“Freddy, gather clean linens and bandages. Perhaps a servant can fetch the physician.”
“He’ll likely do more harm than good,” Edward muttered at my elbow as we descended and followed the women.
Freddy gave a firm nod and slipped off toward the front door with the elder Miss Grenville bustling after her, fluttering with dramatic cries as if in need of attention herself.
Edward directed me to the kitchen, where the staff had already begun to gather in alarm. He excused himself to fetch brandy for the pain and vanished through a side door as Kitty rushed in, sewing basket clutched in her arms. At her order, the cook hurried to prepare hot water, and Kitty motioned me toward the kitchen fireplace.
Someone found a stool and I was pushed onto it, the action jarring my cheek and setting the wound to bleeding again. The kitchen swirled with the scents of smoke and baked bread. Kitty’s voice drifted from somewhere behind me, issuing brisk orders to the servants.
After several minutes, the scuffle of returning footsteps announced the others. Edward came first, a bottle of brandy in hand, Freddy close behind him with folded linens, and the elder Miss Grenville following in full lamentation. Kitty stood at the long counter with remarkable composure for someone so pale.
“Dear boy, dear boy! How dreadful,” the elder Miss Grenville cried as she hovered close, skirts lifted clear of the drops of blood staining the floor. “I’m certain it was nothing but a careless accident.”
“It was no accident,” Edward said in a low voice as he stood next to Kitty while she sorted through her sewing basket. “Not on Chudley’s part. Did you notice? Sebastian could’ve struck him at any point. Chudley’s a fool—he might’ve been left in far worse shape.”
I caught Kitty’s sharp inhale as she found what she needed within the basket. Edward, meanwhile, opened the bottle of liquor with a loud pop.
I bit my tongue and pretended I couldn’t hear their whispers.
I didn’t feel particularly merciful. They hadn’t heard what Chudley had said to me. I hoped no one would ask.
What will you do with her, Sinclair? Parade her as some exotic curiosity? Or tuck her away in Surrey where no one can whisper the word nabob?
I’d wanted to shred him limb from limb. It required all of my restraint not to do so. I didn’t need a charge of murder, and it was clear he wanted to provoke me in front of his guests. Surely if Kitty knew what Chudley was really like, she would not entertain his attentions.
Word at the clubs and fencing school had hinted at Chudley’s poor character—debts, wagers, boasts that crumbled under scrutiny. A liar and a cheat, others said. And a coward, too, judging from his fearful eyes when he’d crashed to the ground.
Freddy pressed linens into Edward’s hands. “He showed mercy, Edward.”
“Mercy?” Kitty echoed, then her gaze met mine for an instant. I looked away just as the elder Miss Grenville fluttered past, now pointing to the fresh drops of blood on the floor to be immediately cleaned. I swiveled on the stool and pressed harder on the linen against my face.
“Yes, yes,” Edward hissed, his tone heated. “He showed restraint.”
“That speaks volumes about his character,” Freddy whispered as Edward poured the liquor onto one of the linens. “A man of strength knows when to hold back.”
The two of them exchanged a look I could not read, and I couldn’t help but wonder what Kitty might be thinking. How pale she looked. Shaken. Yet she had raced over to my side when Chudley fell. Not to him. But tome.
Begged to go home. And my Christian name on her lips for all to hear. My chest warmed at the memory. Dare I hope I had somehow thawed through her icy reserve? Had I managed to get past every warning that she would never marry someone like me?
“Mercy is a useless attribute,” Edward said, voice hard. For a heartbeat he sounded exactly like the colonel.
Kitty frowned as she rummaged in her basket for additional supplies. The sight of her nimble fingers riffling through spools of thread stirreda strange mixture of admiration and frustration in me. Really, I wanted to speak with her alone and determine if she finally cared.
Freddy spoke again, her tone insistent. “But why? Why let Lord Chudley off the hook when he acted so recklessly?”
Edward answered her with biting sarcasm. “Perhaps because he mistakenly values honor over pride. I would not have been so merciful, believe me. Chudley would have at least lost a hand for attacking me with such dirty tricks.”
My chest heaved. If I showed any mercy, it was because I had been given it in full measure, as Mr. Carey often reminded me. I had been the worst of men. But that didn’t mean I would allow a lout like Chudley to get away with his behavior.
Did Kitty believe as I did? Or was she as jaded as her family?
I caught her watching me with wide eyes, doubt clouding her features. Did she think me a fool? Or did she suspect mercy was a costlier choice than revenge?
The cook brought boiling water. The elder Miss Grenville hovered, scolding and fussing, as Edward approached and unfastened my blasted cravat tied all too tight. Kitty placed a hand on his arm.
“I’ll do the stitches, Brother. I’ve had far more practice with needlepoint than you.”
Edward tugged away the cravat, baring my collarbone. Kitty’s gaze darted there before she quickly looked away, her cheeks faintly flushed.
