Page 56 of House of Crimson Kisses
There, under a sheet of white fabric, lies a motionless body. I rush to her side. Her brown locks are flat and lank, so unlike the shiny, tousled waves I love.
I scan down her body, rest my eyes on her chest.
And that is when the tears begin.
Her chest rises and falls. Slow and steady and deep. But it does move.
She’s alive.
“Here, miss,” the healer says and hands me a rag.
“Her name… it’s Eleanor Randall.”
“Thank you, now we can contact her family, I’ll bet they’re proper concerned that she’s missing.”
I’m so caught up in finally finding Eleanor that her words don’t hit me until she’s already by the door.
“Wait. Please.”
The healer stops and grabs the basket she popped on the table outside. “Don’t worry miss, I need to apply her herbs and pastes, I’m here for a bit.”
She brings the basket back in and pulls two stools to the side of her bed. “Do you want to help me?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
“It’s Trudy, miss.”
“Well, Trudy, are you sure I won’t hurt her?”
“No, miss. She’s in a deep sleep, you see.”
I swallow hard. “What kind of deep sleep? Will she wake up?”
The healer’s eyes fall away from mine. “We’re not sure. We managed to fix up her skin. It was mangled, she had several broken bones. But flesh and bone, that’s easy to fix. It’s the insides that take work. And she’s been on her own. We didn’t know who to contact to support her…”
“I’m here now. I’m her support. I’m not going anywhere until she’s better.”
I slide my hand into hers, gripping it both tight and gently, fearful of letting go, fearful of hurting her.
“We need to contact her family though, so if you got any information, I’d appreciate it…”
I glance away. Of course, I know her family. Every nobleman and woman in this region of the world knows the Randalls, but do I want to tell her that? Do I want them here?
No.
Gods forbid they found me with Eleanor and blamed me for what happened. I need her awake before I can give the healers that information. She has to come back to me first before her family take her from me all over again.
“I’ll endeavour to remember,” I say.
She purses her lips at me. “It’s okay if you’re lovers… I don’t mind. But it’s best and proper that we tell her family… Perhaps tomorrow, hmm?”
I say nothing else. My heart breaks into ever smaller pieces.
The healer hands me a green paste, “Here, pop this on her chest, in the middle, a little to the left. And another on the right, above her breast there, and the same on the other breast.”
My cheeks instantly heat as she asks me to smother this stodgy green paste that smells a little like mint and a little like lavender all over her chest.
“What is it?”
