Page 15 of Lord Trafford's Folly
Retrieving the cage which housed a sopping Flapper, Audrey took the opportunity to look about. She saw no evidence of anyone observing them. Truth be told, it was difficult to see anything in the dark street, shrouded by a thunderous waterfall. Rain this heavy was rare, she mused. A portent, perhaps? It had been a blessing. Without the rain, Audrey would have already left before the attack on Lord Trafford. He could have been killed if she had not been home!
Julius wassurprised how much the slash ached. Miss Gideon had told him earlier it was a shallow wound, but it hurt like hell. Perhaps he needed to eat?
Patrick helped him enter the kitchen, surprisingly spry for a man of his age. There was a steely strength to the aged servant, belying his short height.
“Have him lie down on the table,” commanded Miss Gideon from behind him. Rose came running forward, her broad face wreathed with alarm while Miss Gideon placed her things, including the inexplicable birdcage, on a nearby bench before discarding her cape.
“Master Julius? What has happened?”
Rose’s voice quavered in alarm, and Julius felt a pang of guilt at involving the pair in his troubles. No one would be aware he was here, he assured himself. They would be safe.
He hoped it was true, but he would address it once he had received the treatment he needed. “I was attacked on the street outside. It is imperative no one knows I am here.”
Julius clutched his side, heading to the table with Patrick’s assistance. Rose cleared some bowls that were laid out while Julius struggled out of his overcoat. When it was off, he threw it to a bench, then pulled off his boots with Patrick’s assistance. Sitting on the table edge, Julius swung his legs up to stretch out on the long worktable where the staff prepared meals.
Rose handed him the towel she had over her arm, and Julius leaned up to rub his hair dry before dropping it on the table next to him. He had lost his favorite beaver out on the road, but it was sure to be ruined by the rain and mud out there. Julius would just have to buy another like it.
“I need hot water to wash the wound.” Miss Gideon’s voice was confident, and Julius admitted he was relieved to have her here. Little Audrey had followed her physician fathereverywhere and assisted him in treating patients. It was a godsend to have her at his side.
Rose gave a vigorous nod, her gray hair loosening under her mobcap, before running to hang a large iron kettle in the hearth.
Miss Gideon was adept in an emergency, he mused, as he shut his eyes in sweet relief. “Rose, do you have something I might eat? I am ravenous.”
He was hoping it would help dull the pain if he had some sustenance in his body. His stomach was hollow after being up and about for such an extended time with nothing to fuel him.
Julius could sense Miss Gideon stepping up close beside him. A slight easing of pressure on his injury indicated that she had released his makeshift bandage. She pulled his velvet coat aside before unbuttoning his waistcoat.
“If Lord Trafford has an appetite, we should feed him to keep his strength up.”
The sound of metal pots clanging was a blessed relief, and he salivated in anticipation of a meal. His physician’s cool fingers tugged at his bloodied linen shirt, yanking it from his buckskins to lift it away from the injury she wished to examine.
“Perhaps …” He opened his eyes to gaze up at her. Silver-gray eyes swept over in question. “Perhaps under the circumstances, it will be easier to address me as Julius … Audrey?”
There was a glimmer of a smile on her full lips before she returned her attentions to the knife wound. “Very well … Julius.”
Despite his circumstances, Julius could not help but enjoy the sensation of a beautiful woman touching him as he allowed his eyes to drift shut.
Audrey pulled the bench closer to the table with a loud scraping. Rifling through her valise, she clinked some items on the table beside him before leaving his side. He could hear her washing her hands before returning to sit down. She picked upthe damp towel he had dried his hair with and bundled it against his side, presumably to prevent him from bleeding on the table.
Rose deposited a bowl on the table next to Audrey.
Audrey poured something into the bowl, and Julius peered down to see what she was about.
Turning to gaze at him, she nibbled on her lower lip. “This … is going to sting.”
“What is it?”
“Warm water mixed with vinegar.”
Julius squinted in confusion. “Why?”
“My father had me study ancient texts on how Romans treated battle wounds. They were highly effective—far better than many of the techniques physicians practice today.”
Julius grimaced, giving a slight nod in assent. Of course she could read Latin. Audrey was an unusual female.
“Once we are done, you will eat.”
Audrey swabbed the gash with the tepid vinegar mixture, and Julius clenched his teeth to hold back a scream. It hurt like bloody hell, and he turned his head away from her to hide his embarrassing facial contortions as he battled to refrain from shrieking out loud.
