Mail Order Penelope (Widows, Brides & Secret Babies Book 23) by Abbott Zina

Author:Abbott, Zina [Abbott, Zina]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2020-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 15

~o0o~

I nstead of being repulsed by the surgery on Mr. Pierce’s arm, Penelope found it fascinating. By focusing on what the doctor did to fix the vein and remove the bullet, she kept her mind off seeing the blood and muscle below the skin. Before she knew it, all four men had been operated on.

What had really been a revelation was the patient who did not need a bullet removed. When Marcus pulled a bloodied piece of what looked like frayed skin from Pvt. Colby’s infected wound, he held it up to the light.

“Part of his shirt that the arrowhead forced inside him. That, along with the dirt on the arrowhead itself, was what caused the infection. Fortunately, he didn’t hit any intestines or major organs. He’s lucky he didn’t tear his flesh and chest muscles any worse than he did when he yanked the arrow out.”

Penelope recalled making an effort not to react at his words. Of course, she knew about intestines. She had helped clean and prepare animal intestines for making sausages. Still, it was uncomfortable thinking about intestines belonging to a man. Genteel ladies did not discuss body parts, especially those beneath the sections of skin expected to stay beneath clothing. If my mother was still alive, she would rail at me about how unseemly this is. However, the more Penelope thought about it, she did not feel she behaved unseemly assisting the surgeon. Even if she were seeing parts of a man’s anatomy that most women might only see on their own husbands or young sons, how could helping to save men’s lives be improper?

When the captain finished removing the bullet from Sgt. Mulroney and stitched the wound closed, she realized he must feel just as fatigued, or perhaps more so, than she did. She watched as he ran his fingers through his hair.

The captain grimaced as he removed his hand from his head and held it out in front of him. “I should not have done that. Now I’ll have to sanitize my hands once again.”

“What needs to be done, Captain? Perhaps I can help.”

“I need to put a bandage around his leg to keep the wound clean. I think I have one or two more rolls in my supplies chest.” He dipped his hands in the carbolic acid solution.

“Let me get it for you.” Penelope crossed to the chest and picked up a bandage roll. “You have two more left after this one, Captain.” She turned and handed it to him.

His hands still damp, he took the bandage from Penelope. “Thank you. By chance, do I have any larger folded cloths left in there? I need something to use for slings when these men are ready to get up more, and I…um…promised the sergeant I would keep him well-covered.”

Penelope felt the heat move from her neck up to her face. “Of course. I’ll stay in the other room while you have one of the men help you lift his limb to wrap the wound.

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