Page 106 of Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies

“You mean blood transfusions? What does—”

“Amalie’s going to bleed to death if we don’t do something, now. And I will not let that happen. You will not let that happen.”

“Christ almighty,” the younger man breathed as he stopped abruptly at the bedroom door, clearly seeing the full extent of what Valeran could not. Valeran clamped his hand on the younger man’s arm.

“You will not let her bleed to death, Wills. Do you understand me?” At Valeran’s harsh words, Wills jerked free and turned his head to look back the way they’d come.

“Jamie, bring my bag. The one with all the India rubber tubing I bought for my experiments. And have someone bring ice. Lots of it. Now.”

Wheeling back around, Wills hurried to Amalie’s side. Valeran watched the young man feel for her pulse, and the sound the man made caused Valeran’s heart to stop then resume to pound furiously against his chest. Moving to the opposite side of the bed, Valeran went down on his knees and took Amalie’s hand in his. It seemed even icer than before.

“Wills. Her hands are like ice.”

“I ken, Val. I’ve nae done this before, but I’m going tae do everything I can tae save her. I need tae test someone’s blood.”

“Test mine,” he said fiercely.

Wills nodded then pulled something from his bag before turning back to Valeran. Without asking, the doctor grabbed his hand. A second later, Valeran felt a sharp prick on his forefinger, then Wills squeezed his finger slightly and pressed it against something cool. When the younger man released his hand, Valeran lowered his head to press a kiss against his wife’s cold forehead.

“Amalie, can you hear me? Stay with me. Your cat can’t live without you.” His hand gently squeezed her icy one. “I love you, mouse. Stay. I’ll do as you ask, sweetheart. I won’t go back, mouse. Just stay with me.”

She didn’t stir, but Valeran thought her fingers moved slightly against his. In the background, he was vaguely aware of Wills asking for a small amount of his wife’s blood. Feet pounded in the hallway outside, and a moment later one of the women in the room handed Wills a leather satchel.

“Mother, leave. Ye are nae good to us in here if ye faint.” The young doctor pointed toward the door, and Valeran saw one of the women in the room stumble out of the bedroom. “Aunt Constance, Aunt Helen. Someone’s bringing ice. When it arrives, ye need to wrap chunks of it in cloths, then apply them to Amalie’s inner thighs, her stomach, and pack it up inside her if possible.”

“Ice?” the Countess of Lyndham exclaimed in disbelief. “But Wills—”

“We need tae stem the bleeding, Aunt Constance, and ice has worked on injuries I’ve dealt with in the past, and I’m willing tae try anything at this point. Even things I have nae ever done,” Wills muttered the last statement as if speaking to himself. Abruptly turning toward his satchel, he retrieved a bottle that he handed to one of the women. “Add witch hazel tae the cloths after ye have wrapped the ice. It will hopefully help tae stop the bleeding as well.”

Wills turned back to the nightstand, and a small sound of triumph escaped him as he turned toward the door.

“Jamie, Theo, I need a cot in here, now.” Wills’s snapped his command as if he were giving orders on the battlefield. More footsteps pounded out in the hallway, while Amalie’s cousin bent over her. Wills mumbled something unintelligible before Valeran saw the young doctor look in his direction. “Your blood is a good match, Val. I’m just nae sure it will be enough. She’s lost a great deal of blood.”

“Then test someone else who can give her blood after me.”

“I’m nae sure—”

“You can do this, Wills. You saved me, you can save Amalie. I can’t lose her.”

His low words made Wills jerk his head toward the women near the bed clearly worried someone would question what Valeran meant. Ice had been brought up, and the two women were busy wrapping cloths around the pieces of ice. Wills turned back to Valeran, then bobbed his head sharply.

From the doorway, Valeran heard his best friend uttered an oath of horror at the sight of the bedsheets. Wills snapped at him to set up the cot next to the bed. Despite his reluctance to let go of Amalie’s hand, Valeran moved out of the way. Wills rattled off more instructions, as he prepared the tubing and needles for the transfer.

In minutes, Valeran was laying down on the cot with his arm stretched out until his fingers were touching Amalie’s hand. Although he couldn’t see what Wills was doing, he grimaced as the young doctor quickly connected the tubing between them. As his blood started flowing into Amalie, Valeran turned his head to watch his wife’s still form in the bed beside him.

Satisfied the transfusion was working properly, Wills checked Amalie’s pulse while issuing harsh instructions to his aunts. Several moments later, he began testing other members of the family for compatibility with Amalie’s blood. While Greer’s blood wasn’t a good match, Braxton’s was. When Wills unhooked Valeran more than two hours later, Braxton took his place.

Refusing to leave, Valeran insisted on sitting beside his wife. Wills had protested, but Valeran had simply dragged a nearby chair over to the bed and wearily sank down. Taking Amalie’s hand in his, Valeran used the other to stroke her brow, whispering words of encouragement to her.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been since Braxton had started sharing his blood with his sister, that Valeran began to notice his wife’s skin wasn’t as cold as it had been. Even to his blind gaze, Amalie’s shadow wasn’t the deathly white shade it had been more than three or four hours ago. Wills appeared at his side, and forced Valeran to release Amalie’s hand so he could take her pulse. When he’d finished, the younger man squeezed his shoulder.

“The bleeding has stopped, Val, and the transfusion is going better than I’d hoped, considering I have nae attempted one before. We’ll ken more by morning.”

“Thank you, Wills,” he choked out as he stared up at the dark, ghostly figure hovering over him. “If you hadn’t…”

“I should have anticipated the worst. I should nae have left. But I was…I dinnae…” The young doctor’s voice choked to a halt, and the hand still on Valeran’s shoulder trembled.

“All that matters it that you saved her, Wills. She wouldn’t be alive if not for you.”