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Arthur’s gaze wasn’t on her. In fact, he ignored her entirely as he came to stand beside her.
“It can’t be,” he whispered, shaking his head and leaning towards the bushy plant on the edge of the desk. “That’s not possible.”
“Arthur!” Lily snapped. “Can you focus on Gordon? We need something to stop the bleeding. Clean towels or something.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” He straightened up and finally seemed to register Gordon’s unconscious state. “I’ll find something.” He took a step away, then turned back to Lily and wagged a finger. “Do not go near that plant. Stay right where you are.”
“We can talk about plants later,” she told him in frustration. “For now, let’s focus on helping Gordon.”
Arthur hurried away and was back a moment later with a stack of clean tea towels.
“Here.” He thrust them at her and immediately switched his attention back to the plant.
For a moment, Lily hesitated, confused by Arthur being more interested in a plant than his incapacitated boss. Then she gave a quick shake of her head and got to work helping Gordon.
“Something cut right through his arm,” she said, once she’d dabbed at the blood enough to find the long gash.
“The thorns,” Arthur said, then pulled his phone out.
“Do you have a phobia of blood or something?” Lily asked, pressing onto the wound and trying to not jump to conclusions about the way Arthur was intent on pretending his boss wasn’t unconscious and bleeding all over the carpet.
“No.” His head whipped around and he ran his gaze over Gordon. “The cut came from a thorn.”
“Excuse me?” Lily said, her voice oddly squeaky.
“They’re illegal in this country. I never thought I’d get to see one in person.” His attention shifted again, and Lily watched him hold his phone close to the plant and heard the distinct click of a photo being taken.
“What are you doing?” Lily asked. “Aren’t you at all concerned about Gordon?” She stared at Arthur’s profile and the glimmer of excitement in his eyes as he continued to photograph the plant. “Arthur!” she snapped when he ignored her completely.
Slowly, he looked over at Gordon again. “You called an ambulance, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“He’ll be fine. The thorns are razor sharp, so they’ll give you a nasty cut, but the poison isn’t deadly or anything.”
“Poison?” Lily said, pressing harder on the wound. “What are you talking about?”
“The thorns are sharp,” he said, pointing. “They deposit poison directly into the bloodstream to incapacitate their predator.”
“Predator?” Lily echoed.
“Wrong word in this case, I suppose. It’s fascinating, though, that plants can have such an effective defence mechanism. In nature, they’re usually warding off birds and small mammals, but they can take a grown man down too.”
Lily blinked slowly. “You’re saying this plant is the reason Gordon is currently unconscious?”
“Yes!” Arthur beamed. “Amazing, isn’t it? You really have to look closely to even see the thorns. They’re the exact same green as the leaves so they blend right in.”
“I’m not sure amazing is the word I’d choose,” Lily mumbled, eyeing the short, bushy plant with its abundance of vibrant green leaves. “What kind of plant is it?”
“Hmm.” Arthur squeezed his eyes closed. “I’m sorry, I’m never very good at the Latin names, and it’s an especially long one. In my head I can see how it’s written, but I’m afraid I’d bungle the pronunciation.”
“Does it have a common name?” Lily ventured.
Arthur nodded vigorously. “The Thorned Sleeping Beauty.”
Her eyes went to Gordon’s face. Aside from being a little squished against the carpet, he did appear to be sleeping soundly.
“It acts like a natural anaesthetic,” Arthur went on. “It’s been studied to see if it could be used for surgeries, but its effects are unpredictable.”