“We can’t stay here.” The cold note in her voice hurt him.
“Yes, you can and must. Your wound will start bleeding again if you move. You and David are more than welcome here. Naturally, discretion is advised. I’ll personally speak with my household about the necessity of keeping your presence here a secret. Roxbury must not know you are here. I expect a visit from him any time.”
She exhaled a shuddering breath, and the urge to hold her and promise her he would take care of everything was nearly overwhelming. “I doubt Jacob will be here soon. David pushed him.”
“What?” He stopped rolling the bandage.
“Jacob must have planned the whole thing. The house was empty. No servants. He must have dismissed them not to have witnesses. Jacob aimed at David. I stepped in front of him and got shot. Then David tackled him. Jacob fell backwards and hit his head on the floor. He was alive when we left him, but—” Her voice broke. “What if he’s dead? We left him alone in the house. What will happen to David?” Her chest rose and fell quickly as her breathing sped up, straining the stitches. Not good.
“Calm down.” He handed her a glass of water and helped her take a sip. The last thing the boy needed was to have killed his own father. That would be a trauma from which David would never recover. “First, I’ll make some inquiries to understand what happened to your husband. Then we’ll plan a strategy to keep David safe. Finn, Mr. Purnell, will help us. He’s an excellent detective, and you can file a complaint against your husband. Finn will take your statement while protecting your privacy.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. Tears hung on her eyelashes like tiny diamonds. “If Jacob is dead, I’ll take the blame. I’ll do anything to keep David safe.” Her breathing quickened again. “I’ll face the gallows if I have to.”
“Cora, stay calm. Nothing is certain yet. You must stay calm and rest to recover quickly.” He gave her a handkerchief.
She wiped away her tears but didn’t look less desperate.
When she was calm again, he didn’t have any more excuses to postpone bandaging the wound. He made a noise halfway between a cough and a groan. “I have to replace the bandages. It’ll hurt a little.”
She took a moment to answer. “I’m ready.”
“I need to lift you to a sitting position.” He waited for her to nod again before slipping an arm under her and pulling her up.
Her skin was soft and thankfully warm. When she sat upright, he released her. The blanket slipped down to her waist, and her skin pebbled with goosebumps.
“I’ll be as quick as possible. You must stay warm.” He wrapped the bandage around her shoulder and over her breast.
She kept her gaze down as he brushed her skin in the process. He couldn’t avoid it.
Her muscles tensed when he passed the bandage behind her neck to secure it. “Not the neck,” she said. The tendons in her neck stood out. “I don’t want anything around it.”
“I have to wrap it around your neck to make the bandage more stable. I didn’t do it last night because you were asleep.” He was confused.
“No.” One firm word that didn’t leave room for negotiations.
“As you wish.” He unravelled the bandage and wrapped it in another way to avoid her neck.
She flinched when he accidentally touched her again.
“I’m sorry.” He had to tug at the bandage to make sure it didn’t slip. “Is it too tight?”
“No, it’s all right.”
When the bandage was secure around her shoulder and her breasts were covered, he exhaled in relief. He hadn’t realised how tense he was until the job was done. For today. They would repeat this every day, maybe more than once per day, depending on how the healing progressed. He helped her don a nightshirt and fluffed the cushions for her.
Dark bruises circled her eyes. “I didn’t thank you.”
“You don’t have to.” He tucked the covers around her. “You must eat and drink a lot. And you must rest.”
“I don’t have the energy to do anything.” The words were heavy with sadness as if she didn’t mean them for the time being only but forever.
He held her hand. “You’ll feel better soon.”
She raised her large eyes to him as if begging him not to hurt her. He found swallowing difficult.
“I’m not sure,” she whispered.
“I have enough hope for both of us.” He caressed her cheek.
