The Rakehell Regency Romance Collection Volume 2(181)

He shrugged and sighed. "You've seen it in the war. We do our best to get a tube down her, and feed her with a funnel. And to try to keep her arms and legs moving."



Thomas came over to where the two men were whispering. "I know of this. I'm told that Alexander Davenport lived like that for a year. But I have no idea how bad his injuries were compared to my sister."



"Well, we can only do our best. Get the fever down, and the feeding tube in. And just try to keep her comfortable, keep an eye on her bowels and so on. They are often good indications of what is happening. If she stops these normal bodily functions, we'll be in trouble."



"Thank you, Miles. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you're here," Stewart said.



"And here I shall stay, for as long as you need me."



Thomas, distraught at all the doctor had said, demanded of Will, "Tell me again exactly what happened to my sister!"



Will roused himself from his own near-comatose state. He still had not slept, and was hollow-eyed like a skull. His voice came out as a hoarse croak, for he had been talking to Elizabeth in a low tone almost incessantly since the accident had happened, reciting all the love poetry he could think of to show her how much he cared.



"We were down in the reception, laughing, eating cake. I said would check on the guests one last time, and would be coming upstairs. Her response to me was most ardent," he said with a blush, "and I promise to give her ten minutes to get ready.



"She said she had a surprise for me, and she couldn't wait for us to be alone. I went off to talk with Vevina for a few moments, to thank her for her help.



"I came up, just as we had arranged, and found her half-way out the window. She said she couldn't trust me out of the bed, so how could she trust me in it.



"I told her whatever was wrong, I loved her and we could discuss it. I tried to get her back up into the room, but the whole trellis and vine started to tear away. Then we fell."



He held out his bandaged wrist for Thomas's inspection. "I did everything I could to grab another handhold, but she let go. The rest is as Edgars saw when he found us."



Vevina took his arm comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, Will. This is dreadful for you, we know. We'll do anything we can to help."



Will laid back on the bed and looked at his wife, his eyes never once leaving her.



Thomas lapsed back onto his stool, his head in his hands.



The Fitzgeralds moved over to the window seat.



"Poor Will. He'll be devastated if he loses her," Vevina sighed to her husband.



"Don't I know it. He never expected Elizabeth to fall in love with him. With all of the others trying so hard for her, especially Marcus Fitzsimmons, he couldn't believe his luck. Yet it's obvious from the way they looked at the wedding that they were completely smitten. So what on earth could have provoked Elizabeth to jump out the window?"



Vevina shook her head. "She didn't jump. She was climbing down, trying to escape from something or someone. She loves Will, I'm sure of it. So what scared her so much that she fled?"



Her husband shook his head and sighed. "The only thing I can think of is that she overheard someone say something which distressed her so much that when Will came into the bedroom, she was terrified, and panicked."



"But what on earth could that be? We all know and love him. None of us would have told her anything against him," she said angrily.



"Unless of course someone was sucking on a few sour grapes and spat out all sorts of lies or innuendoes."



She nodded pensively. "Or one of the lads said something which was misinterpreted? You know how men can sometimes be a bit crude. If she was scared of their wedding night, it might have put her into a tizzy."



Stewart rubbed the back of his aching neck and shrugged. "Perhaps. Except that she doesn't strike me as hysterical, and she also doesn't have the nature of a tease. She and Will have been most demonstrative. In fact I'm surprised they managed to wait as long as they did. The past three days of wedding preparations seemed to have been torture for them both.



"And while I know she has every reason to be leery of that sort of thing give her poor sister, she's a vibrant and passionate young woman, not a prude. No, someone said something, or she overheard something. The question is what?"



Vevina shook her head. "We'll just have to wait to find out. If she wakes up."



"When."



She nodded, and kissed her husband's cheek gratefully. "You're right, darling. When."





Several hours later, Doc Gallagher checked Elizabeth's pulse and pupils, and shook his head. The fever had finally gone down to a more low-grade one, and she was breathing more easily.