Duchess by Chance(70)

“It’s better if she sleeps while we lift her out.” Simon’s voice was steady and reassuring and Daniel battled the panic that threatened to consume him.#p#分页标题#e#

He lifted her upwards and into Simon’s hands, then climbed out and in seconds he had her back in his arms.

“My carriage is here.” Simon opened the door for Daniel to enter.

“My driver?”

“Here, your Grace,” Elijah said from inside the carriage.

They journeyed in silence. Simon pressed his handkerchief into Elijah’s bloodied shoulder to staunch the flow of blood while Daniel held Eva against his chest and continued praying for her to open her eyes.

Simon ran inside as the carriage stopped outside Daniel’s townhouse. “Fetch a doctor at once, Wernham! The duchess and the duke’s driver are injured.”

Daniel carried Eva inside and up to his room where he laid her on the bed.

“Light!” he roared. The fire was lit in minutes and jugs of steaming water and clothes where carried into the room by silent servants. Branches of candles placed around the bed gave Daniel the light he needed.

“Molly, we must get her out of these clothes to see if she has other injuries.”

“Yes, your Grace.” Ashen faced the maid nodded.

Daniel’s eye remained on Eva’s face as he and the maid eased her clothing from her body. There were bruises starting to form and he knew they would be the color of grapes by the morning. His fingers were unsteady as he brushed hair from her cheek.

“Open your eyes now, Eva.”

“Set her shoulder while she sleeps, Daniel,” Simon said, coming into the room.

Lifting her into his arms, he reached for the shoulder and gently pushed it back into the joint. She didn’t even flinch.

“Do you have any smelling salts?”

Molly nodded at Simon and then hurried from the room.

“I won’t live without her.”

“She is unconscious, not dead, Daniel.” Simon said. “Find that calm you are famous for before she wakes and sees the terror in your eyes.”

“Christ, Simon, she could have been killed!”

“I know, my friend, but she was not and we will be making bloody sure nothing like this happens to either of you again.”

Molly came back with a small bottle, which she handed to the duke. He pulled out the cork and placed it under Eva’s nose.

“Again,” Simon urged when she did not respond.

This time, she flinched and then her eyes sprang open as she screamed his name.

“I’m here, love.” Daniel’s hands held her so she could not move.

“A-are you hurt?”

“No, Eva, but you are hurt.” He looked down into her eyes. Filled with pain and tears, they smote his heart.

“I was so scared.” She grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him closer as she began to cry. “I thought you were dead when the carriage turned and I knew you were on top and it is all my fault.”

“Ssssh, love,” Daniel soothed her. “I am here.”

“The doctor has arrived, your Grace.”

“Thank you, Molly, please let him in.”

Daniel watched as the doctor examined Eva thoroughly, then pronounced she suffered from a knock to the head and a few bruises. Her shoulder would ache but she would make a full recovery, given time. He gave her something to ease the pain and help her sleep.

“Please see to my driver now, doctor,” Daniel said, signaling Simon to see to the task.

“Of course, your Grace, and I will return tomorrow to check on the duchess.”

Between them, Daniel and Molly put her into a nightdress. He tried not to flinch every time she winced and moaned.#p#分页标题#e#

“Daniel?”

“Yes, love.” He ran a finger down her cheek. He could have lost her tonight and he realized if that had happened, his own life would have ended alongside hers.

“Daniel?” She yawned and her eyelashes fluttered shut. “I…I must talk - “

“Sleep now, Eva.”

“I-I love you,” she said so softly that had the room not been silent, he would not have heard her.

Daniel closed his eyes briefly as her words surrounded him. She loved him.

“I will sit with her for a while until you return, your Grace,” Molly said.

Nodding, Daniel stood and quietly left the room.

Simon was pacing around his study when he ran him to ground minutes later. “She sleeps.” Daniel took the drink his friend handed him. “I don’t know why you were following our carriage tonight, Simon, but I will be forever in you debt,” he added, sitting on the edge of his desk.

“Claire went home with her aunt who was at the theatre, therefore I decided to go to my club. It was purely coincidence that I was following your carriage.” Simon refilled both their glasses before continuing. “I heard the gunshot and when I looked out the window, I noticed your carriage tearing down the street ahead. Christ, Daniel! My heart nearly gave out when I saw you thrown and then watched as the carriage flipped onto its side.”