THE CROW & THE BUTTERFLY

5. I Saw You...

Mary was sleeping for few days. James fed her with herbs mixed with strong broth, that prevented her from getting infection, at the same time kept her strong. Leaving and coming as he had a meeting with new allies. Yes, he wasn't about to give up, just because a luck wasn't on his side, when he landed in Nootka. He never gave up and he decided to continue in his plan. To take over docks, to fully take over whole Nootka, that perhaps belonged to him on paper, but American government had their people everywhere. It was few days later, when he came home and asked Lorna, if she could go and feed Mary. She froze, seeing his clothes being covered in blood and he held his side.

"James, what happened?" She asked him, but he, without an answer, left to his room. Lorna couldn't be possibly more desperate that moment. She put a soup on tray and after few knocks entered Mary's room pale white.

Mary noticed that, but didn't ask anything. She looked at Lorna and nodded gratefully. "Thank you, I'll try to take dinner on the dinning room from now on."

"Oh, alright. I'll leave it on the table then. How do you feel today?" She asked her calmly.

"Good..." she nodded and stood up. She walked closer to the window to look outside as she used to all these days and noticed his horse. His white stallion was standing alone in the garden like someone just left him there with a huge red stain on the side of his body. "Is he alright?" She asked Lorna without turning.

"Well, I don't know," she swallowed hard. Robert, who was walking from stables, passed by a horse and the moment he saw blood, he dropped pitchfork and rushed inside the house. His footsteps sounded in the staircase, until they heard door opening and closing in the attic. "I'll see you in the dinning room then," Lorna said and left. She put a tray with soup on the table and left to take care of a horse.

Of course Mary didn't touch the food, she was only wondering, who did this to him, since here in Nootka he was a liberator. She walked upstairs and opened the door of the attic. Finding him trying to bond the deep cut by the fire using brandy and some dirty cloths. "Hm..." she nodded. "This might need stitches."

Robert, who stood by the table, washing knife in hot water sharply turned and glanced from Mary to James. James, who looked at Mary with narrowed eyes. "It's fine," he said and Robert came to him, giving him knife. He put it into the fire, pressuring the wound, sweating and swallowing hard. Waiting for the knife to be hot enough, so he could burn the wound and stop bleeding.

"This would leave you a bigger scar and you'll be in pain for much longer." Mary sighed. What kind of stupidity is this? What is he, a bull to be marked with iron? She saw that once on an animal and didn't want to see it again. "Robert? Where do you you keep needle, please?" She asked him calmly.

"Lorna has few in her room," he told her.

"It's just pain of the body, Mary. It will come as quickly as it appeared," James said quietly, looking into a fire.

Ignoring his motivation comments, she tried to smile to Robert and left. She knocked once but didn't find her there. She found both Brace and Lorna in the kitchen. They gave her, what she asked and slowly she walked upstairs again. "Robert, go now please. It's alright, we won't need that." She encouraged him to put the knife down and she turned to James, who was hanging from the a bottle of brandy. "May I?" She reached out with her hand. He looked at her, studying her face briefly. Like he was surprised by her behaviour and expected some kind of betrayal. With a deep grunt, he nodded and took of the shirt leaking from the blood. Then turned his face back toward a fire.

"You sure, you won't need any help?" Robert asked, hesitating.

"It's alright, you can go," James looked at him with a nod and boy left the room.