Page 15 of Loving an Earl (Widows of Mayfair #1)

“H ow is he?” Emmeline asked as she stood at the foot of the bed.

“I don’t know. I’m afraid to touch him and make his injuries worse. I do hope the physician hurries. He looks pale, lifeless, and broken. I’m afraid for his leg.” She sobbed loudly. “Oh God, he can’t die. Not like this. Not when he has so much life ahead of him.”

“Mrs. Fitzpatrick,” said Emmeline’s family physician, Dr. Bailey, as he hurried into the room carrying his valise. “Please tell me what happened.”

Emmeline explained what she knew of the aftermath of the carriage accident to the doctor while she and Lilly lit all the candles and lamps in the room.

“The coach wheel was on top of him, pinning him by his legs,” Lilly added. “He is the Earl of Langford, doctor. Please help him.”

“I will do my best,” Dr. Bailey said as he ran his hands up and down Langford’s body checking for injuries. “Your head is bleeding. As soon as I see to Lord Langford I will look at your head. Has he been conscious?”

“No,” Emmeline answered.

“His leg is broken at the thigh and his shin bone pierced through the skin and is causing blood loss. I need to set both bones and hope infection doesn’t set in. I would hate to have to amputate it. His shoulder is also dislocated and will need to be put back into place. I will need some strong footmen to hold the earl steady while I set his leg and pop his shoulder back in. No other bones appear to be broken, but I’m worried about internal injury.” He began cutting off Langford’s clothing until he was left in his breeches. “You may want to avert your eyes as I’m also removing his breeches.”

Emmeline, wide-eyed and nervous, met Lilly’s eyes, and they both turned their backs.

“In fact, while I set his leg you may want to vacate the room.”

The last thing Lilly wanted to do was take her eyes off Langford, even just to turn around. Part of her believed that if she was seeing him alive and breathing, then he would stay alive and breathing. Nevertheless, she hurried from the room with Emmeline, calling for two footmen. Moments later two came running down the hall. “Dr. Bailey needs your help inside.”

“I’m frightened,” Lilly said as she leaned against the wall out in the dim hall, her eyes focused on the shape of the closed door.

“Me too,” Emmeline said. “I had Mother send messages to both Blackstone and Caldwell. They will want to be here.”

Deep screams pierced the air. They went on for a time. They sounded animalistic, even though Lilly knew they came from Langford. Her hands covered her ears, and she mumbled, “It’s going to be fine. He’s going to be fine.”

“Lilly.” Emmeline’s voice sounded far away. “Does your head hurt?”

“What?” It was then Lilly realized she was kneeling on the ground, holding her head and shaking all over. Even her teeth were rattling. “No. I don’t know what happened. When he screamed...”

The doctor opened the door. “You may come back in. I’ve set the bones in his leg, sutured, and splintered it. With luck he will keep the leg and only walk with a limp. His shoulder popped back in easily. He also has a nasty bump on the back of his head, but I don’t detect any internal damage, which is a miracle considering what happened. I’m hoping he will regain consciousness soon. I left a vial of laudanum on the night table. See to it he has a teaspoonful once every four hours. For several days, it’s imperative to keep his pain at bay. I will be back tomorrow afternoon to rebandage the stitches. Pray infection doesn’t set in.”

“Dr. Bailey,” Lilly spoke. “Thank you so much for taking care of Langford. I hate to ask, but can you look at my head?”

“Oh, my dear, I’m sorry I forgot.” He waved to a chair. “Please take a seat.”

Lilly sat in the chair next to Langford and winced when the doctor cleaned her cut.

“You do not need stitches. It is more of a scrape than a laceration. I’m putting a bandage on it. I will check it when I return.”

Emmeline walked with the physician. “I will see you out.”

When Lilly was left alone with Langford, she stood and walked around the bed holding a lamp to see his injuries close up. The side of his face was scraped and raw but not bandaged. She could not see the bump on the back of his head, nor would she feel for it. If she touched him she was afraid she would cause him pain. His left arm was bandaged, and the cloth wrapped around his midsection so he couldn’t move his arm or shoulder.

She hesitated to move the sheet to look at his leg since she knew he was naked beneath the thin sheet. Her cheeks heated at the thought of being in a room with Langford in a state of undress. It didn’t matter that she had seen him naked before—these circumstances were much different. But then her curiosity got the better of her, and she slid the sheet aside just to get a peek of his lower leg. Not that there was much to see as it was bandaged. She didn’t dare move the sheet up to see how far the bandage went. She presumed to the top of his thigh.

Once again, her cheeks heated. At any other time, she may have admired his muscular physique, but it didn’t seem right now.

