The Rakehell Regency Romance Collection Volume 2(182)

"There seems to be nothing more we can do except wait. You can all go and get some sleep now. We need to take it in turns. I'll rouse you if anything changes, but there seems little point in you all becoming ragged with worry."



He turned to Thomas. "I'm going to need beef broth, cooked with vegetables and then strained clear, and some water, boiled, both cool, and a funnel with a nozzle about so wide." He indicated with his fingers.



He nodded and left to issue the orders. As soon as he was gone, the doctor held a cup to Elizabeth's lips. She swallowed.



"It's a good sign," he told Will. "I'll put the tube in anyway, so that you can feed her more easily without fear of her choking. But if she has that sort of movement, she's holding her own."



Will nodded.



"So we will need to get a rota of servants to take turns looking after her, and you need to get some rest. I'll have them make up another bed-"



"I'm staying."



"But Will, you need your rest as well. You're not thinking clearly—"



Will continued to stared at his wife fixedly. "I've never been more clear about anything in my life. She's mine, and by God I'll do whatever I have to take care of her."



The doctor said gently, "You can't blame yourself for this."



He raised his aquamarine eyes bleakly to gaze at his friend. "Who else is there to blame?"



"Gods above, Will, it was an accident!"



"Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I caused it all, drove her to this desperate pass."



"Nonsense."



"Is it, Miles? Is it? if I had been honest with her before we became engaged? Got married? Told her everything so she might not have been so scared?"



Doc Gallagher shook his head. "You have no idea what anyone said, what lies might have been told. It's not your fault. If she didn't trust you—"



"I should have made her trust me, made her listen. I was afraid if I approached her she might jump. I should have—"



"It was her choice to climb out. She nearly killed you both," the doctor said impatiently.



He sighed. "If I lose her, I'm better off dead."



The older man rested his hand on his friend's good shoulder. "She's still alive. Where there's life, there's hope. But I have to be honest with you, lad. Even if she does last another night or two, it will be a long road to recovery. I have no idea how badly her back, neck and head are injured. She might never walk again. Surely you do realise this."



Will nodded. "I know. I can understand what you're telling me, but my heart knows she's going to live. I just have to hang on, keep the faith. Listen, Miles, I know you have other plans, your practice, but I would be most grateful if you could remain here as my guest until well, until things resolve themselves. Please take whatever room you like and use it as your own. I shall sleep in here by her side, and do whatever you teach me to do to take care of all her needs."



"You'll exhaust yourself," the doctor protested.



"I need to be with Elizabeth. I would never forgive myself if I lost her."



"All right, I shall take one of the rooms, but I insist upon organising the servants to help you. She will need bathing, feeding, everything a helpless infant would need. You understand that some of these things might be difficult for a loving husband to have to cope with."



"I understand. But there's nothing I wouldn't do for her."



"Ah, but perhaps she would not wish you to."



Will shook his head. "There's no shame between us. We love each other. I'll be with her until the day one or the other of us dies. Through everything."



The doctor nodded. "Very well. Try to rest. I'll be back shortly."



He arranged things with the Duke and his wife, then spoke to the servants, and the Fitzgeralds. Between them all, they made sure that Will was never alone with Elizabeth. He would drift off to sleep sooner or later, he was sure, so someone needed to be standing by at all times for the poor injured woman.



They got the feeding tube down her throat, and fed her broth and water, and then washed her down with warm water and changed the soiled sheets.



"Everything seems to be normal. She's eating, relieving herself, and is breathing fine. She's just in some sort of limbo," he told the Fitzgeralds. "A blow to the head will do that. We'll just keep watching, and waiting. And praying for them both."





Chapter Twenty-three



The doctor's assessment of Elizabeth's condition was not much different a day later, or even three days later.



Still Will sat up, hollow-eyed and staring, reciting poetry to her though his voice was now barely more than a whisper. And it was not just poetry, long passages of the Bible, and prayers, and words of love from his heart.