Don't Forget to Dream (28 page)

Rhyla smiled gently,
“
You probably just stood up too quickly.
”
Seeing his eager grin as she spoke
,
Rhyla realised w
h
ere she was seated and quickly stood smoothing her skirts to
hide the discomfort her attention caused him
.
“
If you don
’
t mind my lady I would like to see to Walt first
,
if I may. That leg seems to be the cause of this odour.
”

“
Yes my girl, I agree. See if there is anything more that can be done,
”
Lady Emelia said stepping closer to the unconscious man.

“
Elsie, come help me,
”
asked Rhyla, only to be greet
ed with a quickly stifled groan.
Rhyla raised the leg and had Elsie hold it while she set to unwinding the dressing. The wound was on the thigh but even the skin below the bandages was red and puffy in places. As the top layers
of bandages
were removed
,
a green patch developed and spread through the material as they got closer to the wound. This was definitely the cause of the stench and as the final layer was removed Elsie could not control the retching. Master
Stephen quickly stepped forward to take the limb as Elsie fled the room. Using the edge of a cleaner section of dressing Rhyla wiped away the last of the green putrid material so she could see the wound itself. The edges were irregular and gaping
.
The surrounding tissue was
angry
looking; red and swollen;
blistered in many places.
“
How did this happen?
”
Rhyla asked without taking her eyes from the patient.

“
In the fire my lady,
”
said
Lan
.

“
My name is Rhyla, I am not a lady,
”
she said a little too sharply before drawing a quick breath to continue.
“
I know it happened in the fire but can you tell me exactly what happened?
”

“
Yes miss,
”
Lan
said a little taken aback,
“
He was attempting to save some of the stores when a beam collapsed on him. We had to drag him out of there, that
’
s how I got burned.
”

Rhyla looked to
Lan
and smiled briefly in an attempt to soften her previously harsh words.
“
Thank you Lan.
”
She then looked to Lady Emelia and pointed to the blisters, "These are from the heat and flames but the wound itself is from something else.
”

At that point Mistress Belinda arrived with her supplies
,
muttering about girls with weak stomachs. She saw Rhyla looking at the infected wound and instantly stiffened her back a little.
“
I see you have already started to see to my patients.
”

Rhyla quickly took half a step back realising she had unwittingly caused offence.

“
Now
,
Bel.
You were only saying yesterday how you wished there was more you could do for the lad. Rhyla here has a steady hand and a strong
stoma
ch from what I have seen so far. Let
her do what she can,
”
Master Stephen interrupted before Rhyla could find any words.

“
I apologise for not consulting you first Mistress Belinda,
”
said Lady Emelia,
“
but I knew you would be along shortly and I could see no harm in seeing the injuries for ourselves. Rhyla here knows a few things on caring for wounds.
”

Mistress Belinda opened and closed her mouth before she could respond,
“
Of course my lady, forgive my rudeness. I am just so concerned for the lads. Walt here just isn
’
t responding as the others are, if
anything
,
I think he is slowly getting worse. I don
’
t know what else to do for him.
”

“
What do you think Rhyla?
”
asked Lady Emelia turning back to her.

Flustered for a moment Rhyla refocused on the wound to gather her thoughts.
“
If a wound isn
’
t healing and gets infected like this it may be because something is still inside it, something the body is trying to get out.
”

“
When I first tended it there was splinters and chard cinders all though the wound. It took two buckets of water to wash it clean,
”
Mistress Belinda said stepping forward to look at the injury again.

“
Perhaps something went deeper,
”
Rhyla said frowning at the wound as if it were about to unmask its secrets,
“
deeper than
what you could see when you were cleaning it?
”

“
It is a thought miss, but how do we get it out? A hot poultice perhaps?
”
offered Mistress Belinda settling into the conference on her patients care.

Rhyla frowned deeper as she looked at Walt
’
s face, pale, gaunt and with a sheen of perspiration across it. She gently laid a hand over his chest to feel the rapid beat of his heart bounding against his ribs.
“
He doesn
’
t have days to see if poultices can draw it out. We have to go in and find it and drain this putrid material away if he is to have any chance.
”

Mistress Belinda blanched as she looked to her husband, Lady Emelia and even
Lan
before returning to Rhyla,
“
Are you sure?
”
she whispered,
“
You are talking about cutting into his leg aren
’
t you? Into his very flesh?
”
she emphasised, aghast.

“
Yes I am,
”
Rhyla said straightening, a calm certainty with an edge of defiance in her posture.
“
He is unconscious and barely responsive. The poison from this wound is in his blood. If we don
’
t get rid of the focus
of the problem,
he has no chance. Even if we get it out it may be too late.
”
Rhyla looked to Lady Emelia for support realising she may have overstepped her boun
ds. She did not plea or relax her expression. S
he waited, expectantly.

