Yuri didn’t recognize the voice, but he couldn’t say whether his brothers did. All he knew was that both Alexei and Mikhail strode down the hallway as if flames were still licking at their shoes.
Yuri scooted his chair back and followed them, right along with everyone else.
Another round of pounding sounded. “Hello? Is anyone awake?”
“Can I help you?” Alexei opened the door to reveal a vaguely familiar man standing on the porch wringing his hands.
“I heard the woman doctor is in town. Is she here?”
“I am.” Kate stepped forward. “Where are you injured?”
The man shook his head. “It’s not me. It’s Miss Rosalind. She’s in the carriage.”
Miss Rosalind?Everything inside Yuri turned hot.
The man was pointing to the carriage, but Yuri lunged forward and grabbed him by his collar. “What did he do? What did her father do to her?”
The man, whom he now recognized as the Caldwell’s butler, just shook his head. “I don’t know all of it, but it’s not good. She needs a doctor.”
“Then stop standing there and bring her to the kitchen. I’ll get my medical bag.” Kate was already dashing up the stairs, her steps fast despite her protruding belly.
Yuri released Foster, who turned back toward the carriage, but Yuri was faster and raced ahead of the older man.
He reached the carriage door first and wrenched it open, then flinched. Rosalind was curled into a heap on the bench seat, eyes closed. Her face was pale though otherwise untouched, but her breathing was choppy and uneven.
His heartbeat doubled. He didn’t have to be a doctor to know something was very, very wrong.
“Rosalind?” he asked gently.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Yuri.” She licked her lips. “It hurts. Make it stop hurting.”
“What hurts, sweetheart?”
“My ribs... I can’t...” A breath shuddered from her lungs, followed by a squeal of pain.
“I’m going to carry you inside. Kate and Nathan are waiting.”
Rosalind whimpered and pressed her eyes shut, then gave a subtle nod.
He tried to be as careful as possible picking her up, but the moment he slid an arm behind her back, she gave a sharp cry.
“I’m so sorry, but I have to get you to the kitchen.” His voice broke on the words.
“Do you need me to help?” Sacha asked from behind him.
Yuri shook his head. “Handing her to you will only cause more pain.”
“How do you know?”
Maybe it was because of the tight way she was curled against his chest, or the short, panicked gasps coming from her lungs. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he wasn’t going to hand her off to another person, not even Sacha.
“What did that monster do to her?” Alexei came up beside Sacha, his dark eyes sweeping over Rosalind.
Yuri just shook his head. That was yet another thing he didn’t know. In fact, he wasn’t even sure that he cared. All hecared about was getting Rosalind to breathe normally. Was that something Nathan and Kate could fix?
He carried her toward the house, but she made tiny whimpering sounds with each step, and when she tried to suck in a deeper breath, a strangled wheeze escaped.
“Just a minute, love. We’re almost there.”
