Lady Fiasco, A Traditional Regency Romance (My Notorious Aunt) (23 page)

He squinted
a
t her
,
unbe
l
ieving
,
uncertain if she was a ghost, or if he was the luckiest man alive. He crumpled into tears and he
c
lutched her against his chest again.

“Stop. My arm…” she moaned.

Tyrell came to his senses. He looked down and saw for the first
ti
me that her arm was lying across he
r
lap, twisted awkwardly
.
From the elbow down it appe
a
red to be screwed on backward. He brought it into focus through his watery eyes
.
“It’s broken. Don
’
t move
.
I’ll get you to a doctor as hastily as I can
.”

He unwound his cravat from his neck and yanked off the long white cloth. “We can bind your arm to your body so it won’t move about
.
Can you sit up a little?”

“I think so.” She leaned up, but the movement cost her considerable pain. He didn’t miss her lips clamped tight, or her involuntary flinches as he wound the cloth across her shoulder and anchored her arm to her chest. “How is that?”

“Better
.
” She nodded
,
but he was unconvinced.

“Fiona, listen to me. Lifting you onto Perseus’s back—there’s bound to be pain. I’m sorry for it, but there’s no other way. I’ve got to get you to a doctor
.
”

She nodded. When Tyrell hefted her onto his horse, she shuddered and turned white. Afraid she would faint, he rushed to climb up behind her.

“There’s a surgery near here,” she said
,
pain warping her voice. “Dr
.
Meredith.”

Tyrell clicked his tongue and urged Perseus into a gentle walk
.
With one arm he held Fiona firmly against his chest. Grimly, he followed her directions, until they found a two
-
story town house. He tied Perseus to a link and carefully lifted Fiona down. She looked alarmingly pale. He held her shoulders as they walked to the door
.

“What about my mount?” she asked.

“Ran off
.
Doesn’t matter. If I ever see the blasted beast again I’ll put a bullet in her ignorant head.” He banged the knocker.

“You needn’t be cross with her. It was my fault
.
I don’t ride well in a lady’s saddle
.
Leave me here with Dr
.
Meredith and go search for your horse.”

“Don’t spout nonsense
.
”

“But—” The color washed out of her face and her eyes opened wide. “Oh dear
—”
Fiona slid like a corpse down his side into a dead faint
.
He caught her, scooping her up into his arms
.

The door opened. Dr. Meredith stood without a coat, his sleeves rolled up, squinting at Tyrell holding Fiona in his arms. “Is that Miss Hawthornham? What happened?”

Tyrell glared at the doctor as if the fellow had biscuits for brains. “Hawthorn. It’s Miss Hawthorn. She’s had a riding accident. Don’t just stand there, man. Help me get her into your surgery
.
”

When Fiona awoke, the sleeve of her riding dress had been sliced open up to the shoulder, and the two men were standing beside her, arguing
.

“
I tell you, it’s not broken. It’s dislocated
.
”

“How can you be certain
?
” Tyrell demanded.

“Gad
,
man. I’m a doctor. I’m supposed to be able to tell
.
I felt the bones. They’re all intact
.
The radius has slipped out of the elbow joint. To put it plainly, her forearm is upside down.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“If you will get out of my way, I intend to move the arm into position and snap it back in place
.
”

“There must be another way.” Tyrell slapped his hand against his leg. “That’s going to hurt her something awful
.
”

“Of course it will hurt
.
But while we stand here arguing, the muscles and ligaments are stretching, tearing and getting weaker. Her recovery pain is increasing with every minute you delay me.”

Tyrell exhaled through gritted teeth
.
“You’re certain there’s no other way? Something less painful?”

“If there was, I would’ve already done it. Now, you must move and allow me to set her arm
.
”

Tyrell sighed
,
sounding like misery itself, and stepped aside. “Very well
.
”

Dr. Meredith smiled
sympathetically
at Fiona. “Ah, you’re awake. So you heard?”

She nodded.

“Then we’ll begin
.
” When he grasped her arm and yanked it into place, Fiona sank back into the gray oblivion from which she had just emerged.

Chapter 18
To Catch a Murderer

T
hey returned to Alison Hall that afternoon. Tyrell held Fiona more possessively than normal as he led her into the foyer. Although she wore a sling on her arm, she looked rather cheerful for an invalid.

She smiled up at him, groggy from laudanum. “This time the Duchess of Disaster wounded herself. I can sympathize with my former victims
.
”

Tyrell raked a hand through his disorderly curls. “Reserve some of your sympathy for me, Fiona
.
It is exceedingly hard to stand by, helpless, while someone you care about suffers
.
I believe I have aged ten years in one morning
.
”

Warmth flooded her cheeks.
He cares
.
In the hazy memories of that morning, Fiona recalled how he had begged God for her life because he loved her
.
She tried not to betray her joy at this discovery, and decided the best disguise would be to tease him
.
“Now that you mention it, my lord, you do look older
.
Oh dear, now, Lady Haversburg
can
call you an old gudgeon.”