Finally Lady Emelia glanced to
Lan
where he sat ashen faced on his bed.
“
You are sure the beam splintered as it landed on him?
”

Slowly realising he was being
spoken to
Lan
kept them waiting;
his
eyes fixed on his cousins face;
his complexion nearly as pale as well. He struggled to construct a response,
“
Ah... um... yes my lady. The beam was on fire but where it landed on him it broke and he was covered in burning splinters.
”

Lady Emelia turned away from the uncomfortable lad.
“
I think Rhyla has the right of it. This lad will die in the coming days if we don
’
t do something more for him.
”

Mistress Belinda glanced to her husband for support but was greeted only by a slight shrug of his shoulders and a single nod of his head. Facing Rhyla again she asked,
“
What will you need?
”

Rhyla smiled tightly and thought back to what her father had told her of draining abscesses, be it in a horses
’
hoof or a man following battle or a festering splinter from careless woodwork.
“
I will need a small, very sharp knife, lots of hot water and clean bandages. I will also need to wash my hands before we start.
”

“
I will fetch them. I will have young Elsie shown where to unpack your things my Lady. Girls got a bit of a weak stomach on her,
”
Mistress Belinda said dropping a hasty curtsy to Lady Emelia before departing.

Lady Emelia stepped closer to see what she could of the festering wound.
“
I wish I still had my sight to help you my dear, but alas that is wasted breath and there is still much to be done here,
”
she said dismissing her limitations and obvious frustration. She turned to Master Stephen
,
still standing at the foot of the bed holding Walt
’
s foot aloft.
“
While we are waiting
,
shall we see to the other two
lads.
I am sure you can rest that leg down now and I doubt very much if Walt is about to flee from us. Lan,
”
she said redirecting her attention.
“
You can keep an eye on him and let us know if there is a problem.
”
It was a simple statement, not a question.

Young Lan nodded hastily,
“
O
f course my lady, I
’
ll stay by him and holler if he wakes.
”
He seemed to have absorbed the talk of taking a knife to his cousin
’
s leg and seemed enthusiastic that something was to be done to save Walt
’
s life.

“
Very good.
This way my lady, Rhyla,
”
said Master Stephen raising his hand to indicate the open door.

He led them down the wood panelled hall a short distance to the next door. He rapped briefly before entering. Two more men lay upon the beds, both obviously older than the cousins. The man sitting on the bed on the right was heavy set with a physical strength that was undeniable. Master Stephen introduced him as Machin
,
the local blacksmith.
The m
an on the left lay upon the bed.
H
e had a touch of grey to his dark hair and the look of a man who had
worked a hard life out of doors. He
was Austin the dun
’
s woodsman.

Both men had suffered severe burns to their arms and Austin had more high on his right leg that made it difficult for him to sit up. They were in good spirits, were eating well and their wounds were all healing nicely with no sign of infection.  Rhyla agreed with Master Stephen that Machin could get out of bed but it would be a few more weeks before he c
ould return safely to his forge. H
e grumbled briefly about his apprentices but thanked them all the same. Unfortunately Austin
’
s more extensive wounds would have him in their care for at least another week.

With the resonating sound of Mistress Belinda chivvying someone up the stairs, no doubt with the hot buckets of water, Lady Emelia bid Machin and Austin good day and led the way back to Walt
’
s bedside. Mistress Belinda soon arrived with an armload of towels and bandages,
a bar of soap balancing on top. A
surly looking young man eventually followed her into the room.

“
Place the water by the bed Thom then back to the kitchen. We will
be wanting
our supper after we are done with Walt here,
”
she said
,
bustling the lad from the room before he had even had time to recognise let alone bow to Lady Emelia.

“
Machin and Austin are settled,
”
her husband advised her as she firmly closed the door behind him. He continued on without allowing her an
opportunity to interrupt and forcing Rhyla or Lady Emelia to inform her of their further interference with her patients.
“
We have seen to their dressings and Machin is doing well enough to get up tomorrow but we have
to remind
him it will be weeks before he can return to the forge.
”

Mistress Belinda appeared to be chewing her tongue as she str
uggled to moderate her response;
a deep furrow between her brows a clear display of what she would like to say. She hastily started arranging the towels and dressings on the bed by Walt
’
s feet as she spoke,
“
Yes, yes, of course. It
’
s high tim
e for Machin to be up and about. A
man like that shouldn
’
t be lounging about all day. Mind me if he goes and damages that arm further and
expects
me to nurse him again.
”