"The warrior princess. I mentioned a kiss being the first step in the seduction process leading to a harem, and-"

"You told herthat ?"

"Yea."

"Now she will think I kissed her with ill purpose... to gain some end."

"Didn't you?"

"Nay, I did not. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. And 'twas no big thing, Rashid. Do not make it so." "Hmmm."

"What does thathmmm mean?"

"Just that she had the same response. Told me in no uncertain words not to make much of nothing. But me-thinks she protested too much. Methinks it was a big ado to her. In fact, methinks-" "Dost know what I think, Rashid? Methinks you think too b.l.o.o.d.y d.a.m.n much. Stop interfering in my life." Adam closed his precious journal and was about to put it away in its leather case; it was obvious he would have no more opportunity to study it this evening. He couldn't stop himself from asking the next question, though. "So, what was Tyra's reaction to your telling her that kisses lead to harems?"

"She stomped away."

"Aaahh," he said, and would have liked to do the same.

But there was a knock at the door. A series of knocks, actually. Four of them.

Adam looked at Rashid, and Rashid looked at him.

"Enter," he called out.

And in came Tyra's four sisters, all wearing voluminous night shifts, like the one Tyra had had on. He had

thought all women slept naked, as their menfolk did.

"You kissed her," they all charged as one, smiling their congratulations at him.

He pushed a path through the women and did what he should have done before. He stomped down the

corridor. Aaarrgh! he wailed inside.When did my life become such a nightmare? When did I revert to such youthling impulses? When did I let a woman turn my brain to mush ? He promised himself not to repeat the mistake. Unless there were tongues involved. Or bed furs.

Aaarrgh!

Adam was preparing to operate on the unconscious king.

They had slipped some of the strong, amber-colored, Scottish brew,uisge-beatha , between Thorvald's lips to help dull the pain and make his sleep deeper, as well as a small amount of poppy juice, though henbane or mandrake might have served as well if they had been available. It would not do for him to awaken in the midst of this procedure.

"Did you boil my tools?" he asked Rashid, who was arranging the implements on a cloth-covered table near the bed. There were several knives with short, sharp blades, a special miniature saw of his own design that fit in the palm of the hand, an extra-large needle, strong thread, and, of course, the hand-driven metal drill.

"Yea, I did." His a.s.sistant knew how important it was to his master that everything that touched the patient's body be pure. It was a lesson Adam had learned well from his stepmother, Rain, who claimed to know of medical practices far into the future. He could hardly credit that, but he accepted that cleanliness was important.

"And I had the room stripped of all objects, including the mattress, and everything was scrubbed with lye soap, even the walls," Tyra said. "Plus I had the rushes swept out." Although Vana disdained rushes in the great hall, she did allow them in the bedchambers to insulate the coldness of the floors.

He nodded, but said nothing. He had not wanted Tyra to be present, but she had insisted that she be there to represent the family. "You forget, Saxon. I am a soldier. I have seen blood afore," she'd reminded him.

How could he forget? He still saw images of her in his head, wielding a broadsword against the sea pirates. "It's different when it's a loved one," he had countered.

Also in the bedchamber were Father Efrid, the monk healer, who wanted to learn more about trepanation of the skull, and Rafn, whose muscle might be needed to hold down the king.

"Is everyone ready?" Adam asked.

"Wouldst object if I said a small prayer first?" Father Efrid inquired.

Adam nodded his head. "I am willing to accept help from any quarter."

"Blessed Lord, be with this man today as he performs his healing skills. Guide his hands, and if it be Thy will, bring Thorvald of Stoneheim out of his deep sleep and back into Thy living goodness. Amen."

"Amen," they all said, even Tyra, who was presumably not of the Christian religion.

"May Muhammad be sitting on my master's left shoulder," Rashid added, "and Allah on his right. Praise be to Allah!"

Rafn coughed and put in his prayer as well, to everyone's surprise, "Odin, G.o.d of wisdom, look down upon your servant, Adam of Britain. Give him your strength and make his hands adept. No straw-death for our king. Instead, save Thorvald's journey into Asgard for another day... in the midst of battle."

Adam couldn't help chuckling then, despite the dire circ.u.mstance he found himself in. "It looks as if we have ourselves covered from all celestial bases."

Everyone laughed nervously.

It was two hours after that, though, before anyone laughed, or smiled, or really breathed. Adam's hands had not trembled... not even once... in the course of the operation. He had feared they might after two years away from medicine and after his failure to save his sister.

