His focus shifted.
“Ellie?” he said, his voice cracking. “Ellie, I’m here, my love. I’m here. Everything will be well, I promise. I’m here.”
Dustin had to move aside, because he was going to his wife’s bedside whether or not his mother was in the way. As Dustin moved away, helped by Myles, Curtis collapsed beside the bed, his big arm across Elle’s chest to keep her from moving.
“I was in the water,” Elle said, clutching at him with the only arm that was pain-free to move. “Someone pushed me into the water. They tried to drown me!”
Curtis laid his head on her shoulder, that horrible knife in his line of sight. “I know, my sweetest love,” he said softly. “But you are safe now.”
Elle wasn’t convinced. She was also still dazed. As she started to weep purely out of fright, Curtis looked at his father in agony.
“We must remove the dagger,” he hissed. “Help me, Papa.”
Christopher put his hand on his son’s blond head. “We need something to stop the blood before we can,” he said. “Dustin, you must get your sewing kit. We must get this out.”
Dustin was already on the move, sending Myles running for her kit. There was wine in the chamber, something to use for cleansing the wound, so she went around collecting what they needed in order to remove the dagger and plug the hole. As she looked for something to use as a rag, because she wasn’t sure they could wait much longer, Caius came up beside her.
“You cannot be sure that dagger did not puncture a lung,” he whispered. “If it has and you remove it, the lady will not be able to breathe.”
Dustin nodded. “I know,” she murmured. “We must be able to make a hole in her chest to make breathing easier, which will not be a simple or a painless thing.”
Caius lifted a dark eyebrow. “There is also something else to consider,” he said. “There is very little blood coming from the wound. Either it missed everything vital, which would be the best of all things, or it is holding back the flow.”
Dustin knew the implications. If they were unable to stem the tide, Elle could bleed to death in minutes. But they both knew that they simply couldn’t leave the dagger there. One way or the other, it had to come out.
Dustin sighed heavily.
“God help us,” she muttered. “We need a physic!”
There was desperation in her tone, and Caius patted her on the shoulder. “I will see to the rags,” he told her. “Go and keep Curt calm. He needs you.”
Dustin nodded, squeezing his arm gratefully before returning to the bedside. As Caius headed out to see what was keeping Hugo and the things Christopher had demanded, Curtis remained with his wife, his head on her shoulder, his enormous arm across her chest to hold her still.
He’d never felt so helpless in his life.
“Everything will be well, I promise,” he said softly, trying to distract her because he could hear people scrambling behind him, preparing to remove the dagger. “When you are feeling better, and before our son is born, mayhap we can journey to some place lovely and warm. I’ve heard that there are beaches of white sand to the south, though I’ve never been. I think my father has. I hear they are very nice. Would you like to go to a warm beach of white sand?”
Elle was still weeping softly, but her eyes opened as he spoke. “A beach?” she said. “What beach?”
“To the south,” Curtis said, lifting his head to look at her. “I have always wanted to go. My father says they are beautiful. Aren’t they, Papa?”
Christopher, sitting on Elle’s other side, had been listening to the conversation. When Curtis looked at him, he smiled weakly. “They are, indeed,” he said, watching Elle focus on him. “When I was young, I went with Richard to the Levant. I spent years there, fighting on sand the color of clouds. And you’ve neverseen water as blue as the water there. It was so clear that you could see all the way to the bottom of the sea.”
Elle sniffled. “It… it must have been beautiful.”
“Verily,” Christopher said, noticing that Caius had returned with not only de Royans on his heel, but also with Christin in tow. Servants were filing in after them, bearing the things he had asked for, but his focus remained on Elle in an effort to keep her calm. “It can be very hot there, so unless you are prepared to melt, you may want to think about staying in England, where the weather is much more agreeable. There are some lovely beaches to the south, at Brighton for one. Or mayhap Curt will take you to our townhome in London and you can lounge on the banks of the Thames.”
“I did not know you had a home in London.”
Curtis nodded. “Lonsdale,” he said, seeing that Myles had also returned with Dustin’s sewing kit. The time had come to remove the blade. “My lady, we must remove the dagger in your chest. There will be some pain, but I promise we will remove it as quickly as we can. You must be brave just a little while longer.”
Elle seemed to be calmer than she had been when she first awoke. “I can see something sticking out of me,” she said. “I have been afraid to look.”
“It is a dagger,” Christopher said.
“That is what is causing me such pain?”
“Aye.”
