Page 51 of The King’s Man (Guardians of the Crown #2)

‘ I t’s no good,’ Nan pronounced. ‘You should never have gone gallivanting around London in your condition. You’ve done yourself no good at all and your hand … ’ she shook her head, ‘ … those fingers will not mend straight now.’

Thamsine swallowed and forced herself to look down at the swollen, mangled mess that had been Kit’s sword hand. Debigné had hit it hard and what little the bonesetter had accomplished had been completely undone.

‘You heard the bonesetter,’ Nan continued. ‘There’s naught he can do. Would be best if it came off afore it turns bad and kills you.’

‘You’re talking about my hand!’ Kit said, his tone a mixture of anger and despair.

‘There’s one person who might be able to help,’ Thamsine said. ‘My sister.’

Kit gave a derisive snort. ‘I don’t think so, Tham. What can she do that the bonesetter can’t?’

‘I know no one else with her skill,’ Thamsine said.

‘We’ll send Jem to her.’ Nan turned to her brother, who lounged in the door of the bedchamber.

‘I don’t know if this is a good idea,’ Jem said slowly.

‘Neither do I,’ Kit agreed. He shivered, hunched his shoulders and closed his eyes.

‘I’m not going to stand by and watch you die!’ Thamsine said.

‘I’m not dying, Thamsine!’ Kit protested irritably. ‘I’ve a few broken bones, that’s all.’

‘You’ll die if that hand is not treated properly! Jane can help. She can be trusted.’

Kit grimaced and waved his good hand. ‘Go, Jem. We’ll have no peace until she’s had her way.’

***

Thamsine met her sister in the kitchen of the inn.

‘I must have your word, Jane. Please don’t tell Roger where I am.’

Jane put her hand on her sister’s cheek. ‘You have my word,’ she said. ‘Now, where is the patient?’

‘Upstairs. I’ll show you.’

Kit sat hunched at the table, a jug of wine to one side and a book laid out before him. He looked up as the women entered, and closed the book. Jane set her basket down and picked up the book.

‘An interesting choice of reading, Captain Lovell,’ she said.

Kit retrieved his battered and much-worn copy of Francis Bacon’s Essays and set it back on the table, the fingers of his uninjured hand tracing the worn leather spine.

‘Old Bacon here has been a long-time companion of mine. I would hate to lose him,’ he said.

‘Which is your favourite essay?’ Jane asked.

‘ Of Nature and Men ,’ Kit replied. ‘You read Bacon?’

Jane smiled. ‘I have done. Now, I had a message you were dying,’ she said.

‘I’m bruised and battered but not quite at death’s door,’ Kit replied.

Jane placed a hand on Kit’s forehead. ‘No, I don’t think you’re dying.’

‘You’re so much better at this than your sister. Did you know she faints at the sight of blood?’ Kit commented.

Jane glanced at her sister. ‘Do you?’

Thamsine shrugged. ‘Apparently.’

‘So, this is Morton’s work?’ Jane gently raised the bandaged hand. ‘What did he do?’

‘He trod on my fingers,’ Kit said.

‘It all took a further battering the day before yesterday,’ Thamsine put in. ‘The bonesetter says his hand should be amputated but I thought maybe you … ’ She trailed off as Jane cast her a grave look.

‘Thamsine, I’m a housewife. What do you think I can do that a bonesetter cannot?’

Thamsine felt her small hope beginning to fade.

Jane sighed. ‘Well, I suppose I can at least see what harm has been done. Now,’ she said, addressing Kit, ‘I am going to look at your hand. This will hurt.’

She began to unwind the bandages, stopping when Kit tensed to let him catch his breath.

‘If it’s any small consolation, I hear Ambrose Morton is no better,’ Jane said as she worked.

‘Where is he?’ Thamsine asked.

Jane’s lips tightened. ‘With that doxy, Lucy Talbot. A pistol ball in the shoulder and a broken ankle, I believe.’

‘What about your husband?’ Kit asked in a tight voice.

‘Roger has gone to Kent on business. I don’t expect him back for a couple of days, which is why I was able to come to you.’ Jane drew a quick breath and shook her head. ‘Oh dear, this is not good!’

Thamsine flinched as the bandages came away to reveal the blackened, swollen, mangled mess.

Jane looked up at her. ‘What have you done for him?’

Thamsine outlined the rudimentary treatment suggested by Nan and the bonesetter.

Jane gently felt the broken bones. ‘You’re no fool, Captain Lovell. I am sure you can see for yourself that the bonesetter is right. If this is left, it will fester and you must know what that will mean.’

Kit closed his eyes and nodded.

‘There must be something you can do?’ Thamsine tried to hide the anxiety in her voice.

‘I will do what I can to reset the broken bones. Thamsine, I need … ’

Thamsine stared at her sister. She could already hear the world beginning to roar in her ears, and the room had begun to pitch and tilt.

Distantly she heard her sister say, ‘Thamsine, are you going to faint? Go and fetch that big man who brought me here and stay out of the way.’

Thamsine stumbled out of the room and passed out in the corridor.

***

An hour later, she crept back into the room.

‘Mercifully, he fainted too,’ Jane said, indicating Kit’s unconscious body on the bed. ‘God willing he will sleep now, and that is probably the best cure.’

Jane picked up her cloak and tied it. She gestured at an array of bottles and flasks on the table.

‘My own receipt, sister. Feverfew and chamomile.’ She picked up the largest flask. ‘It will help with the pain and any fever. I have reset the fingers and splinted them.’ She held up a bottle. ‘A poultice of this after twelve hours.’

‘Will it work?’

Jane shrugged. ‘It might, but if it worsens then the bonesetter is right. The hand will have to be amputated.’

Thamsine grimaced and her sister laid a hand on her arm.

‘I don’t want to give false hope. Even if it does heal, he will never have the full use of that hand again, but I think you both know that.’ Her face softened. ‘I’m sorry, Thamsine, but at least he will be alive and that is what matters, isn’t it?’

She took her sister in her arms.

‘I wish you didn’t have to go,’ Thamsine murmured.

Jane pulled apart, holding Thamsine at arm’s length.

‘You know I must. I have strapped his hand to his chest to stop him from moving it for the moment. Now, if you follow my instructions, you should be over the worst within the next twenty-four hours. Keep him cool, plenty of water, the feverfew, and this for the bruising.’ She held up a pot. ‘Don’t forget.’

‘I’m so useless,’ Thamsine said with a rueful smile. ‘I wish I were more like you.’

Jane touched her sister’s cheek. ‘No, dearest, you’re not useless. Your talents are different, that’s all. Now, remember to pray. That is always useful when all else fails.’

When Jane had left, Thamsine crept back up to the bedchamber. She stripped down to her shift and climbed into the bed beside her husband. He stirred but did not wake as she curled up against him and with her head resting against his shoulder she fell asleep.