Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

R aven withdrew slightly behind the corner of a building, wishing to observe unseen for a moment. He was perched precariously halfway up the stricken trunk, wielding the saw. He was clearly aiming to cut down the dangerously positioned ash tree, preparing it for felling by attempting to remove the large branches that had been bent and battered by the wind. Raven could see the reasoning behind his actions. The weakened boughs were large, and if any of them should break and fall, they could injure or even kill a person.

Two men on the ground were steadying the ladder Arne was standing on, shouting up advice as to where he should cut next. Though it was chilly, Arne had apparently worked up a sweat, for he had stripped down to his sleeveless buff jerkin and had rolled up his shirt sleeves. His short, blond hair glittered like gold in the sun. Where his shirt was open at the front, a good deal of his muscular neck, arms, and chest were on show, along with his swirling tattoos, as he sawed at the branches with powerful strokes.

Safe in her hiding place, Raven's eyes wandered downward, to where Arne's long, powerful legs, clad in leather trews and high-top boots, were braced against the rungs as he reached up. Their athletic outline stood out sharply against the sky. She found herself dwelling upon the rugged, masculine beauty of his form. Images sprang into her mind of how he used to hold her easily as she wrapped her legs around his waist while he pinned her against a wall, his rock-hard shaft pounding into her.

He had become harder, leaner, and the tantalizing glimpse of the body she had taken such pleasurable liberties with in former times, and which had taken her to ecstasy and back too many times to count, sent a hot frisson of excitement shooting through Raven's belly and down between her legs.

She had never stopped loving him, and she had never stopped wanting him either. It made her sad to think they would never be together again that way. Because of the actions she had been forced to take against her will, she had lost the love of her life, the man whose touch she craved, forever.

If her heart had not broken so many times already, it would have broken again.

As she was musing, secretly admiring the flexing of Arne's muscles as he worked, she was suddenly startled from her guilty reverie by an explosive crack.

"Watch out below, lads, she's comin' down!" Arne shouted a warning, throwing the saw to the ground and skimming down the ladder in seconds. The great branch above cracked again and sheared off completely close to the trunk before plummeting to the ground.

One of the men dived quickly out of the way, but the other was a little slower, and the branch threatened to come down right on top of him. And it would have if Arne had not thrown himself at him, barging him clear of the danger. Unfortunately, part of the branch caught Arne's leg and pinned him to the ground with a tremendous crash.

Raven saw his face contract with pain, and before she knew what she was doing, she picked up her skirts and ran to him, shouting his name. The other men were already there, straining as they tried to manhandle the heavy branch from his leg. Raven reached them and grabbed the branch too, summoning all her strength to help them raise it high enough for Arne to slide out.

Once they had it a few inches above his leg, she shouted, "Hold it there!" and dived to grab Arne's wrist and pull him away as he slid awkwardly from beneath it, his face contorted with agony.

But he waved her away impatiently through gritted teeth. "What d'ye think ye're doin'? Get out of the way, will ye?" he said tersely.

"I just want tae help," she said, hurt by his harsh attitude.

Once he was clear, the men dropped the branch with a crash and rushed towards him, but Raven was already trying to help him up.

"Are ye deaf? Get off me. Can ye nae see ye're in the way!" he shouted angrily, shrugging her off.

"But Arne, I just want tae ken ye're all?—"

"Are ye a healer?" he demanded, cutting her off.

"Nay, of course I'm nae," she replied, a lump forming in her throat to see how much he hated her.

"Then bugger off!"

"Let us dae it, lass, he's too heavy fer ye," the man Arne had saved told her with a pitying look as he and his mate picked him up and supported him with their shoulders.

She could only stand watching in mute misery as he hobbled between the men, keeping the pressure off his injured leg as they hurried him as fast as they could to the healer. She dithered, wondering if she should go away as he wished or follow. The need to know he was not badly injured won out.

So, she set off after them, trailing a few yards behind, following them all the way to the healer's cottage.

Raven had already met Meg, the strange little woman with the child's voice, because she had come periodically to check on her during her recovery. The healer-witch was odd, to be sure, but her powers to heal were beyond question. She had earned Raven's trust and respect.

Arne groaned in pain when the men carried him into the cottage and laid him on the battered couch that served as a bed for Meg's patients. She greeted them in friendly fashion, shooting Raven a bright smile and a nod when she saw her slip inside the room unnoticed by the others. Raven smiled back, pressing a finger to her lips. Meg nodded subtly to show she understood and immediately turned her attention to Arne's injury.

