The Heir

“Val…” the earl’s voice was urgent. “Get Garner or Hamilton. Get me a damned physician. A

“Go.” Dev nodded at Val. “John Footman and I will handle these four until the constable gets here.”

A

“Hurts,” she got out. “Blazes.”

“I know,” the earl said, his voice low, urgent. “I know it hurts, sweetheart, but we’ll get you patched up. Just hang on.”

Sweetheart, A

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him, though the pain was gaining momentum. “Just don’t…”

“Don’t what?” He laid her on the sofa in the library and sat at her hip while Na

“Don’t go,” A

“I won’t leave you to the quacks.” The earl almost smiled, accepting a pair of scissors from Na

“Talk.” A

“What shall I talk about?” His voice wasn’t quite steady, and A

“Anything,” she said. “Don’t want to faint.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she heard the earl start swearing.

“Clean cloths,” Westhaven said to Na

She nodded, her face pale, her eyes closed. He folded the cloth over her shoulder and pressed, gently at first but then more firmly. She winced but said nothing, so he held the pressure steady until the cloth was soaked then added a second cloth on top of the first.

“Have we carbolic and basilicum?” the earl asked.

“We do,” Na

“Not yet,” the earl said, “not until the bleeding stops. Time enough to clean her up later.”

By the time the physician arrived—Dr. Garner—A

“Capital job,” the physician pronounced. “It’s a deep graze, right over the top of the shoulder. Few inches off, and it would have been in the neck or the lung. Looks as if the powder’s been cleaned adequately. You’re a lucky girl, Miss James, but you are going to have to behave for a while.”

He put a tidy dressing on the wound and urged rest and red meat for the loss of blood. He prescribed quiet and sparing laudanum if the pain became too difficult. He also pulled the earl aside and lectured sternly about the risk of infection. The doctor’s demeanor eased a great deal when the earl described the initial attention given the patient.

“Well done.” The doctor nodded. “Fairly will be proud of you, but your patient isn’t out of the woods yet. She needs peace and quiet, and not just for the wound. Violent injury takes a toll on the spirit, and even the bravest among us take time to recover.”

“And if she’s breeding?” the earl asked quietly.

“Hard to say.” The physician blew out a slow breath. “She’s young and quite sturdy, generally. Not very far along and strikes me as the sensible sort. If I had to lay odds, I’d say the child is unaffected, but procreation is in hands far greater than ours, my lord. All you can do is wait and pray.”

“My thanks.” Westhaven ushered the doctor to the front door. “And my thanks, as well, for your efforts with my father. I know he hasn’t been an easy patient.”

“The old lords seldom are.” The doctor smiled. “Too used to having their way and too concerned with their dignity.”

“I’ll try to remember that”—the earl returned the smile—“should I ever be an old lord.”

When the doctor was on his way, Stull and Helmsley had been taken into custody, and the household settling down, the earl was surprised to see evening was approaching. He made his way to A

“I’ll sit with her, Na

“Don’t mind if I do.” Na

Westhaven frowned at his patient where she reclined on her pillows. “I hate that you’re hurt.”

“I’m none too pleased about what happened either,” A

“Your brother attempted to abduct you,” the earl said, taking the seat Na

“You mean my brother shot me?”

“He did. I ca

“How is he faring?” A

“He’s gut shot, A

“He’s wounded and in jail?” A

“He’s enjoying the hospitality of the Crown at a very pleasant little house St. Just owns, with professional nursing care in addition to armed guards. He is a peer, A

It was more than Helmsley deserved.

“A

She met his gaze and frowned, but he wasn’t finished. “Let me put matters to rights for you. I will take care of your brother and see to final arrangements if any need be made. If you like, I will notify your grandmother and have her escorted south. We can do this in the ducal traveling coach, in easy stages, I promise.”

“Do it, please,” A

“A

She wiggled her left arm out from between them and circled his neck, pulling him close, and then turned her face into his warmth and wept. Unable to move much beyond that, her tears streamed from her eyes into her hair and onto the earl’s cheek. He held her and stroked her wet cheeks with his thumb, letting her cry until his own chest began to ache for her.

Westhaven levered up enough to meet her gaze. “You must allow me to manage what I can for you now. All I want is to see you healed, the sooner the better.”

“For now, have you a handkerchief, perhaps?”

“I do.” He produced the requisite handkerchief and wiped at her cheeks himself before tucking it into her left hand. “And I am willing to read you Caesar, beat you at cribbage, discuss interior decoration with you, or speed your recovery by any means you please.”

“I am to be served my own medicine,” A

“Or perhaps you’d like to be served something to eat? Maybe just some toast with a little butter or jam, or some soup?”

“Toast and butter, and some cold tea.”

“It will be my pleasure.” The earl rose and left her. And A