Page 28 of Until My Last Breath

It worked. Darcy looked back at her, shutting his eyes, reluctantly nodding his acceptance.

She sighed in relief. “This is Dr Hayford, and he will look after you. But Mr Brown and I will be here with usall the time,” she concluded, trying again to say with her eyes more than was possible with words. He nodded, this time looking at her.

“Good, good. Now, Mr Smith, do you remember how you were hurt?”

“Not much, I am afraid. I… was standing in the grove when I heard the noise from behind me. Last thing I remember was Elizabeth holding me inside the carriage, explaining what had happened while we were heading back here.”

“Ned, the idiot,” Brown intervened for the first and only time, “did not see Smith behind the bushes and accidentally shot him.”

“Indeed?” Dr Hayford asked raising one eyebrow, turning to Darcy. “So, I am guessing this big lump on the back of your head is the result of your fall. Ah! And more blood. No wonder you are so dizzy. Well, anyway, now that I am sure you are well enough, I suggest you take some more laudanum. It will be for your benefit, but also for mine. Sewing a screaming person is not a pleasant activity; it reminds me of the war…” He turned to Elizabeth. “Would you still have some left?”

Elizabeth went to fetch the bag Brown had thrown on the floor earlier. She sighed, giving Brown a quick glance. “The bottle fell on the floor and the cork loosened. I am afraid it is practically empty now.”

Dr Hayford took the bottle, giving it a good look. “Well, it will have to do. It is not enough to make Mr Smith free from pain, but we do not have any other option. Unfortunately, in my hurry, I did not put any laudanum in my bag. Unless you have some brandy or whisky, Mr Brown? We could try a bit of that as well,” he said, pouring some water into the bottle, shaking it, and handing it to Darcy.

“Unfortunately not, Doctor,” Brown lied. The last thing he would do was waste his whisky on that dandy.

“Well, never mind. Mrs Smith,” the doctor said, turning to her, “if you could help your husband to sit and stay still, I will start cleaning the wound as soon the laudanum has taken effect. We can put some pillows here. If you sit on those pillows beside your husband, we can put his goodarm around your back, and you can hold his head and the other arm. There. Now I can see both sides of the wound. You see? The bullet entered here,” he said pointing at Darcy’s back, “and left through here. Well, it is a blessing I do not need to remove it. Nasty thing, it is. Fortunately, Mr Smith’s condition, although precarious and delicate, is not life threatening,” he said, turning to organise his things.

“I am so sorry for this…” Darcy whispered, looking down to his bare chest where Elizabeth had her arms.

“It means you must marry me now,” she said, shyly smiling at him.

“There. Let us start. Unfortunately, you will need to wait for a while before wielding a sword again, young man. For now, I suggest you firmly hold onto your wife. This will not be pleasant. Bite this,” he said, giving Darcy his handkerchief. “It will help you afterwards. Now, Mrs Smith… you do not look very comfortable. Perhaps Mr Brown could help you—”

“No,” Elizabeth interrupted. “I mean, I can hold my husband, Doctor. Do not worry about me.”

“Very well then. Mr Brown, you can hold Mr Smith’s legs. It seems the laudanum is already working.”

Darcy bit the handkerchief as his mind became foggy. His head was resting against Elizabeth’s chest, her discreet scent of lavender and rose filled his nostrils, while she held him in her arms, her fast breathing caressing his skin. If his head could go a little further down, his face would be exactly over her breas—

Darcy gasped. His inappropriate thoughts were cut short by a sharp pain.

“Easy there, Mr Smith! Mrs Smith, please keep his head down. You are a very lucky man,” Dr Hayford continued. “Your wife took good care of you. She did an excellent job staunching the bleeding. I say, what a task. The shot was very close to an important vein between your neck and shoulder. Had the wound been a bit lower, we would not be talking right now.”

After a few minutes the doctor looked up at Brown. “Mr Brown, would you mind holding this for me? Thank you,” he said, fetching somenew instruments from his bag. Elizabeth glanced at Brown, just to see his narrowed eyes on her; eyes of malice and evil. Brown was enjoying all he was seeing.

The doctor looked down at Elizabeth. “How are you doing, Mrs Smith? Although your husband is not completely awake, he is feeling a lot of pain, so I need you to keep holding his arms. I have finished cleaning, and now I will start stitching the wound.”

During the procedure, Dr Hayford kept talking and asking questions, and Elizabeth was glad for it. It distracted her from what was happening. The distress of holding Mr Darcy in that way, hearing each one of his moans as the needle pierced his flesh, pressing his sweaty body against her, was almost unbearable. Elizabeth was sure she would die if the doctor did not end it soon.

“I am almost finished… some more bandages here… Can you lift his arm a little? Yes. Done.”

After the job was concluded, the doctor asked them to carefully put Darcy back, rearranging the pillows below his head to keep it higher, drying the sweat from his face, and covering him with the blanket.

“I must warn you, my dear. This kind of injury can cause him to develop a fever.” He stopped and checked his pocket watch. “Um… five o’clock. I can come back at nine this evening to check on him again.”

Giving Elizabeth all the extra information she needed to care for her husband and his possible fever, Dr Hayford left after collecting his things.

Before quitting the room, Brown turned to her. “Well done, miss. Even I could believe you were his wife. But your blushes were the best part. An innocent damsel… you’ll be perfect.” He laughed and approached her, his fowl breath turning her stomach. “I wonder how it feels to be hugged in that way by a soft body like yours. I almost wanted to be shot for it,” he said looking at her curves from head to toe. He sneered and left the room, locking the door after him.

Elizabeth shivered, and for the first time was concerned about what those ruffians might do to her.

Chapter 6

11th April 1816

The day continues…

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