The Sapphire Broach

Chapter 18 (rough draft)

The farmer caught her just when her head nearly smacked the wooden floors of the farmhouse.

"Miss!" he cried. "You said you were all right."

Ivy blinked and looked up at him. "I am. Just tired." She couldn't move. The man set her head down and she stayed there. "Please, just take care of him." She was too weak to even lift her arm.

The man continued to look at her, and the woman appeared by his side. "Honestly." Ivy finally managed to lift her hand and waved them away. They glanced at each other, then moved out of her sightline to where Kenric lay in the bed. She heard them mumble and checked on him.

A knock sounded, then the door opened before anyone answered it.

"What in the name of all Berryann?" an unfamiliar voice called, then footsteps raced across the wooden floor to her side.

An older bearded man appeared before her. He knelt and touched her forehead. "Where is she injured?"

"No." Ivy fought to lift her arm again, then she brushed the man—she hoped the physician—away. "I am uninjured! Please! Just help him!"

The farmer took the physician by the shoulder. "She insists that she is well, though she just nearly passed out. It is the man who is injured. He has been shot in the stomach."

"Shot? Where is the arrow?"

"I pulled it out," Ivy whispered.

"You what?" The physician's face swam above her again.

"I pulled it out, then dragged him to his horse, got him on, and rode him here."

The physician's eyebrows arched dramatically. Finally he spoke. "Get her a drink and some food. I will see what I can do for the man."

Ivy closed her eyes. She had done all she could for Kenric. Now he was in the physician's hands.

The door opened again, and a boy no more than twelve walked in. He sucked in great gulps of air as though he had been running.

"Tommy!" The woman hurried to the boy and hugged him. "Thank you for getting the physician." She released him and walked to Ivy. "Can you sit up?"

Ivy ran her hand across her face and felt rough flakes of something—probably dried blood—crumble and fall. She took a deep breath, then tried to sit up. The room spun again, but with the woman's help, she managed to sit with her back against the bed where Kenric rested. The woman brought her a glass of water which she gulped down.

"I will heat some broth." She moved away.

Ivy listened to the physician examine Kenric. He mumbled to himself and she couldn't help but wonder what his mumblings meant. Would Kenric be all right? He couldn't die. He just couldn't. How would she ever find his family to tell them? Who would support them? They had already lost their father—they couldn't lose him too.

"Here, child." The woman held a plain dress out to Ivy. "While the broth warms, I will take you up to the loft where you can change out of your stained clothes and wash up. Tommy," she turned to the boy. "Get your things out of the loft. You can sleep in the room above the barn tonight."

"Yes, Mother." The boy hurried up the ladder-like stairs in the middle of the room and quickly returned with a handful of belongings.

"Come along." The woman pulled Ivy to her feet. "Careful on the stairs."

Ivy climbed them and felt her muscles scream in protest. The woman followed, her hand on Ivy's back as though worried Ivy might fall. At the top, she handed Ivy the dress. "Put this on for now. There is a basin of fresh water, a towel, and a mirror over there. Clean yourself. Do not worry for your friend. Doctor Glenis is an excellent physician."

"Thank you," Ivy mumbled.

The woman left and Ivy walked toward the mirror. It was small and the image warped and wavy, but even if it had been large and clear, she wouldn't have recognized herself in it. Streaks of blood masked her face and smeared in her disheveled hair, and her dress, she knew, was stained a deep shade of red.

She sighed, then grabbed the towel and washed the memory of Kenric's injury from her face. She unlaced the sleeves of her dress and the ties in the back, slipped it off, and donned the clean one. The plain, homely fabric hung loosely around her middle, but otherwise the dress fit rather nicely. A comb sat by the basin of now-red water which she used to scrape dried blood from her hair.

When she felt and looked quite a bit better, she climbed down the stairs to check on Kenric. The woman—Ivy remembered the man had called her Bonnie—looked up and a confused look crossed her face.

"Do I know you?" Bonnie asked.

Ivy knew she had never met the woman in her life. "No. I am sure you do not."

"You look so familiar . . ."

"And so much better now that you are not covered in blood," the physician added. "Have some of the broth that Bonnie has heated so I can stop fretting over you."

Ivy stepped to the bed and touched Kenric's leg. His shirt had been removed and clean bandages replaced the ragged wrapping she had done. She worried for the pallor of his skin. "How is he?"

The physician turned to face her straight on. "I will not lie to you. He is not well. He has lost a lot of blood, as I am sure you know because it was all over you. Also, though your efforts to get him here may have saved his life, they were rather harsh and did not aid in his recovery."

Ivy swallowed.

"You did the best you could—in truth, I am not sure a grown man could have done much better. Your efforts are to be lauded."

Ivy rubbed her hand down to Kenric's foot. She couldn't bring herself to look at his face. If only she could have taken better care of him . . .

"Please." The physician touched her arm. "You did all you could."

"Will he . . . will he live?" She looked up to meet the gray eyes of the aging physician.

The man sighed. "I believe he will, but it is impossible to know for sure. I will stop by first thing in the morning to check on him. Carl?" He turned to the farmer. "Send Tommy if you need me sooner."

"I will." Carl shook the physician's hand. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you," Ivy breathed.

The physician patted her shoulder. "Drink some broth, then rest. Bonnie and Carl will watch over him."

She nodded.

The physician left.

"Here, child." Bonnie handed a steaming bowl to her. "Sit at the table and sip this. It will soothe and rejuvenate you."

Ivy obeyed. The liquid warmed her and she felt herself relax. She also felt the weight of her exhaustion and by the time she finished the bowl she could hardly keep her eyes open.

"I put a fresh blanket on the bed in the loft." Bonnie took Ivy's bowl from her. "Go and rest."

"But Kenric." Ivy stood. "I cannot leave him."

Bonnie shewed her toward the stair-ladder. "I will watch him. If anything changes, I will wake you immediately. I promise."

Instead of going to the stairs, Ivy walked to Kenric's bedside where a patchwork quilt covered his injured body. She placed her hand on his forehead and brushed at his hair.

"He will be all right." Bonnie stepped up beside her. "You will see."