Sitting back down in the chair, the lamp beside the bed illuminating his features which were drawn. Every once in a while, he groaned and gritted his teeth. Even unconscious, he was overwhelmed by the pain. Her fingers went to her temple and realized it was sore to the touch and there was a dull ache across her forehead. But it was not enough to take her away from Langford’s bedside.

Mullens, Edmund’s valet, and Mrs. Lewis, the very capable housekeeper at the Langdon townhouse, had just arrived and were settling into chairs to watch over him. Lilly wondered absently who’d had the presence of mind to send for them. She was grateful someone had. Lilly expected Blackstone and Caldwell would arrive at any moment, as well, provided they were at home to receive the messages.

After all the commotion when they arrived home, the house seemed eerily quiet now.

Every so often, Lilly’s head fell as she nodded off. Her mind and body were exhausted from the night’s events. From the poor mother and baby dying, leaving three small, orphaned children, to Langford getting run over by a carriage. She had often thought about how dull her life was, especially during her year of mourning. Well, she would live with dull if the alternative was what had transpired tonight. She never wanted to go through such a thing again, ever.

Her head bobbed down again at the same time Langford groaned. “Where am I?”

Lilly jumped up so fast, the room spun, and she had to grab onto the chair to keep from falling. Mullens and Mrs. Lewis also startled and now stood at his bedside. “You are at Emmeline’s townhome,” she said quietly, willing her heartbeat to resume a normal pace.

“Why?”

“There was an accident. You don’t remember?”

She watched as his brow furrowed. “No. Why is my head foggy? My body hurts everywhere. It even hurts to have my head on the pillow.”

“Dr. Bailey gave you laudanum for the pain. You were pinned beneath a carriage that had lost a wheel. You have broken your leg in two places and dislocated your shoulder.”

He coughed several times. “Is that all? It feels as though I broke every bone in my body.”

Was he trying to make light of the situation? “Dr. Bailey said you were very lucky not to have internal injuries.”

“Hurrah for me. I need to... you know... use a chamber pot.” He used his good hand and pointed to the noticeable bulge between his thighs.

Heat burned up her neck to her face. He obviously hadn’t noticed Mullens standing at the other side of his bed. “Mrs. Lewis and I will step outside, Mullens.”

They hurried out the door and into the hallway. “It is a very good sign he is awake,” Mrs. Lewis said even though her expression was one of worry.

“I hope so,” Lilly replied.

Mullens came to the door after a moment. “You may come back in, my lady.”

She approached Langford’s bedside. “How do you feel?”

“I’m tired. My eyes don’t want to stay open, which is good because if I’m sleeping, the pain will go away.”

“Sleep,” she whispered. “I’ll watch over you.”

“You don’t...” He didn’t finish. His chest rose and fell in deep, even breaths.

“My lady,” Mullens began. “Go get some rest. Either Mrs. Lewis or I will stay with his lordship. We will not leave him alone for a moment.”

But Lilly couldn’t bring herself to leave. Though Mullins was right—it was silly for all three of them to remain. “I want to stay. You go get some rest and I will send for you if I need anything. I’m sure you will be much needed in the morning.”

After she was alone, she played the head-dropping and twitching awake game. It became tiresome. The bed Langford slept in was large enough for two. If only she could lie down for just a few minutes... But no. She was afraid she would roll over and bump his shoulder or leg. Not to mention what a shock anyone entering the room would get finding the two of them sleeping in the same bed.

No. She would stay on the wooden chair, her behind hurting and her cloak wrapped around her for warmth.

“Lilly?”

The sound of a man calling out her name while she slept puzzled her sleepy mind. Why on earth would a man be in her room? Unless she was dreaming about Henry. But no, that wasn’t his voice. The voice was similar, but it wasn’t Henry. Struggling to break through the fog keeping her tethered in sleep, she managed to breach the mist and open her eyes.

“Langford.” She gasped as the events of the accident played through her mind triggering her concern. She stood from the hard chair, every muscle in her body protesting. “How do you feel?”

“Horrible.”

“Oh dear.” Lilly took the brown vial off the bedside table knowing it was well over four hours since he’d had the laudanum since the sun was poking between the seams in the curtains. “It’s time for laudanum. It will help with the pain.”

“I hate the stuff,” he grumbled.

“Please do as the doctor says and use it until the pain abates.”

“Fine.”

Lilly opened the stopper, poured a small amount onto a teaspoon careful not to spill even a drop. She leaned over Langford. “Open.” Somehow he managed to take the liquid without getting any on him.

“When will the doctor be back? I have some questions for him.”

“Sometime today. Meanwhile, can I get you something? Perhaps some broth or toast?”

