Don't Forget to Dream (41 page)

“
Coming,
”
Elsie said
,
startled at the sudden sound. Opening the door she quickly dropped a deep curtsey,
“
Lady Emelia, please come in. Oh...
”
Elsie hastily dropped a second slightly deeper curtsey at the women behind her mistress.
“
Queen Aletta, oh please, please do come in,
”
she said stumbling slightly as she backed out of the doorway and opened it further.

“
We wanted to check on Rhyla ourselves Elsie,
”
Lady Emelia said as she entered the room with her daughter.

“
She is still sleeping my
lady. There has been no change
that I could tell, my lady,
”
Elsie quickly said dropping another brief curtsey in her unsettled state.

“
Have you had any rest Elsie?
”
Lady Emelia enquired at the slightly dishevelled appearance of her long time maid.

“
Just a
few
moments,
my lady,
I was so worried about her,
”
Elsie said in her usual shy manner.

“
Do not concern yourself Elsie. We are all worried about her but you too need some rest or you will be of no use to her when she awakens,
”
Lady Emelia replied gently
,
before turning back to Rhyla
’
s silent form.

“
She is very pale, perhaps
a little better than Callum but not by much I fear. Dear girl,
”
the
concerned Queen uttered
as she brushed a loose strand of hair from her face.
“
I know of no other lass who
could have done what she did, to fight alongside my son and then to treat him after he was wounded.
We owe her a great deal.
”

“
Rhyla is certainly a gem. I don
’
t know how I would have coped without her out at the
Black Swan E
state,
”
Lady Emelia confided.
“
For now we shall just be thankful that they are
both safely with us and the healing process can begin.
Without any family Rhyla will need us to take care of her. She is too independent for her own good.
”

Queen Aletta smiled and laughed softly,
“
I doubt she will have much choice with you deciding to take her in
,
mother. Come, let us join Liam in the
hall;
I know he and Edwin want an update on her condition.
”

The Queen and her mother bid Elsie farewell and assured her that someone would check in with her throughout the day and they would ask Mistress O
’
Mara to find someone to share her duties.

As the day progressed t
here was little change in Rhyla.
She
slept soundly until well into the afternoon before stirring. Marina, Princess Sophia
’
s ladies maid, was
sitting on the sole chair quietly sewing.
Elsie had been relieved of her duty until evening fell again.

Slowly Rhyla opened her eyes and looked about her, remembering she was safe in her own bed. She briefly attempted to sit up but as the stiffness of the multitude of bruises and the sharp pain of the lacerations filled her consciousness
,
she quickly gave up, failing to stifle a telling groan.

Marina looked up at the sudden sound.
“
Rhy
la, y
ou
’
r
e
awake. Oh don
’
t move, please lie still. I have to fetch Mistress
O
’
Mara.
She
insisted I let her know as soon as you awaken.
”
Without waiting for Rhyla to respond s
he dropped her sewing and
ran from the room.

Rhyla was so startled by her reaction she didn
’
t have time to form any question or comment. Resting back against her pillows she slowly drew deep breaths as she recalled the events of the previous day. She assumed it was
still the previous day and
struggled to ga
uge the time from where she lay. D
ull light filtered through her window but she could not tell if it was simply overcast or if it was too early for the sun to shine through. Laying there she carefully examined the dressings to her arms before lifting the covers to feel the wound that had been sewn up on the side of her ribs. She had been more than a little surprised by how many sutures she had needed, and by how much
they really
hurt.

“
It is good to see you have woken Rhyla,
”
Princess Sophia said as she opened the door and crossed to her bedside. Rhyla was uncertain
as to what was expected of her.
They
had never really spoken before and now the Princess was visiting her bed chamber. Rhyla tried once again to sit up.
“
Here
,
let us help you. Marina,
”
she said indi
cating for her maid to assist from
the other side of the narrow bed.

“
Thank you my lady,
”
Rhyla said uncertainly as between them they helped her to sit up and place extra pillows behind her to lean against.

“
Are you comfortable Rhyla? Not in too much pain I hope?
”
Princess Sophia said taking the chair and sitting by her bedside.

“
I am well enough my lady. Mistress O
’
Mara did a fine job on my wounds. I shall be fit again in a few days,
”
Rhyla tried to sound confident, adding a brief smile to emphasise her words.

