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Chapter 3
“He has lost quite a bit of blood. He may not come to for some time.” The doctor wiped his hands on a cloth and then adjusted the spectacles on his freckled nose. He was young, entirely too young to be a doctor, in Giulia’s opinion, but the my lord—she had yet to confirm his identity—and the man called Wells were both listening intently. They must’ve trusted his opinion.
She hesitated on the edge of the bedchamber, standing beside the fire. The injured man slept soundly, tucked into the bed against the far wall. The room was dim, and the voices hushed, but she could clearly hear the conversation taking place just beside the bed.
The doctor ran a hand through his shock of red hair. “I have cleaned and treated the wound, but you must watch for infection. Contact me if he fevers, otherwise I will check back in tomorrow. There is not much else to be done for him until he wakes.”
“Thank you, Mason.” Wells shook the doctor’s hand and walked him to the door.
“The wrapping was good and tight,” Dr. Mason added as he moved toward the exit. “That could very well be what saved his life.”
My lord grunted, which seemed to be all he did. Wells nodded and walked the doctor out. Giulia wanted to huff but refrained. She did not need credit for her work, but it would have been nice.
The older man scanned the motionless body, his white eyebrows drawing together. Concern pulled at his features and he shook his head slightly before turning from the injured man.
“Sir?”
He glanced back, eyes widened in surprise. Had he already forgotten her? “You are still here?” he asked.
She tried not to be offended. “Yes, I am. I was hoping you could help me.”
“Wells can see to that.” He turned to leave again.
“My lord!”
He grunted and spun back slowly.
“I am sorry to have put you out so horridly, but this little adventure with your friend has eaten up my daylight hours, and if you cannot return my kindness toward your friend then please at least have the decency to answer my question directly.”
He looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “What is your question?”
She lifted her chin. “Are you my Uncle Robert? The Earl of Hart?”
He stared at her unblinkingly for several moments. Then he began to laugh. His ample belly shook with mirth and he plopped down in a chair near the fire until his humor dissipated. Giulia hesitated to ask what had amused him. Could her uncle be gone? Could she have been wrong about the castle her father drew in his journal?
“Your Uncle Robert, you say?” he asked.
“Yes. My uncle.”
He laughed again and Giulia could not help the frown that formed on her face.
She was exhausted and put out. She’d dealt with a gunshot victim, ran several miles, and hadn’t eaten since breakfast. “Sir,” she said, commanding his attention. “I am in a strange area and in a strange house. No, a strange castle. I have traveled all the way to Devon to visit a relative I have never met. I have had a trying evening helping a man who has suffered from a gunshot wound, and I would like nothing more than to assure myself that I have, in fact, reached Halstead Manor so I may beg some mercy and a pillow and sleep for the next three days. Please discontinue this behavior, I beg of you, and explain yourself.”
He sobered and stood. “Very well. Follow me.”
Giulia raised her eyes to the ceiling and let out a silent sigh. She followed the man from the room, down the stairs and into the entryway, pausing before the massive oak door.
Taking a step back, she folded her hands in front of her, awaiting his pleasure, for the fact that he was ruminating on something was plain. But why this conversation needed to occur in the foyer went beyond her.
He muttered something incoherent and Giulia said, “Pardon?”
The man held her gaze and Giulia forced herself not to step back further. “I said, indeed. If your uncle is Lord Hart, then I am he.”
A measure of relief fell over her shoulders. “I am so pleased to be here, Uncle Robert.”
He looked taken aback. “You must not call me that. Lord Hart, the Earl of Hart. Only Robert to my close friends. And why are you here?”
“But you are Robert Pepper then?” Giulia asked, her body humming with nerves. He did not seem at all pleased to see her. “Brother to Patrick Pepper?”
