The Shadows_Regency Romance_Ladies, Love, and Mysteries by Joyce Alec

Author:Joyce Alec [Alec, Joyce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-10T05:00:00+00:00

8

The pain in her arm was growing steadily, although Julia made no sound of complaint as Lord Stephen slowly pulled off her stained glove. She bit her lip instead and looked away as Lord Stephen leaned down to look at it a little better, not wanting to see the red gash on her arm which was now resting on top of a thick cushion so as not to stain her gown.

“It is not too deep,” Lord Stephen said, the relief obvious in his voice, as Miss Seymour rubbed her back sympathetically. “It looks like a knife wound to me.”

She shuddered. “A knife?” she repeated hoarsely, having no understanding why someone would wish to slash out at her with a blade. “But why?”

Lord Stephen said nothing but looked up at her sharply, as though she knew why someone would do such a thing and was merely choosing not to tell him.

“I do not understand,” Miss Seymour said softly, looking at Julia with wide eyes. “You were dancing and as you took a turn about the floor, someone attempted to injure you?”

Closing her eyes, Julia let out a long, slow breath so that fear would not take a hold of her. “It must be as you say,” she said faintly. “I cannot think as to why.”

“Whoever it was must have been quite desperate,” Lord Stephen said as the door opened behind her. “To slash out at you in such a public manner speaks of a frantic anxiety.” He looked at her steadily, his green eyes swirling with unspoken emotion. “But why would they do so? What is it that they want to prevent you from doing?”

Mrs. Law, who by some miracle was not in her cups, came closer to Julia, accompanied by a maid and a gentleman with a bag in his hand. The maid was carrying a tray which Julia saw contained a bowl of water and a few cloths. This meant that the gentleman in question must be a doctor, Julia realized, waving Mrs. Law into a chair with her good arm, seeing that her companion was close to fainting. No doubt the lady was afraid that what had happened to Julia would be reported back to Lord Steele and that she would then lose her position. There would be no real concern for Julia’s injury.

“Now, what have we here?” the doctor asked, looking down at her with a kind expression, although his blue eyes were glinting with a clear intelligence. “Whatever happened to you?”

Julia felt her eyes fill with sudden tears but forced them back. “I do not know,” she answered honestly as the doctor pulled up a chair and picked up her hand, turning it gently left and then right as he scrutinized the wound. “Lord Stephen thinks it may have been a knife.”

The doctor looked toward Lord Stephen with a shrewd glance. “Then Lord Stephen would be correct, Miss Hawkins,” he said, clearly having been told her name by Mrs. Law. “It looks to be so to me, although it is not very deep.

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