But Olivia could not wait.
Without knocking, she pushed the heavy door open and stepped determinedly inside. Crawford and two other men looked up at her curiously, but Olivia had eyes only for the motionless man upon the bed.
“How bad is it?” she asked Crawford without looking away. And then she swallowed hard. She’d never seen a person who was yet alive look so pale.
“He’s lost a great deal of blood.” Crawford hadn’t yet questioned why she’d entered without permission. But she wasn’t going anywhere. Jerking her chin up, she met his gaze fiercely.
“The bullet needs to be removed. I’m not sure we should wait for a doctor,” he added.
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.
She nodded. “You know how to do it? You’ve done it before?” The man had spent a decade captaining a navy ship at sea. She vaguely remembered Louella mentioning he’d doctored several of his men.
“I have.”
“Then we mustn’t wait.” Gabriel looked as though he was hanging on by a thread. He’d already had to endure the carriage ride back to Sky Manor for God knows how long. “What do we need to do?” She nearly choked on her own words as she reached out and took Gabriel’s hand in hers. It was cold. So very cold.
“Miss?” The older man in the room stepped forward as though he’d like to dismiss her.
“Miss Redfield may assist me,” Crawford ordered. “We’ll need hot water. Towels. The sharpest knife you can find as well as tongs or something similar. Boil the tools.”
At the man’s startled expression, Crawford asserted, “With all haste.”
The two servants rushed out of the room. Of course, they would. Crawford was a duke, after all, and one did not deign to question a duke when he gave an order.
“You are not squeamish, I hope?” Crawford cocked one eyebrow her way.
Olivia shook her head. She hadn’t been. But this was Gabriel. “I’ll be fine.”
Louella slipped inside. “I’ve brought whisky, in case he wakes. And laudanum.”
“What of Miss Shipley?” Olivia could not keep from asking after the woman Gabriel had planned to marry.
The woman hewas going tomarry.
“She’s returned to her chamber. She asked that we keep her informed.” Louella handed Olivia a long apron to cover her gown and then slipped her arms into a similar garment. Not without another one of those questioning stares.
“Will you see about locating some honey? We’ll use it to pack the wound after…” Crawford drew Louella’s attention away from Olivia. She nodded and disappeared as quickly as she’d arrived.
“If the physician arrives, he’ll want to use leeches.” Olivia had seen too many doctors practice the barbaric treatment to think any differently. “It doesn’t make sense. If he’s already lost so much blood…”
“He’ll bleed him over my dead body.” Crawford’s answer reassured her.
“Hopefully not mine.”
Both their gazes swung back to the patient.
Gabriel looked for all the world to be sleeping, his eyes closed, but then he said, “God, that hurts. Crawford, what did you do? Drag me in the road behind the horses?”
Olivia laughed and a sob escaped at the same time. Apparently hearing her, Gabriel peered over from beneath half-closed eyes. “Olivia.” He uttered her name. “My little one-eyed Luvy. My love. Oluvia.” A slow smile stretched his lips, endearing himself to her even more, if that was possible.
“You fool,” she whispered, leaning down. Crawford had turned his back and so she placed her lips upon his forehead. “You weren’t supposed to get hurt!”
“Lovia.” His words emerged on a whisper. “So thirsty.”
Lovia? My love?She withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket and dipped it into the water pitcher sitting on the side table. It didn’t mean anything. Just his usual flirtatious charm.
Even with a bullet in his side.
