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pain. We must hurry.” Lora grabbed Elisa’s medicinal satchel from where she kept it on a peg by the hearth, and took her hand.
    “Oh, I must go. Good night, fare well,” she called over her shoulder, watching the men staring after her.
    Kenneth shoved his friend and seemed to be smiling. That made Elisa lighthearted. Seeing him relax even briefly did her heart good. She couldn’t help worrying about others, especially when they portrayed a wounded soul as Kenneth did. Now to help another wounded soul.
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    Dawn had just crept over the hillside when Elisa walked back to the manor. Margret’s wound was severe and she’d stayed the night to tend pain remedies and to keep her comfortable. The cook was not of a pleasant nature when ill for she grumbled and blasphemed most of the night. Elisa’s ears still burned with their sinful meaning. But she paid Margret no mind, as she was used to people’s sour dispositions when they were in pain. And Margret was the worse of any she’d attended, for hardened warriors had not carried on so even with a fiercer wound. Elisa learned long ago that the sweeter she was when tending the wounded, the less surly the injured became.
    The village was void of anyone moving about yet. Shadows cast the night around some of the huts and buildings, and the morning dew still layered the ground. It had to be an early hour.
    A yawn came and Elisa thought about her bed and her comfortable pillows. All she wanted was sleep. She’d take a few hours rest and then check on Margret and mayhap stop and see how Timmy’s pup fared.
    Then she remembered she’d forgotten to leave salve with Timmy’s mama. Her stock of herbs was running low too, so she’d have to trek into the woods to search for plants later this day. It was her favorite pastime and she enjoyed the solitude of the woods and the time she spent there. Somehow she would find a way to sneak out of the village.
    As she walked along, she hoped Domhnall left and she could avoid his questions. How could she tell him something she knew nothing about? She considered lying to him, then reconsidered, not wishing to put her family in danger. She could verily say that she’d seen the parchment amongst her sister’s possessions. But Domhnall would learn of her fabrication if he didn’t find it and would return to confront her.
    She would have to make him understand she knew nothing even if she had to risk her safety. She’d come to the village when she was still a young lass, not yet close to marriageable age, but not a child. Elisa wasn’t quite sure how old she was then. But she was young enough to have some of the village women take her in their arms to hug her. Her family hadn’t been forgotten, yet she knew not how to get back to them or where the village was located. She often wondered if they missed her or if they cared she was gone. Years passed and along with them, so had any hope of her family coming to visit.
    Dare she ever hope of leaving this village, finding a husband who would protect her, and live the life she’d dreamed of these past years? Elisa wasn’t about to admit that failure, for she would not be so disheartened. She knew Domhnall wouldn’t allow her to leave and nor would he permit her to marry any of the villagers. Life would be the way it had been and Elisa was happy at least that she made friends and had tasks to keep her busy.
    As Elisa passed the stables, she heard a noise within. Perhaps the stable master, Wilhelm, was up and about. He always rose before many of the villagers and was well at his tasks before sunrise. She couldn’t pass by without a greeting so she stepped inside the stable and searched for him. One of the field horses hadn’t been eating and she wanted to inquire about its welfare.
    Someone grabbed her from behind and practically smothered her with a large hand. Her screams were useless and muffled against the intruder’s palm. She dropped her satchel of medicinals. Elisa