And Tyra! My G.o.d, what a wonder she was! He had not expected her to flinch at the sight of blood... though it was her father and not some nameless enemy... but he had to admit to being impressed at her coolheadedness and efficiency under stress. She had seemed to antic.i.p.ate his moves, even before Rashid, who had a.s.sisted him for many a year. If the woman were not so dead set on spilling blood, she would make a wonderful healer's a.s.sistant.

He smiled to himself, and not just at the image of Tyra the Warrior becoming Tyra the Healer... or any man's a.s.sistant. Whether Thorvald lived or died, the trepanation had been the most horrible, exhilarating experience of Adam's life. Those final moments when his drill had broken through the bone structure had been filled with suspense for them all. As one, they exhaled with a loudwhoosh. Afterward, Adam applied bruised betony to the wound so it would unite and heal, then wrapped a long, clean strip of linen about the king's temple and all around his head.

Adam, for one, felt as if he'd been touched by the hand of G.o.d.

Whether Thorvald lived or died, and despite Adam's two-year absence from medicine and his vow never to practice again, he knew one thing without a doubt.

I am a physician.

Tyra found Adam on one of the ramparts of the castle.

He sat with his back against the outer wall and his face pressed against his arms, which were folded over his raised knees. She had no idea whether he slept, or wept, or both. Nor did she know whether he would welcome her intrusion. Probably not.

Even so, she sank down to the rampart floor beside him and put a hand on the nape of his neck. He wore one of the loose Arab robes today, like the one she'd first seen him in back in his Saxon home.

"Thank you," she said, and she meant it most sincerely.

He didn't raise his head, but he did turn it so that he could look at her. "For what? We may not know for days if your father will recover."

"It matters not," she said, and moved her hand from his nape to his shoulder, which she squeezed briefly as a further sign of her appreciation. "Oh, I do not mean that my father's life has no importance. 'Tis just that I know you did not want to practice your healing skills, and definitely not in such a serious case."

"And not in another country, where I was brought against my will," he added. There was mirth in his voice now. She knew he was teasing her... again.

"That, too," she agreed. "Despite all your objections, though, you did a fine, fine job. I am impressed."

"Impressed, hmmm? I like the sound of that." He sat up, which she regretted. She no longer had an excuse to lay her hand on him. And she did so like the feel of his clean hair under her fingertips and the hard muscles of his back under her palm.

"Do not be letting your ego get more overblown than it already is. Any bigger and your head might explode," she teased back. She was not experienced with teasing games... certainly not teasing games with men. "I merely thanked you for completing the task competently. Just say, 'You are welcome, my lady,' like a humble healer."

"Humble healer?" he snorted, apparently not liking that description of himself. Tyra's heart went out to the man. He looked exhausted, despite his teasing, and why not? He'd spent two hours working on her father, and another two hours watching over him afterward. No doubt he would return to his vigil after this respite. "I did it because of our pact, Tyra. Do not be attributing fine motives to me. You made me a promise, and I intend to collect on it sometime soon."

Her face warmed despite her resolution to stop this blushing business that had started when she met this rogue. "I do not for one minute believe that you performed your surgery on my father because of me. You did it because you saw a man in need of your help. You did it because you are a doctor."

He shrugged. "Perchance it was all of those things,including you and the prize I intend to collect. So, exactly how thankful are you?"

Uh-oh! "What do you mean?" She was fairly certain she knew exactly what he meant. It would be something involving bed furs.

"Will you be slipping into my bed furs this night?"

"Nay!" she said far too quickly. "That was not our agreement."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you intend to renege on our deal now? Your word is your bond, or so I presumed. Has that changed?"

"My word is everything.If you heal my father... that was what I agreed to. Then, and only then."

"I suppose you are correct. I just thought you might want to show some small token of your... thankfulness. In advance."

"Small token?" she asked skeptically. "Like a gift? A gold coin? An etched silver arm ring? A jewel-encrusted goblet?"

"Not quite what I had in mind." The twinkle in his eye was most beguiling.

Tyra had no idea how to handle this man. A rogue, pure and simple, that's what he was. First he p.r.i.c.ked her pride by questioning her honor. In the next instant, he twinkled his sinful eyes at her. How was a woman to know when he was serious? "What, then?" she inquired in a surprisingly cool voice.

"Oooh, let me think." He tapped his lips with a forefinger, thoughtfully. "A kiss would be nice."

"A kiss?" she practically squealed. "When I am willing to give you some priceless object, you would settle for a mere kiss?"

