Read Online Seduced by Sophia Johnson - Free Book Online Page B

whipped up and she glared at him.
"We all see to the gardens. Each of us has beds of our favorite
blooms."
    "And what grows in your own plot, lady?"
    She laid the hot, wet cloth atop the dried
bandage and waited for it to do its work. His hands spread wide; he
raised them awaiting her answer.
    "Great beds of herbs. And every medicinal or
useful plant that does not die if grown in a planned garden. Many
must grow in the wild, though. I gather them at the right time of
the sun or moon."
    "'Tis surprising. Ye have no flowers of yer
own choice?"
    "Lilies and wild roses. Iris. Sweet violets.
All depend on the times of the year. "
    "I ken the rose is yer favorite."
    Startled, she blurted out, "Why so?"
    "Thorns."
    She snorted again.
    The flesh twitched around his wound. Was the
cloth too hot? Ready to snatch it away if it pained him unduly, she
looked up. Blue eyes calmly watched her. Her gaze shifted down to
his nose. That, too, was beautiful. Hm. She dared a glance at his
lips. He had pinched them together earlier. Not so now. They were
soft and sensual...
    "That was a right dafty thing ye did this
morn." Raik ground out the harsh words between clenched teeth. His
handsome face had turned heavy with censure.
    "Dafty? To feed a starving animal?"
    "Aye. Only a foolish woman would do
such."
    "Oh. Then a wise woman would have left him to
starve?" she spluttered. "To die of his wounds?"
    His face turned stony; his eyes glared at
her.
    She yanked the bandage off his shoulder. His
muscles jerked under her hands. She heard a sharp intake of air
through his teeth. She could not believe what she had just done.
Blood welled from several stitches. They showed signs that they had
near ripped out last night.
    "I ken ye wished Warin had left me in the
woods to bleed to death?"
    Though she had expected only anger, she heard
humor in his voice.
    Raik arched his brows high. And waited for an
answer.
    "Nay. I would not wish it so."
    He nodded.
    Letia motioned for Giles to bring her larger
medicinal supplies from outside the door. Maud had caused the
carpenter to build her a wide box with sides no higher than her
finger's length. He had lined it with leather inside and out. The
inside held separate boxed compartments where she placed various
sizes of clay pots, vials and jars, all with tops to keep them
fresh.
    She searched through the assortment there and
selected a leather pouch with
Harebell
scratched in
charcoal on its side. She withdrew roots cleaned of any dirt and
put them in a small bowl with hot water to soak.
    Turning, she saw Raik's questioning eyes.
    "'Tis what you call Scottish Bluebell. We
find them growing wild amid un-reaped grass in the fields. 'Tis
best for healing wounds. It slows blood loss and soothes wound
fevers," she murmured then nodded her head for emphasis.
    While the roots soaked, she selected a jar,
lifted off the wax stopper and used a small, broad knife to spread
some of the salve within onto a strip of linen.
    He gripped her wrist and brought the knife up
to sniff what was left there.
    "A salve mixed with Moneywort. The herb will
keep poisons from the wound," she explained.
    He released her wrist. Without speaking more,
she spread the cloth over his wound. Atop, she added a layer of the
softened roots then linen to hold everything in place.
    As her hands worked high on his shoulder,
they brushed against his jaw. The raspy feel of hair there made her
hand tremor. It must have affected him in some way, too, for his
nostrils quivered and he looked as if about to take a deep breath
near her skin. She jerked her hand away.
    The pit of her stomach tingled on remembering
that after he suckled her breasts, his unshaven face had caused her
flesh to look burned from the sun. In the few times she had seen
him over the past year, he was always clean of any facial hair.
Leofwan handled this for Warin. She would ask his aid.
    Thinking on that other beastie, the black one
outside the gate, she would plan with Warin on how she could