Graham held out his hand to Amelia. She took it and he pulled her up, tucking her against his side as they returned to the corridor outside Alston’s room. The door was open, and footmen were carrying bloody sheets away. Amelia covered her eyes.
Graham paused at the door. “Do you want to stay out here?”
She peeked through her fingers. “Is it gruesome?”
“You may come in. He’s cleaned and covered,” Dr. Bradley said. “He’s alive still. That’s the best we could hope for.”
They entered, and Dr. Sloan was washing blood from his hands in a bowl of water.
“Your brother lives for now. A truly astounding outcome. The bleeding occurred from an organ called the spleen, but it was a small rupture, which may be the reason he survived this long. I found a great deal of old clotted blood and removed it. I also repaired the small laceration and the bleeding is now minimal. His organs, while pale, are clinging to life. His body will still need to do its part, and time will tell us if we have succeeded in thwarting death. There is always a risk of infection. In fact, I guarantee it. We will watch him carefully for fever and checkthe incision frequently. When infection comes, it will need to be treated quickly and completely if he has any hope of living.”
“I will make visits twice a day, my lady.” Dr. Bradely assured her. “Your brother continues to defy the odds, and I will be here to help him do it. He is a miracle.”
Amelia nodded. “I told you. We are both more stubborn than Death.”
While cleaning his glasses, Dr. Sloan approached. He was even younger than Graham had thought, though he hadn’t taken the time to study him earlier. The doctor’s gaze paused on Amelia in a way that made Graham’s hackles rise, but he suppressed his annoyance. He could hardly call the man out when he’d possibly saved Alston’s life.
“I would like to monitor his progress and take notes. If it is amenable to you, I’d like to remain here as guest and physician. Your brother’s surgery is an opportunity to progress medicine. There is much to observe and document.”
Amelia looked to Graham.
“You are the lady of the house. It is your decision,” he said.
She swallowed and turned toward Alston. She dropped Graham’s hand and went to her brother’s side. Graham joined her. Alston’s hands looked like white wax, so pale and void of color. His face wasn’t much better. His lips were a maroonish-blue. But his chest moved, not restful and deep, but light and slow, as if at any moment it might stop. Graham’s own hands were cold and numb. Even with the fire well fed and the room warm, there was a chill that hovered around Alston.
“He can stay,” Amelia whispered. “Sam would want to help others. If he knew that studying him could help save someone else in any way, he would.”
Graham turned back to the doctor and nodded. “Have Mrs. Keen ready a room for Dr. Sloan,” he said to the footman standing by.
“Thank you,” Dr. Sloan said.
“What do we do now, Graham?” Amelia asked.
“We wait, and we hope. We never stop hoping. Alston is young and strong.” Those things were all true, but Graham felt a pang of guilt as if he were lying to her, only protecting her from the crushing sorrow that pressed on him. His hope was false. He feared the time they had now was only time to say goodbye.
“Can we have a moment alone?” Graham asked. The remaining people left the room.
Graham pulled two chairs close to the right side of Alston’s bed and they sat.
“Do you think there is some part of him that can hear us?”
“I don’t know. But I have something to say all the same.”
She looked at him sadly. “You’re saying goodbye.”
“I’m going to take this chance just in case it is the only chance there is.”
She bit her bottom lip and faced her brother again. “Go on.”
Graham took Alston’s hand.
“Alston, I’m going to marry Amelia. Not because you asked me to or out of some expectation of duty or obligation. I’m going to marry her because I love her. In the days that you’ve been here resting, I saw what I didn’t want to see before. I found answers to questions I’d been afraid to ask for years. Amelia stole my heart, but I didn’t know if I could trust her. I didn’t know if she would ever return my affections.” He caught Amelia’s teary gaze. “But I fell in love with her anyway, and she agreed to marry me.”
Amelia smiled. “It’s my turn now. Sam, Graham left quite a bit of information out, but here is the truth: when I stopped trying to see the worst in him, I realized he was everything I’d been waiting for. I fell in love with him, and I’m going to marry him. I don’t think I deserve him, but I’m going to try. I’ve never wanted anything more than to be worthy of his love.” She reached for his hand.
Graham cleared his throat. “If I never speak to you again, I want you to know how much I have loved you like a brother. Until I met you, I didn’t realize how bored I’d become. I did everything right—studied hard, worked hard, did what was expected of me in every way—but I’d wasted my chance to be young. I became complacent in a way that was making me miserable. But then you came into my life, and it felt like I’d always known you. We’re ten years apart in age, but you made me feel like I had that time back. Time to laugh, to be frivolous, and to live in the moment. You showed me what it means to have a true friend and to go out and experience the world. You taught me that life waits for no one. People must reach out and claim the things they want. Many say that I am the strong one between us, but in truth, you are the strongest man I know. I’ve learned to be a better man because of you.”
Amelia wept as he spoke, and Graham held her hand. There was nothing left to do now but watch and wait.