“Just so.”

As they walked across the foyer h
i
s boots reported crisply against the marble and echoed through the circular room. Out of the
corner
of his eye, Tyrell caught a flash of white descending on them
.
It had no place in the air above their heads
.
Before he could comprehend what was hurtling toward them, h
i
s battlefield instincts shot into action
.

He grabbed Fiona and dove against the wall
.
He hunched over her, sheltering her beneath his chest
.
A deafening crash followed
,
and chunks of flying debris pelted his back.

Once the splattering stopped
,
Tyrell turned to stare at
t
he foyer floor
. One of the
large Grecian urns from the balcony above their heads lay shattered at their feet
.
They looked at each other. Tyrell still clutched her against his side.

Fiona’s voice shook and came out barely above a whisper
. “
That
’
s twice today you’ve rescued me
,
my lord. B
u
t this time.
..
this time
we both might have been killed.
”

“Are you all right?
”
He held her tight, waiting for her nod
.
Studying the debris, Tyrell picked up a broken section of the urn’s base and turned the thick marble over in his hand
.
Across the foyer
,
Honore stood in a doorway, also surveying the scene.

Mattie exploded into the vestibule, huffing and puffing. Behind her trailed a number of maids, two footmen, and the butler.

“I heard a noise. What’s happened?” Mattie bellowed
,
halting in front of the broken heap of stone. “What’s all this?”

Honore walked casually forward. “This, my dear Matt
i
e
,
is a dreadful tangle
.
”

Tyrell stared at Lady Alameda. He thought her choice of words rather peculiar for the situation.

“Mattie, our Fiona has had something of a harrowing experience, and judging by the note I received earlier, thi
s i
s her second such upset
.
She needs a restorative cup of tea
an
d a rest
.
See to it, will you? Tell Lorraine to s
it w
ith Fiona for the rest of the night. She should not be left alone.”

“That is unnecessary, Aunt Honore. Truly. I feel fine.
”

“I insist.” There were no superlatives no grand flourishes. Honore’s tone brooked no nonsense. “Mattie see to it
.
”

Mattie put an arm around Fiona. “Come along, m’ dear. We must get ye to bed and rest that arm of yours. I’ve a nice soothing balm that will draw out the swelling.”

Before Mattie could whisk her away, Fiona reached for Tyrell. He took her hand in his.
“Thank you
sounds dreadfully feeble on the face of things,” she said, and smiled at him with such warmth his poor cold heart nearly burst into a boil. “But I am deeply grateful to you, my lord. More than you know.”

He said nothing, but lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it
.

Honore issued a sharp command
.
“Lord Wesmont
,
a word with you in my study.” Mattie ushered Fiona away
. R
eluctantly, Tyrell followed Lady Alameda into her study. Honore shut the door and leaned against it
.
She wore a ferret-like expression.

Weary of her machinations, he drawled
,
“I suppose you want to hear my decision?”

“Don’t be ridiculous
,
” Honore snapped. “I’ve got more important matters to discuss with you
.
Aside from that, I knew what your answer would be the moment I first laid eyes on you. Probably before.”

“You flatter yourself
,
Lady Alameda
.
You could not have known
,
nor can you yet k
n
ow
,
what I have decided. I’ve only come to a conclusion this very morning.
”

She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes
.
“
Very well
. Shall we see how far from the mark I fell? You discovered this morning that you
’
re hopelessly in love with Fiona. She stirs your blood and engages your heart in a way no other woman can and you won’t be truly happy unless you wed her. Well, Wesmont, did I get it right?”

His countenance turned dark and hard
,
like a man who’s been cheated at cards.

The corners of Honore’s mouth played dangerously into a smirk. “Good grief man, you had it written on your sleeve the fi
r
st day I met you
.
You’re not such a dolt that you actually believed I’d offer my niece to you
carte blanche?
A virgin on a platter?” She sneered at him and shook her head.

Tyrell’s jaw flexed
,
and his glower deepened.

Honore abruptly stopped grinning
. A
nger flashed across her face
,
matching his
.
“Don’t be a fool! She’s my flesh and blood.”

“Obviously, I am a fool
.
For I not only believed you—I nearly took you up
on your false offer.”

“Folderol. If you think that, you are sadly ignorant of your own character, my lord. And I’ve no time for ignorance.”

“You played too deep this time, Lady Alameda. You misjudged me, at the risk of your niece
’
s maidenhood.”

“I’d have shot you myself if you took a single misstep.” Honore growled, “I never misjudge.
Never
!” But her face faltered. She suddenly looked vulnerable, as if she might crumple. “At least, I usually don’t.” Lady Alameda pursed her lips and studied the shelves of books lining the wall behind him until she regained control.
“Come
,
Wesmont, I didn’t ask you in here to bicker
.
”