are staying with me!"