"I dinnae need ye two in the way," she told the two men who had carried him, shooing them towards the door. They gave Raven a funny look as they went out the door, as if asking why she was allowed to stay, but they left without argument.

Raven looked back at Meg and Arne, waiting to hear what the healer would say. Her next words made her blood run cold.

"Fightin' with trees now, is it, lad? That's foolish," Meg said to Arne, and his face went white.

"How did ye ken that? Through yer special powers?" he asked with a look of awe.

Meg gave one of her witchy cackles. "Nay, ye fool, I saw ye out the window."

"Och, is that all?" he said, looking relieved. But Raven knew Meg was teasing him, for she knew very well that Meg could not have witnessed the accident from the cottage because the tree was not visible from there. Whatever she had " seen " that told her about the branch falling on Arne had not been through the window.

Suddenly, Meg turned and said to her, "Will ye bring me bag over, dear? I need me shears tae cut the torn leather away from his leg so I can see the wound properly." She pointed over to a small table, where Raven saw the medicine bag standing open.

"Aye, I'll get it," Raven replied, hurrying across the room to fetch them from the bag, glad to be of help.

"What the hell is she doin' in here?" Arne asked, noticing her at last and sitting up on his elbows to glare at her.

Meg tutted and pushed him back down. "She's helpin' me, that's what. Now hush and let me see what I'm dealin' with, lad," Meg told him, peering at the bloodstained leather. "Thank ye, dear," she said to Raven when she handed her the shears. "I dinnae think it will be very easy tae get these trews off altogether, but if ye hold his leg still for me, lass, I'll cut around the wound."

"All right," Raven complied, glad to be of help. She placed one hand on his thigh above the wound and the other below, to allow Meg to cut away the bloody material and expose the wound. The gash looked deep and bloody from what Raven could tell, but the rest of his leg felt warm and hard and muscular. The masculine strength he emanated sent a little shiver running through her.

"I dinnae want her here. Tell her tae go," Arne grumbled, looking daggers at Raven.

"Ach, keep yer hair on! Ye saved me life, and I'm only doin' the same fer ye as ye did fer me. Or are ye too stubborn tae let me repay ye?" Raven retorted, hurt and now irritated by his apparent determination to reject her.

"I told ye—" he began again.

"Stop talkin', and lie still," Meg ordered in the voice of an imperious eight-year-old, and they both shut up at once. However, Arne continued to shoot Raven dark glances, leaving her in no doubt how he felt about her.

The healer threw the bloody leather she had cut away from Arne's trews into the fire and then began inspecting the injury closely, while Raven held him. She winced to see the injury was a mess, blue, bloody and swollen where the branch had carved a long gash into the flesh. Meg gently pushed various points around it, waiting to see how Arne reacted. His grimaces showed how painful it was.

Finally, the healer straightened and said, "Well, 'tis a nasty gash, and ye'll have some bruisin', but it looks worse than it is. Ye've nae broken anythin', but it'll need careful cleanin' tae make sure ye dinnae get an infection. It'll heal up well enough if ye dae everythin' I tell ye. I'll get me things." She went off to get hot water from the kettle over the fire and the cleaning cloths, bandages, and herbal medicines she needed.

Raven breathed an inward sigh of relief that he was going to be all right, and she was determined to be the one to nurse him, whether he liked it or not.

"Thank ye, Meg, but we're supposed tae be leavin' tomorrow fer me braither's castle. Am I gonnae be able tae ride like this?" Arne asked, clearly concerned about a delay.

"Ye should probably stay at least another night at the inn tae rest before ye go ridin' any horse. I'll give ye some tea fer the pain and some salve and clean dressings, so ye can see tae it yersel'."

"I'll see tae it, Meg. Ye can give me the things he needs, and I'll make sure tae keep the wound clean and give him his tea," Raven put in, giving Arne a defiant glance.

"Nay, I'm nae havin' that," he began to argue, his thick brows darting up in annoyance.

"Aye, ye will, ye lummox. We share a room, remember? Who else dae ye think is gonnae dae it fer ye?" Raven retaliated, letting him see how determined she was.

"Ach!" he muttered and subsided, clearly unhappy but seeing that what she said made sense.

"'Tis all right," she said sarcastically, "ye can thank me later." He just scowled at her in silence.