"It would not be mere, I a.s.sure you. And, frankly, I have more treasures than I can use. You may find this hard to believe, but I have been a knight as well as a healer these past fifteen years. Many a battle and many a prize have there been."

"Now, there's a conflict of interests," she commented with a laugh. "Did you thrust a sword in your enemy, then later sew up his wounds?"

"That very thing did happen on occasion. Eventually, I declined to serve as a soldier anymore, unless absolutely needed to defend the position of one king or another. And they did not mind. 'Twould seem my services as a healer were needed more than my sword arm. Either way, the rewards were great. I do not need your material tokens."

It was she who put a finger to her chin and tapped thoughtfully now. There was more to this man than she'd originally thought.

He stared at her hotly, waiting for an answer. "Well?" he prodded finally when she refused to respond to his request for a kiss. A kiss that would be more than a mere kiss. She was afraid to imagine exactly what that might entail, but for a certainty it was bound to prove dangerous to her equilibrium.

When she still declined to answer, he moved on to another subject. "In all honesty, I must thank you, as well."

"Me? For what?"

"You are correct in saying that I am a physician. I am also a man... as I intend to show you someday. I was a brother... at one time. I am a stepson. And I am a friend. But most of all, I am a physician. Somehow... G.o.d only knows how... I forgot that for a while. Some say that G.o.d is the Supreme Healer. Mayhap He arranged events so that I would separate myself from society and medicine for those two years... something I needed to do so thatmy wounds would mend. Mayhap it was also G.o.d who arranged for me to be kidnapped by a warrior-wench who brought me to this lost land.

That was the most backhanded compliment she'd ever been given. But she was well pleased, more so than if he'd given her false praise about her beauty, as men were inclined to do when in the company of women. His comment relieved her guilt somewhat, too. But, really, he used the most tangled logic she'd ever encountered. "Methinks you give your G.o.d too much credit."

"Methinks I have not given Him enough, and that has been my problem."

Religion? Fromthis rascal? Heis ever confusingme.Does he do it a purpose? Probably. "You are a good doctor, aren't you?"

"Yea, I am," he answered without humility. She expected no less from him. "And you, my fair Vking. Are you a good soldier?" he asked, taking her hand and twining their fingers together. She tried to pull away, shamed by the size of her hands and the less-than-feminine calluses on her palms, but he would not allow that. Instead, he freed only his thumb and began to caress her wrist, back and forth. What a glorious, glorious sensation centered there where her pulse began to beat wildly! You would have thought he was doing something intimate, or scandalous, but all he was doing was caressing her wrist with a thumb, whilst he watched her, waiting for an answer.

An answer? Blessed Thor! I forget the question. Oh, he asked if I was a good soldier. "Yea, I am a good soldier... the best a woman could be... or most men for that matter."

"I could give you an ointment for that itch."

What that offer had to do with being a good soldier, she had no idea. "What itch?" She c.o.c.ked her head in question.

"The one right there," he said, waggling his eyebrows as he stared at the crotch of herbraies .

She blushed furiously.

"The one you scratch on occasion... especially when you notice one of your men doing the same."

She tried to pull her hand away, again to no avail. The man saw too much by half. She did try to take on some masculine traits. The way she walked, for one thing, when she remembered not to roll her hips. Her garments, for another thing. Crude gestures, for still another. It was silly, she supposed, especially if people like this brute noticed that they were not natural movements.

"Now, now, do not be embarra.s.sed. I think it's rather adorable, actually... in a silly sort of way."

"Adorable? You think my scratching my private parts is adorable? I need to rethink my actions. I really do. Adorable is not the image I am trying to convey."

He threw his head back and laughed. What a wonderful sound his laughter was! Warm and spontaneous and very, very sensual.

When he was done laughing at her, he pulled a mock-somber face and asked her the most unexpected thing: "Well, isn't there some important question you have been yearning to ask me?"

She couldn't imagine what he was referring to.

He stood and pulled her to her feet with him. An amazing feat in itself. She did not realize he had the strength.

"Don't you want to ask me what I am wearing under my robe?"

When his mischievous comment finally penetrated the daze she was in, she blushed again, because, of course, shehad wondered idly about that very subject. But a woman, and her pride, could stand only so much teasing. She pulled hard, and he released her hand. As she stomped down the rampart path, she heard the oaf laughing.

But she did not stop stomping, and he did not stop laughing... until he called out, "Nothing."

And then he reminded her, "You owe me, sweet lady-warrior. Do not forget the kiss."

AsifI could!