Lily and the Duke (Sex and the Season #1)(81)

“No, I’ll stay. I want to take care of her.”

“What would the earl say?”

“I don’t care. I’m the one who will care for her. I want to. I need to.”

“All right, dear. It’s the middle of the night anyway. Who will know?”

Lucy removed the nightgown. Lily’s naked body was covered in a soft gleam of perspiration. Daniel frowned at the purple-and-blue bruises marring her beautiful arms and legs.

“The contusions are quite normal considering the fall she took,” Lucy said. “She’s lucky she didn’t break any bones.”

Her comment did little to ease Daniel’s worry. Lucy brought another cloth soaked in ice water and smoothed it over Lily’s parched body.

“The fever will go up and down, Daniel. That’s the course of it. When she’s hot like this, she needs to be cooled. When she shivers with fever chills, you need to cover her and warm her.”

“Yes. All right. Let me.” He took the cloth from Lucy, moistened it the ice water once more, and continued moving it over Lily’s body in long strokes. He rewet the cloth frequently, as her body seemed to heat the cloth all the way to his hand in no time at all.

Lucy touched her lips to Lily’s forehead. “She’s a bit cooler now. Give her a few more ice pieces. If you’d like to get some sleep, I’ll sit with her for the rest of the night.”

“No. I’m not leaving her.”

“All right, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“You know where I am if you need me. She’s likely to go into chills soon. Wrap her in blankets, hold her, anything that seems to comfort her, all right?”

“Yes.”

“Good night.”

“Good night, Aunt Lucy. Thank you.”

Daniel didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. As Lucy had predicted, Lily began to shiver within a couple of hours. