Page 29 of Too Wylde To Tame
“I’m not leaving,” Charity stated. “I will not leave him now. Not when he is only in this condition because of our betrothal.”
“Did you shoot him then?” The doctor asked sarcastically. “I think not. If you wish to stay it is on your head. If you faint, you’ll just have to stay on the floor until I have finished with him.”
Charity said nothing more. Nor did she faint. But she was ashen faced and trembling by the time the overly brusque doctor had probed Frederick’s wound with wicked looking instruments and finally, at long last, removed the projectile. Then he was cleaning and stitching Frederick’s wound. The needle sliding through flesh, tugging with each pass, was a sight that Charity would not soon recover from.
* * *
Reality returnedfor Frederick ins stages. First he became aware of voices. Then he became aware of the awful tugging of his torn flesh as the doctor stitched his wounds. But the thing that he focused on, the thing that allowed him to force his way back to wakefulness was the gentle touch of a soft feminine hand stroking his.
Forcing his eyes to open, he looked up to see Charity seated beside him. Her face was terribly pale and the look of horror he saw there told him precisely what was wrong.
“For heaven’s sake, look away,” he murmured. “Do not torture yourself by watching.”
And suddenly, a pin drop would have sounded like cannonfire in the small room. Everyone went still and quiet, all of them looking at him in complete surprise.
“This is a promising sign,” the physician proclaimed to those assembled. “Wakeful and speaking sensibly despite having left most of his blood outside his body.”
“You can relay the prognosis to me, sir. As you pointed out yourself, I am not senseless at this time,” Frederick snapped at the man.
“No,” the physician mused, tugging the needle and silk thread through his flesh one last time. “You are not. But you are surly enough to reassure me that you will live. And that this young woman shall see what sort of patient you are before she marries you—well, let us hope she still wishes to do so!”
With that bold statement, the doctor rose and walked over to the washstand where he began cleaning the blood from his hands. That there was so much of it made Frederick realize just how lucky he was. He could well have died between being shot and returning to Randford House. It was quite the miracle that he had not.
“I dislike being sick or injured also,” Charity said softly. “I’m a terrible patient. I whine. I cry. I demand. I also pout… terribly, per Felicity’s assessment.”
“Men do not pout,” he replied.
“Do they not?”
“Not overmuch,” he corrected. “Charity, I will be fine. I assure you of that. I have entirely too much to look forward to—our life together—to allow something as insignificant as being shot to interfere.”
“Hardly insignificant,” the doctor snapped. “You could well have died. Had you lost consciousness earlier and fallen from your horse, you would have lain in the field and bled to death before anyone every discovered you!”
Charity made a sound of distress. Frederick immediately squeezed her hand.“But I did not die, Charity, and I will not. Not for a very long time. A day or so of rest, and I shall be right as rain. At this time, my greatest concern is that this has prevented me from getting to Rochester to obtain the license.”
“I will take care of that,” Phinneas said. “The Bishop has long been a friend of the family. I will explain the circumstances to him and we shall have the license by the morning. Though, we may have to delay your wedding more than a single day.”
Frederick’s jaw firmed. “No more than a day. By the end of this week, Charity will be my wife.”
Phinneas, apparently recognizing just how determined he was, nodded. “We will do what we must to make it so.”
While he could offer assurance that he would be well and recover from his injury, there were other things that needed to be addressed—things that all of them needed to be aware of. “In the meantime, you should not leave the house. Do not venture out. If Jameson truly means to prohibit our marriage to ensure his position as heir apparent, I am not the only one in danger from him.”
“I’ll set men to watching the grounds,” Phinneas said. “And he will not get near her… nor anyone else in this house again. The question, Welbey, is how you want him dealt with. The scandal could be quite damaging if it comes out that he’s trying to murder you and possibly your betrothed.”
Frederick looked at Charity and thought of what it would do to her if the truth came out. They could well become objects of curiosity and invited everywhere or they could possibly become pariahs. The haute ton were a capricious lot. She had suffered enough at the hands of society matrons and social climbers who were only too eager to pick apart others to increase their own cachet. “Privately, Randford. It should be dealt with privately.”
The other man nodded. “Very well. Now, I must go and deal with Magistrate Dawes. It shouldn’t be too hard to convince him that it was naught but poachers. Regardless, you may rest assured, Lord Jameson will harm no one else under this roof.”
Frederick felt a strange sense of foreboding at those words. “We should not make promises when it comes to the behavior of others. We can only pray that you are correct… I need a weapon. A pistol, I think, on the off chance he should gain entry to the house.”
“I’ll see that you have a brace of pistols, primed and ready.” With that Randford turned to exit the room, Felicity following behind him. Only moments later, the doctor left as well.
They were alone then, just the two of them in that room, with the weight of all that had occurred hanging between them. Charity scooted her chair closer and laid her head down on his uninjured shoulder. “I’ve never been so frightened.”
Neither had he, but admitting that to her would hardly be helpful. “I was foolish to take his having left for London at face value. Deception is second nature to Jameson. I underestimated him, but I will not do so again. And we will, by week’s end, be married.”
He felt her smile. “Whatever it takes.”
