My Laird's Castle by McBride Bess

Author:McBride, Bess [McBride, Bess]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bess McBride
Published: 2015-10-20T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

A loud banging on the front door the following day brought all of us running toward the front of the castle. Colin, Elinor and I had been eating breakfast, and we hurried out to see what the commotion was about. George and Mrs. Agnew met us at the front door, fear on their faces.

George pulled open the door at Colin’s instructions to reveal one of Captain Jones’ soldiers standing on the top step, with his fist raised as if to knock again. His uniform showed signs of trauma, the red jacket and dark pants torn and muddied beyond recognition.

Behind him, two other soldiers, similarly ragtag, carried a limp body. The blond ponytail hanging down made me gasp.

“Oh, no,” I moaned. “It’s Captain Jones. Bring him in,” I said urgently. “Is he alive? What happened?”

“Yes, mistress, but I do not know for how long,” one of the men puffed. “We were attacked by the Jacobites. The captain took a sword to his ribs, he did.”

Captain Jones’ unbuttoned jacket fell away from his body, and I saw a bright-red stain on his white shirt on the right side of his abdomen.

“Make haste. Bring him in,” Colin said, jumping forward to help the men carry Captain Jones inside. He led them to the drawing room, where they settled the unconscious captain on the sofa. Colin seemed to care little if the blood seeped into the fabric.

“George, send for the doctor at once,” he barked over his shoulder. “Mrs. Agnew, hot water, some linens for bandages. Elinor, help her, please. Take the men down to the kitchen for some food. Where are the others?”

“Following us,” one of the soldiers said. “We fair ran with our burden to get here as soon as we could.”

Colin nodded. “Go to the kitchen now. Elinor, tell Mrs. Renwick to prepare food and drink for the men.”

Elinor, tears spilling from her eyes, hurried away with the housekeeper. Colin watched them leave and then turned to me.

“Quickly, Beth. Tell me what I can do before the others return. I dinna ken if he will die afore the doctor arrives.”

“Oh, gosh, Colin, I don’t know. I have no medical training, not even in the twenty-first century.” I ripped open the captain’s shirt and looked at the ugly gash just below his ribs. Blood oozed from the wound but did not gush. His lungs rose and fell without sounds of gasping.

“I don’t think he’s bleeding out, and I’m going to guess from his breathing that his lungs weren’t punctured. But I don’t know if a vital organ was injured. Hopefully, the doctor will know.”

I bent, and in true Western style, ripped the ruffle from my petticoat. Pressing it against the captain’s wound, I applied pressure.

“All I can do is try and stop the bleeding. I don’t think he’s lost a lot,” I said, “but he’s very pale.” With my free hand, I smoothed his hair away from his forehead.

Elinor and Mrs. Agnew returned, and Mrs. Agnew, who appeared to know what she was doing, moistened some of the linens she had brought.

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