Princess Sophia laughed,
“
You sound just like Callum.
”

Rhyla was instantly more alert at the mention of his name,
“
You have seen him then? Is he awake?
”

“
Calm yourself Rhyla,
”
Princess Sophia said
,
gently placing a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to
lie
back against the pile of pillows once again.
“
Callum woke briefly earlier today but is sleeping again now.
”

“
How is he? He lost a lot of blood. I just couldn
’
t stop it,
”
Rhyla said as the despair she had felt
while
sitting outside the hunting lodge, waiting for the guardsmen to arrive, threatened to return.

“
He is comfortable.
He
managed to eat a little and Master Roburt is confident he will make a full recovery.
”

Rhyla sighed in relief,
“
That is such welcome news. I was so worried.
”

“
Well you share in that,
”
Princess Sophia said laughing softly again.
“
Edwin says that he was barely awake before asking what had happened to you.
”

Rhyla felt the heat and colour rise to her cheeks before she could hide her face a little by looking down at her hands.
“
He is a good
man;
he shouldn
’
t be concerning himself over a maid.
”

Princess Sophia reached over to gently pat her hand,
“
I don
’
t think he considers you just a maid Rhyla.
”
She looked up startled but the princess continued,
“
You fought alongside him,
and you
saved his life. He will never forget that, and neither will the rest of the family.
”

Rhyla blushed again, quietly praying the princess would not read anything more into her uncontrollable flushes.
“
He is a good man, a great
Prince;
I just happened to be there and did what I could.
”

“
Did what you could! We are all just so thankful you are one of the very few women who know one end of the sword from the other.
”
The princess was astute enough to see Rhyla
’
s discomfort at such praise.
“
Well I am glad to see you are recovering. I shall leave you to your rest. Marina
,
will you fetch Rhyla something from the kitchens please? I am sure you are famished my dear.
”

Thankful for the change of topic Rhyla nodded.
“
I am a little hungry my lady,
”
she said as the mention of food made her stomach growl.

“
Mistress O
’
Mara will want to check on you as well. I shall have to report to Edwin and mother on your progress
,
Rhyla,
”
she said standing. She half turned away before stopping.
“
I would like to visit and talk with you some more if that is alright with you.
”

Rhyla was momentarily confused as to why the Princess with all of the tasks that must fill her day, would want to spend time with an injured servant. But what else could she say,
“
Of course my lady, I would be honoured.
”

Princess Sophia and Marina departed, quietly closing the door to leave Rhyla in a moment of peace, and moderate turmoil. Her calm determination and certainty to forget how deeply she loved Callum was in shattered fragments. Maintaining her distance and focusing on her work had been keeping her strong. The pain of looking at what she could never have was starting to ease as long as she stayed away and kept busy from sun up to sundown. But a single morning in his company had weakened her. The threat of losing him forever, not even just to the arms of another woman but from this life, had torn her heart to shreds. She was desperate to
see him again with her own eyes; just
knowing
that
he was improving would have to suffice.

Her solitude was broken by the return of Marina with her meal. Mistress O
’
Mara soon followed, insisting on waiting while she ate before examining and redressing all her wounds and helping her to change into a clean shift. Once she was finished
,
Rhyla was given little choice but to return to bed. Elsie relieved Marina at the end of day, fetching another light meal and proceeded to chatter in her usual manor, filling Rhyla in on all the gossip for the day. Little was of interest to her but she nodded and passed
brief comments as appropriately as she could.
Yet
,
no matter how much she pressed, Elsie could provide no further news on Callum
’
s condition than that of
Princess Sophia
’
s update.
Finally after receiving no further
news
, an exhausted
Rhyla fell into another deep but not so dreamless sleep.

The light filling the room was brighter when Rhyla awoke the following day
. She was surprised to be alone.
Elsie
’
s bed
was
neatly made and a cloth covered tray
lay
on their little table. Tentatively Rhyla pushed herself up, cautiously flexing her arms, easing the stif
fness of the muscles and bruises and tested
the tenderness of the sutured wounds. Confident enough that she would do no further damage by getting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and
once again
tested the muscles. Other than a little stiffness she was surprised as to how good her legs felt, compared to
her attempts the evening before. Rhyla
carefully rose before slowly making her way to the table. Being up and about felt so good
that
she remained standing.
She
started to pick slowly at the bread, ch
eese and fruit on the plate.
She
soon realised she was ravenously hungry and pulled the chair over to sit down and enjoyed the meal properly. As she was picking up the last few crumbs from her meal Elsie returned.

“
You are up. How are you feeling?
”
Elsie said closing the door behind her.
“
I thought you would still be asleep. You have slept most of the day away, but I guess that is understandable after what you have been through. Lady Emelia will be so happy to learn that you have eaten well.
”