Isabelle looked vastly amused, a blush now reddening her cheeks. And Gavin wore a grin that reflected his own. His mother, however, appeared shocked. She’d obviously heard the previous comments, or mayhap ’twas distressed at witnessing the display of this woman grabbing her body parts.

This woman pleased him more than she’d ever know.

“Oh God.” The lass sighed. “Just knock me out again, please. I can’t do this. Drugs, just give me drugs, and wake me up when this nightmare is over.”

Greylen took her statement as defeat. His smile vanished as he gently laid her against the pillows. “Are you in pain?” he asked, brushing the hair away from her face again.

“Go away,” she pleaded, swatting her hands in front of her. “Please, just go away.”

“Tell me your name, lass,” Greylen ordered, ignoring her comment.

“Will you leave me alone if I do?”

“Nay, but I’ll remove myself from the bed,” Greylen conceded.

She snorted. “How gallant, you’ll remove yourself from my bed if I tell you my name?”

“Nay, lass,” he whispered. “I’ll remove myself from my bed.”

“What?” She shot upright. Obviously a poor decision, if the way she clutched her head was any indication.

Greylen reached out, pulling her against him. “Enough! You will cease this at once.” He could not endure to watch her suffer. “Mother, for God’s sake, give her something.”

Lady Madelyn came forward instantly. “Greylen, you must release her. I must see to her wounds.” His mother’s tone was softer than usual, sensing his distress at the pain this woman was in.

Reflexively his arms tightened, his chin digging a little deeper into the head he’d snuggly secured beneath it. “You will give her something for her pain, Mother. Now,” he snapped, acting like a wounded animal protecting his young. He’d not release her until he was sure she would suffer no more. And he knew she felt it, too, this woman, for she burrowed against him.

The action sealed her fate, had it not been done already.

Greylen held her head to his chest and placed the cup his mother had handed him to her lips. She drank it entirely. He knew from experience a bitter taste would linger in her mouth, but she stayed completely still. Knowing the potion would work quickly, he continued to hold her. Short minutes later, he felt her begin to relax. Then she gently tapped his chest with her finger. He leaned in, in answer.

She whispered to him, so only he could hear her, “Greylen?”

His eyes closed, calming now as he heard his name upon her lips and the softness in her tone. Then he bent his head. “Aye,” he whispered back, keeping their conversation as private as possible with three pairs of eyes staring at them from the edge of the bed.

“My name…is Gwendolyn.”

’Twas a surrender. And somehow, he knew surrender did not come easy to her.

Gwendolyn.

She had a name. And a beautiful one. For the first time he could remember, he was beyond words. He knew that if he could speak, his voice would be filled with the same emotion clouding his vision.