"I do - better, in fact! I have spare napkins and some clothes!" he exclaimed, very pleased all of a sudden that his mother had brought a surprising tenth child into the world just two years ago. And that he\'d looked after her recently.
He stepped first towards his wardrobe and extracted two blankets - one a small, knitted woollen one dyed in red that was just the right size for folding around a small child (though he did cringe internally at the thought she\'d use it immediately when the baby\'s clothes were wet or - worse- when he was naked. Gallagher knew full well what little boys were like once their organs were uncovered, and he didn\'t have another blanket to substitute for this one), and the other a larger, yellow-coloured one that Heath could wrap herself in, should she choose (again, hopefully not around wet clothes) - and two bathing towels. They matched the one hanging on the hook in the wall behind the bathtub; a small stool stood to its side holding a scrubbing brush and soap to complete the necessary toiletries. Upon turning to see what baby clothes he could claim, he noticed the young woman removing her cloak and dropped what he already held on the bed beside her son.
"Let me take that for you. I\'ll drape it over a chair in front of the other fire, should be quite dry by morning that way," he announced decisively, swiping the garment out of her hands and striding out to the main room to do exactly as he\'d described. He threw a few extra bits of wood on that fire, then returned to the bedroom with another chair. She would surely not wish to dry her more intimate clothing on a chair where he could see them. He positioned the chair between bed and fire, then threw some more bits of wood on that blaze as well, before walking back around the sleeping platform to attend to his original task.
"So... what did you think about that bath, then? Think he\'d appreciate it?" he asked jovially, nodding over his shoulder at the infant kicking his legs atop his bed. Bede closed the bureau drawer and straightened with four cloth napkins to cover the boy\'s naked bottom and every bit of baby clothing he had. Laying them on the mattress for the young mother\'s inspection, he rested his hands on his hips and added, "I have two pots of water boiling on these fires - thanks to my stablehands - and there\'ll be some in the tub, ready for the hot to be added. It wouldn\'t be any trouble."
He wanted to say that he\'d gladly use the bath after she was done, but didn\'t want to frighten her with the thought that he\'d force her out of the room for any length of time - after he\'d offered it to her unconditionally - just for a bath. As far as that went, he could wait until the morning, even if his odour was not currently at its most pleasant (thanks to a day of work preceding his time at the tavern). The thought of him being naked nearby might also spook her (though, having a child and living with brothers, she was surely certain of that fact of life by now). He held his tongue and watched what she was doing instead, waiting for her to indicate her wishes one way or the other.