He snorted and looked annoyed at her. “I’m injured, but I’m not an invalid. I would love some strong coffee, buttered toast, and jam. Could you put the pillows against the headboard so I may sit up?”

Sit up? Did he have any idea how much pain that would cause? She readied a pillow and watched wide-eyed and winced as he tried to use his one good arm to hoist himself up.

“Bugger all.” He breathed heavily not making much headway. “Can you assist me?”

Lilly looked at Langford’s bare chest and swallowed. “In case you haven’t noticed, you have no clothes on beneath the sheet.”

“I bloody well know that. I don’t care. I want to sit up.” His brows raised. “And you’ve seen me naked, or have you forgotten already?”

She would ignore his snapping at her—this time. He was in a great deal of pain, and she knew it made people lash out. “How do you suppose I can help?”

“Carefully climb on the bed and straddle my hips. Do not, and I repeat do not , bump my bad leg. When I say go, you put your arms on either side of my waist and lift me up and forward at the same time as I use my good arm.”

Lilly finally removed the cloak she’d kept wrapped around her through the night for warmth and draped it on the back of the torturous chair she’d slept on. Her backside was going to ache for days. She hitched up her skirts flashing her pantaloons to Langford, but at a time like this, there was little call for modesty. As he reminded her, she had seen him naked. And he had seen her naked as well. She kneeled on the bed and swung one leg over Langford’s thighs, careful not to jostle his legs or touch him. “Tell me when you are ready.” When she looked down, thinking about using his waist to aid him, she realized his arm was wrapped up and pinned to his stomach. Where on earth would she put her hands? And even if she pulled at his waist, she didn’t believe it would work. She needed to get her arms beneath his arms and lift him that way. If she was even strong enough.

She lifted her eyes to his and he said, “Is there a problem?” The laudanum was affecting him as his eyes looked glazed and he slurred his words.

“I can’t use your waist to lift you.”

“Use my hips then.”

She opened her mouth to speak twice before she closed her lips and contemplated his hips. As far as she could tell, his hips would offer even less leverage than his waist, and jostling them would only result in more pain. “I’m sliding my arms through your armpits. That’s the only way it will work. I’ll count to three.”

When he didn’t answer her, she opened her eyes and found his closed. “Langford. Are you awake?”

No answer. Just as she was about to gently climb off him, the door opened and Emmeline, Blackstone, and Caldwell entered the room.

“Lilly,” Emmeline gasped, “what in heaven’s name are you doing?”

“Will someone help me get off him?” she said, more than a little disgruntled.

Caldwell started to move forward. “I’ll help. But I must say I’m shocked. I didn’t think you were the kind of woman to take advantage of an unconscious man.”

Lilly gasped.

Emmeline threw out an arm, stopping Caldwell. “You are not helping.” She moved toward the bed and very carefully helped Lilly off of Langford and onto the floor.

Lilly rolled her eyes and exhaled. “He wanted help sitting up. That was all we could think of to aid him, but then he fell asleep in the middle of the attempt, since I had just given him medicine for his pain. Now, perhaps you two fine gentlemen can help him while I retreat to my room so I can die of embarrassment.”

All three of them laughed. They laughed at her.

She huffed. “I don’t see what is so funny.”

“Oh, it was funny,” Emmeline said. “Thankfully, it was only the three of us who entered the room. Anyway, how is he?”

The four of them stood around Langford’s bed while he slept fitfully, much as he had last night.

“He woke up once last night, and I told him what happened because he didn’t remember anything. Then he awoke a short while ago, I gave him the laudanum the doctor left for him, and he fell asleep again.”

“Both Caldwell and I stopped by in the middle of the night, and Mullens met with us and assured us that Edmund had awoken and was resting and the doctor had set his leg. We opted not to disturb him and went home. He didn’t explain the extent of his injuries, though. What did the physician say about his leg?” Blackstone asked as he lifted the sheet exposing Langford’s injured leg to his mid-thigh.

“That hopefully it will heal and not get infected. He will most likely walk with a limp.”

“He’s not going to like hearing that.” Blackstone replaced the sheet over his leg and then lowered it to his waist. “How is his shoulder?”

“He dislocated it. The doctor put it back.” Lilly didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it sounded positive. “The doctor said it will heal nicely.”

Blackstone’s face was pale and his eyes looked worried. “He could’ve been killed.” He then looked at Lilly and Emmeline, his brows drawn. “Emmeline mentioned the accident happened in St. Giles. I know why Langford ventures into St. Giles. He’s looking for someone he once cared deeply for. But what in bloody hell were you two doing there? The place is dangerous in the daytime, but at night, it’s...” His body shivered. “All three of you are fortunate to be alive.”