A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness [214]
“Matthew,” she began in a patient voice, her eyes fixed on me with a look of maternal concern, “you need to call her family. Where is your phone?”
His arms tightened. My head felt too heavy for my neck. It was easier to lean it against Matthew’s shoulder.
“It’s in his pocket, I suppose, but he’s not going to drop the witch to get it. Nor will he let you get close enough to fish it out.” Baldwin handed Ysabeau his phone. “Use this.”
Baldwin’s gaze traveled over my battered body with such close attention that it felt as if ice packs were being applied and removed, one by one. “She certainly looks like she’s been through a battle.” His voice expressed reluctant admiration.
Marthe said something in Occitan, and Matthew’s brother nodded.
“Òc,” he said, eyeing me in appraisal.
“Not this time, Baldwin,” Matthew rumbled.
“The number, Matthew,” Ysabeau said crisply, diverting her son’s attention. He rattled it off, and his mother pushed the corresponding buttons, the faint electronic tones audible.
“I’m fine,” I croaked when Sarah picked up the phone. “Put me down, Matthew.”
“No, this is Ysabeau de Clermont. Diana is with us.”
There was more silence while Ysabeau’s icicle touches swept over me. “She is hurt, but her injuries are not life-threatening. Nevertheless, Matthew should bring her home. To you.”
“No. She’ll follow me. Satu mustn’t harm Sarah and Em,” I said, struggling to break free.
“Matthew,” Baldwin growled, “let Marthe see to her or keep her quiet.”
“Stay out of this, Baldwin,” Matthew snapped. His cool lips touched my cheeks, and my pulse slowed. His voice dropped to a murmur. “We won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”
“We can protect her from vampires.” Ysabeau sounded farther and farther away. “But not from other witches. She needs to be with those who can.” The conversation faded, and a curtain of gray fog descended.
This time I came to consciousness upstairs in Matthew’s tower. Every candle was lit, and the fire was roaring in the hearth. The room felt almost warm, but adrenaline and shock made me shiver. Matthew was sitting on his heels on the floor with me propped between his knees, examining my right forearm. My blood-soaked pullover had a long slit where Satu had cut me. A fresh red stain was seeping into the darker spots.
Marthe and Ysabeau stood in the doorway like a watchful pair of hawks.
“I can take care of my wife, Maman,” Matthew said.
“Of course, Matthew,” Ysabeau murmured in her patented subservient tone.
Matthew tore the last inch of the sleeve to fully expose my flesh, and he swore. “Get my bag, Marthe.”
“No,” she said firmly. “She is filthy, Matthew.”
“Let her take a bath,” Ysabeau joined in, lending Marthe her support. “Diana is freezing, and you cannot even see her injuries. This is not helping, my child.”
“No bath,” he said decidedly.
“Why ever not?” Ysabeau asked impatiently. She gestured at the stairs, and Marthe departed.
“The water would be full of her blood,” he said tightly. “Baldwin would smell it.”
“This is not Jerusalem, Matthew,” Ysabeau said. “He has never set foot in this tower, not since it was built.”
“What happened in Jerusalem?” I reached for the spot where Matthew’s silver coffin usually hung.
“My love, I need to look at your back.”
“Okay,” I whispered dully. My mind drifted, seeking an apple tree and my mother’s voice.
“Lie on your stomach for me.”
The cold stone floors of the castle where Satu had pinned me down were all too palpable under my chest and legs. “No, Matthew. You think I’m keeping secrets, but I don’t know anything about my magic. Satu said—”
Matthew swore again. “There’s no witch here, and your magic is immaterial to me.” His cold hand gripped mine, as sure and firm as his gaze. “Just lean forward over my hand. I’ll hold you.”
Seated on his thigh, I bent from the waist, resting my chest on our clasped hands. The position stretched the skin on my back painfully, but it was better than the alternative. Underneath me, Matthew stiffened.
“Your fleece is stuck to your skin. I can’t see much with it in the way. We’re going