A Page Turner Bookshop (The Willowbrook Series Book 2) by Laura Landon

Author:Laura Landon [Landon, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“I thought Mr. Essex would have returned by now,” Polly’s father remarked as they sat in the library after dinner.

Polly had tried to keep him occupied with talk of the recent growth of the town of Brookfield over the past few months, but his mind was focused on Ethan and what he’d discovered in London. Polly couldn’t blame him, but she knew it was only making him more nervous.

Finally, they heard a commotion in the foyer, and her father focused on the door, waiting for Sedgewick, their butler, to introduce Ethan. Within moments there seemed to be more commotion than usual, and instead of Sedgewick, a footman knocked, then opened the door.

“My lord.”

“Yes?” her father answered.

“You need to come at once. The stable hands found a wounded rider. He’s hurt bad, and Sedgewick sent for the doctor.”

“Who is it, do you know?”

“No, my lord, but Sedgewick recognized him. He sent the men carrying him to one of the guest rooms. He’s been shot more than once.”

Polly didn’t wait for her father to move. She knew without being told that it was Ethan.

She raced across the foyer, then up the stairs. The men carrying the wounded man were placing him on the bed.

“Ethan,” she cried, then ran to the bed.

“He’s badly hurt, my lady,” a stable hand said.

“What happened to him?”

“Someone shot him.”

Polly released a muffled cry, then reached for Ethan’s hand and held it. “Send for water and cloths and bandages and anything else the doctor will need. Remove his boots, jacket, waistcoat, and shirt.”

The servants scattered to follow her orders, and when a basin of water arrived, she wet a cloth and wiped his face.

He didn’t move. At first Polly wasn’t sure he was even breathing, but when the men lifted him to remove his clothes, he moaned. It was a pitiful sound.

“Is he alive?” her father asked, coming into the room.

“Yes, Papa. But barely,” she answered through the tears that were streaming from her eyes. “He’s been shot three times. Who would do something like this?”

“Whoever stole the money,” her father said. “They must have been alerted as to what we’d discovered and were desperate to silence him.”

When the men had removed Ethan’s shirt, Polly wiped his chest. She wanted to remove as much of the blood as she could.

“You shouldn’t be tending him, Pauline. We have servants to do that.”

“No, I will do it.”

Before her father could say anything more, the door opened and the doctor entered.

“Dr. Edwards,” Polly greeted him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

The doctor hurried to Ethan and inspected his wounds. “I will need some boiling water, alcohol, and a bottle of whisky.”

Polly nodded to Sedgewick, and he gave the order to the servants.

“Now, my lady, I insist that you leave the room so I can work. If I’m correct, there are two bullets that need to come out. The third went cleanly through. But I need to work fast. If the young man is fortunate, I can get the bullets out before he wakes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.