The Guardian by Diana Knightley

Fifty-three - Kaitlyn

Then I asked, “So Magnus is in one of these rooms?”

General Hammond said, “Yes, Queen Kaitlyn, he’s here.”

He gestured down the hall. “You’ll need to go wash up first.”

I crouched down and kissed Archie and Isla. “I’m going to go talk to your da. I will be back in a moment.”

I went through to the bathroom and washed my arms and my face, rubbing my skin raw practically, to get the murder and centuries of filth off me. There were a pair of scrubs stacked on the counter, and like years ago, under a different king, in totally different circumstances, I dressed to go to my husband’s bedside. I tossed the 1920’s-style dress off, peeled off the torn stockings, and pulled on the scrubs. Because the lights were dimmed, giving the hospital an air of hushed sleeping-time, I tiptoed to the door of Magnus’s room.

His room was dark, a four poster bed, luxurious bedding, but with machines beside it, a bag of liquids going into his arm. I did not like seeing him hooked up to machines again.

He said, “M’heart is nae workin’ again, mo reul-iuil.”

I pushed a chair up to the bed and sat beside him holding his hand. “I learned something while I was in Los Angeles, you have something wrong with your heart, it’s hereditary.”

“Och, I heard it. The physician saw it on the records and on the images. It caused m’heart attack and now there are scars upon m’heart. None had ever mentioned it before — how would ye ken it?”

“Sir Padraig told me, he read it in your medical records...”

He dropped his head back on the pillow. “Ye were with Sir Padraig Stuart?”

“I killed him.”

“Och, are ye all right?”

“Yes,” I said it but tears welled up in my eyes all the same.

I wrapped my fingers around his.

He said, “Tell me about it.”

“Your mother asked me to come help her, she had been looping, so it was all out of control.”

“She is lucky she dinna get herself killed.”

“Yeah, she was in deep. She had this whole plan, for me to go to dinner, and that I would disrupt the meeting, cause it to go differently, but guess what?”

His voice was quiet. “He kent ye were comin’?”

“Exactly, and he was awful, totally malicious, just like you said. He took my weapons and he was being all cocky and—”

“Ye never allow a man tae be cocky without breakin’ him down — did ye cause him cry?”

“No, but I did cause him to be dead. You would have been so proud of me, I watched him until I found his weakness.”

“The movement he makes with his hand when he is talking?”

“I saw it and counted on it and then I lunged across the table and clawed his face. I was able to grab my gun and without thinking I pulled the trigger. Killed him dead.”

“Good.”

I looked down at his hand, the structure of it, thick and strong, the veins running through it. The skin soft on the back, so rough on the front. I kissed it.

“Och, Kaitlyn, they are goin’ tae cut me open.”

I pulled his hand closer and wrapped up around it.

“They tell me they are goin’ tae cut through m’artery and go up through m’groin, and clean out the scar tissue from m’heart attack. My heart was weakened and now tis full of scars. They said tis called a heart rejuvenation.”

I said, “That sounds not so bad, right? How will they do it?”

He gave me a sad smile. “Twill be robots, Kaitlyn, I will hae robots inside of me. A man from the eighteenth century with robots in his heart.”

“That is the perfect use of robots, if you think about it.” I rested my cheek on his hand. “And what did the physician say — would it be easy to accomplish?”

“Och nae, tis robots, Kaitlyn. I daena think robots are ever easy.”

“Well, the good news is that then you’ll be able to recover. It’s been a long time without being able to recover. And now we know. We can make you strong again. That will be good, right?”

“Aye.”

“You don’t have to be scared.”

“Och, I am nae scared, I am never scared.”

I pushed some hair off his forehead and smoothed it back.

“I’m not scared either.” I kissed him. “This is great news, your heart is strong. You have just been trying to work against something you were born with, and now we can fix it.”

The physician entered the room. “Queen Kaitlyn, the king will need to go in for the surgery now.”

I sighed and kissed Magnus again. “I love you, don’t be scared.”

He gave me a weak smile. “What hae I got tae be scared of? M’wife is a terrible arse, she has fought m’enemy and won. I hae my kingdom once more. This is just something I hae tae go through and then I will rule.”

“True, and you’ll be through it in no time. Did you already tell the children you love them?”

“I did, they ken. Do ye ken it?”

“I do, my love, I ken it everywhere. I haven’t ever got any doubt about it.” I smoothed his hair again, and patted his chest. “I’ll see you on the other side my love.”

The physician said, “King Magnus, Your Majesty, we are taking you in now.”

My husband was moved from the bed to a stretcher and wheeled into the operating room. I stood and watched the swinging door, where he had gone away.