Chapter 6
The FeverNeil laid Mairi down on the bed and watched as his mother tended to her. Gradually the colour came back to her cheeks and her eyes opened. Neil leant forward eager to reassure her that she was among friends but her eyes, though open, did not look at him, nor indeed at anything in the room. She lifted her head with a great effort and stared beyond their heads at something or someone they could not see. Afraid that his mother might think what her own villagers had thought, Neil moved quickly and clumsily — staggering slightly as he took a step back knocking the earthenware bowl of water from the table with a crash. Ingrid at once began to bustle and scold.
‘What’s the matter with you?’ she demanded. ‘Are you ill too?’ She put her cool hand to his forehead and shook her h
