He saw her weariness. Her movements painfully slow, speech halting at times. At last, she seemed to realize she couldn’t tend to every person and finally instructed the women on how to cleanse and treat wounds to avoid infection. Through it all, he worried what the peasants might say concerning her healing. They appeared grateful now for her help, but what of tomorrow and the next days? Favorable opinion could turn to distrust, envy, and hatred in an instant. The peasants might come to blame him for the raid because he hadn’t offered enough protection against the Moors. None of them would care how impossible he’d find the task with so much land to cover and enemy plans unknown. If the peasants weren’t able to take out their frustrations and anger on him, their noble lord, they could make her a convenient target. Repeatedly, he checked the peasants’ worn faces, trying to discern their concerns and suspicions, hoping to ward off trouble.
