Page 5 of A Touch of Charm (Miracles on Harley Street #3)
A ndre sighed when the prince and princess bickered like he used to with his siblings, except that the stakes were higher now with his high-born guests, one of them injured, and the Prussian baron on their heels.
“The reason I left was so that I could be free here,” Thea said in Romanian, cringing when Andre exposed Stan’s wound.
“And what has this freedom gotten you? If I hadn’t overpowered them, what do you think they would have done with you and the little girl if I hadn’t saved you?” Stan growled back in Romanian through his teeth, trying to look at his bleeding shoulder while Andre patted it with a clean cloth.
Observation, diagnosis, treatment. The first step was done exposing the wound; now he had to see how deep Stan’s injury was.
“Well, I’ll save you now,” Andre looked at Stan, “and then I will take care of you,” he said to Thea. They both raised their eyebrows simultaneously and gave him the same deadpan look. They looked quite alike, as siblings often did, Andre thought. He sighed at seeing the brother and sister couple and felt that familiar pinch in his heart every time he missed his siblings.
“You understood everything again,” Stan remarked, more of a statement than a question.
Andre shrugged. “I had a brother and a sister, too.” But before he could say more, he bit his tongue and reached for the knob of Nick’s drawer of instruments and picked out the largest of the scissors. “This will hurt,” Andre warned, glancing at Thea.
She held her breath.
“No, not the shirt but the wound I mean—” And with a swift motion, Andre cut Stan’s bloody shirt open starting at the cuff and exposed the wound on his shoulder. Thea couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, filled with concern for her brother and fascination for the doctor.
Stan tsked when he twisted his torso to see the injury at the back of his shoulder.
“It’s superficial, and you were lucky they didn’t slice any nerves. I’ll clean the wound, but you’ll need some stitches to keep it closed.” With these words, Andre got to work and first rinsed the wound until there was only the red tear visible in Stan’s skin. He left for a few moments and returned with a tray of small glass bottles and a scalpel, and he took the needles and thread from Nick’s supplies, since he often performed cataract surgeries and had everything at hand.
Andre watched Thea closely, noting the way she seemed to struggle to maintain her composure. He moved with practiced care, soaking a pristine white cloth in the familiar medicinal dilution he’d poured into a metal bowl.
“This is witch hazel; it may sting a bit, but it helps prevent infection.” He observed her response, tilting his head slightly, keenly aware of the delicate balance between causing her discomfort and aiding her brother’s recovery.
“What does this mean?”
“It’s because of the unclean weapon… infections often happen that way.” André took a metal probe and gently lifted the sliced skin flap. “It wasn’t sharp either. A sharp blade makes a clean cut. This is not one,” Andre explained as he picked up the long tweezers and got to work. “I’ll have to make it a clean cut, remove some of the tissue, and then suture it—”
“Do it,” Stan commanded through clenched teeth, squeezing his eyes shut.
Andre removed the jagged piece of skin with a swift, practiced motion. Stan gasped, his knuckles white as he gripped the armrests. The pain was evident, but he bore it stoically. It took less than ten minutes for Andre to finish the sutures and place a clean bandage on Stan’s shoulder.
“It’s done,” Andre said, releasing a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “You must rest now, Your Royal Highness. Carrying heavy crates is out of the question.”
“Don’t call her that, you hear?” Stan nodded in Thea’s direction.
“Why not? She’s—” Andre asked.
“Because the same men who sent the highwaymen might cause her trouble here, too. We’re in danger until I fix this problem with List. Until I do, nobody must know who she is.” He shifted and sat up, facing Thea. “You have to come with me to the Langleys’ and stay inside where it’s safe. The Earl of Langley and his countess are close friends. They will shield you from List.”
Thea grimaced. “I’m not going to be locked in!”
Stan hissed. “It’s not you I’m locking in; I just want you to stay safe until this is resolved.”
“Will it be resolved by tonight?” she pressed on.
“No! Do you know how dangerous these people are? If their accent was Prussian, List sent them—”
“It was,” Andre mumbled. “I knew it as soon as I heard them.”
Stan deflated. “Has there been any doubt? They were List’s men. But I don’t know how many there are, which means you’re not safe here. They could be lurking anywhere!” Stan’s words sounded earnest, but Thea seemed unimpressed.
“I can’t remember ever not being a target—” she protested. “I’ll take Mary to the Whites’ townhouse and—”
“No, you can’t be in a house full of servants we don’t know. Any stranger could be a threat!”
“But Mary is sleeping upstairs. She needs me.”
“Then take her with you and just let her parents know she’s safe with us. Thea, London is big, and there are so many people; I won’t let you out of the house without protection.”
“So you’ll go with me every time I leave the castle—ahem, house?”
“No, that’s my point. You don’t leave because I have work and can’t take my little sister with me. I can’t be your guard.”
Thea crossed her arms. “I’m not little and I don’t want a guard who locks me in rather than keeps me safe like the ones back at Bran Castle.”
Andre pressed his lips into a line. She was most undoubtedly delicate and slim—but not little. He hadn’t seen a woman with such perfect curves and—he’d never seen one, truly.
Thea’s hand rested on her brother’s good shoulder, and her alarm was unspoken but clear in her eyes. “ Stan, nu m? po?i proteja mereu de lume .” You can’t always protect me from the world.
Andre sighed heavily. He understood Stan’s perspective as the older brother. All those years ago, Andre’s first impulse was to rush downstairs and fight to protect his family. If Mother had let him, he would have laid down his life to keep his sister safe.
“Then he stays with you at all times,” Stan yelled out and pointed at Andre with his good arm.
“What?” Andre blinked rapidly, mouth agape as if trying to process the absurdity of what he’d just heard.
She tilted her head to one side, squinting as if trying to see something far away, her lips twisting into a half-smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Agreed!”
“Wait!” Andre started, barely able to fathom what had just occurred. “I have work to do; I’m the only one here until—”
“Wendy and Felix will be back tomorrow, so you won’t be alone at the practice.” Stan took on a commanding tone.
“I’m not a royal guard; I’m a doctor.” Surely that argument ought to convince Stan that it was absurd to make Andre responsible for the princess.
Stan gave him a stern look and arched a brow.
Andre swallowed hard.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Andre nodded reluctantly. When had he agreed to this?
“This means much to me, Andre. I shall be in your debt,” Stan said.