was too preoccupied with the effort not to whimper in pain.
Gage allowed me to hobble forward for a few yards before sweeping me up into his arms. It was a testament to the amount of pain I was in that I did not object. Perhaps it was the result of the initial shock from my narrowly avoiding disaster and its dampening effect on one’s nerves releasing its hold on me, but each step seemed to awaken some new ache. My shoulder throbbed in time to the pounding beat of my heart, and each jolt of movement seemed to send sharp spikes of pain into my side where I had slammed it against the balustrade.
Upon reaching my bedchamber, he set me down, and I turned my back to him, urging him to begin unfastening my gown. However, he only made it through three of the tiny buttons before Bree came bustling through the door, alerted by the footman sending for the surgeon and physician, no doubt.
“M’lady,” she gasped, her face a mask of apprehension.
Gage stepped to the side, allowing her to take over. Her fingers deftly flew through the buttons, and then peeled the dress from my frame. I focused on breathing evenly in and out through the pain, and winced only once as I had to move my shoulder to slide the puffed sleeve down my arm. Bree draped the gown over the end of the bed, her gaze on my throbbing shoulder.
“Do you have something we can fashion a makeshift sling from?” my husband queried, and she turned to move toward the dresser.
But I halted her with my wheezed request. “My stays. Please.”
She whirled back, picking at the ties holding my special corset in place. “The top drawer,” Bree directed Gage as he strode toward the piece of furniture. “Grab one o’ the scarves. The cornflower blue one ’tis softest.”
I nearly collapsed in relief as the stays loosened. My knees actually felt a bit weak. I suppose I wobbled enough to alarm them, for Bree grabbed me about the waist, and Gage hastened over to support me from the front. He clutched my left forearm as Bree pulled the corset from my torso.
Breathing shallowly, for I discovered if I inhaled too deeply my ribs screamed in protest, I allowed him to help me into bed. Sinking into the pillows, I looked up into his distressed face.
“Can you roll onto your left side?” he asked.
I nodded and turned onto my hip so that he could slowly lift my chemise to see my side. Their silence spoke volumes, as did the slight tremor in his hand as he reached out to touch me gingerly.
When neither of them offered an explanation, I swallowed the stickiness coating my throat and ventured a question. “How bad is it?”
Gage inhaled a swift breath, as if he’d been holding it. “There’s . . . extensive bruising.”
I’d assumed as much, so I didn’t reply.
His hand drifted down toward the swell of my abdomen. “The child. Can you . . . ?” He didn’t seem to be able to finish the sentence.
“No,” I choked out, refusing to give in to that fear. “But I usually can’t feel the babe move unless I’m lying down or sitting still.”
“Then perhaps you will shortly.”
“Yes.”
Our voices were tense and hollow, both of us holding back an unspeakable dread.
Lowering my shift, he helped me roll over onto my back, settling me as comfortably as I could manage. Then he began untying my garters and rolling my stockings down my legs, his gaze fastened on the bruise that must already be appearing on my thigh. Once the coverlet was pulled up over my legs, he perched on the edge of the bed and held up the scarf.
“Do you wish for me to fashion you a sling? Or do you want me to prop your arm up with a pillow?”
“A pillow will do,” I replied, releasing my left hand’s grip on my right arm, where I was supporting the weight to adjust the bolster.
Bree swept my gown from the bed and draped it over her arm. “I’ll fetch ye a nice pot o’ tea, m’lady, and see what sort o’ liniment they have for those bruises.”
Although I never moved my stare from the shadows gathered in the corners of the soft green and gold chain-patterned bed curtains above, I could feel her assessing me. My maid was much like I was during a crisis—driven to do something, unable to sit still. So I didn’t tell