His Obsession by Ann B. Keller Page B

the best chance this young man has.”
    Their eyes met briefly over the patient and
thankfully, Richard protested no longer. Quickly, Richard opened
his coat and threw it over a chair. With military precision and an
economy of movement, he cut away Winslow’s fine linen shirt,
gingerly easing the material aside. Frederick moaned in pain as
Richard and Kate inspected his wounds.
    Winslow’s arm was indeed broken and he might
have had a few cracked ribs, as well. Thankfully, the bones hadn’t
pierced the skin, but the sight proved to be too much for Helen. A
few seconds later, she crumpled to the floor in a dead faint.
    Edgar and the butler carried Helen from the
room and Kate took charge of Winslow’s care. Kate only turned her
back momentarily as the earl divested the young man of his trousers
and small clothes. Quickly, Richard tugged the sheet up over the
lower half of Winslow’s body and watched with admiration as Kate
gently moved Frederick’s arm into position on the mattress.
    “Can you please help me, my lord?’ Kate
requested. “The sooner we splint his arm, the better.”
    Richard nodded and followed her directions.
With splints and bandages at the ready, he helped Kate realign the
young lord’s arm and secure it with the splints. Winslow only
roused a moment, moaning as the worst of the pain assailed him.
Kate bent to cleanse and bandage the wounds over his ribs, but they
didn’t seem to be too serious. With Richard’s help, she also bound
Frederick’s ribs to minimize his movements until the physician
arrived.
    The pain brought Frederick around and Richard
managed to get a couple of glasses of Edgar’s best brandy down
Winslow’s throat while he was conscious. By the time the physician
arrived, matters were well in hand. Helen had recovered enough to
return to Winslow’s bedside and the doctor found her spooning warm
tea between his lips.
    Now that things were under control, Kate
quietly left the room.
    “Lady Overton?” Richard asked, pausing in the
upstairs hall.
    Richard had retrieved his wet coat from the
guest room. Although his dark hair was finally beginning to dry,
the coat was leaving a growing puddle around him. Kate ignored the
pool of water and smiled reassuringly.
    “He’ll be all right, I think. The doctor
agrees it was a clean break. For the moment, there is no fever. If
there is no infection, Lord Winslow should be completely healed in
about six weeks,” Kate explained.
    “You have my thanks and admiration,” Richard
told her. “You were very brave.”
    Kate blushed at his praise.
    “Thank you, but no braver than you, my lord,”
Kate countered. “It was good of you to stop and bring Lord Winslow
here. I can’t imagine what might have happened to him if he’d
remained like this in this rain.”
    Suddenly, Dorothea gasped from behind
them.
    “Oh, my lord! You’re dripping all over
mother’s carpet!” Dorothea exclaimed.
    “My apologies,” Richard murmured, bowing at
the waist.
    “Mama, perhaps we can find a room where his
lordship might rest and change?” Dorothea happily suggested.
    “Of course,” Penelope readily agreed. “Right
this way, my lord.”
    Richard Warwick allowed himself to be pulled
down the hallway by the two chattering women and Kate faded into
the background once again. Since the weather was so inclement, the
earl accepted the Overtons’ invitation to stay the night. Dorothea
was ecstatic.
    “He’s going to make an offer for me tonight.
Just wait and see, Mama!” Dorothea gushed.
    Penelope Overton enveloped her daughter in
her arms and raised her eyes heavenward. “I hope so, my darling. I
certainly hope so.”
    Kate turned away from the sight, absolutely
miserable.
    A short time later, Richard and Edgar Overton
adjourned to the study for a glass of port. The earl declined to
smoke a cigar, but happily accepted the glass of amber liquid that
Edgar held out to him.
    “That was quite a stroke of luck you had
today, my lord,” Edgar noted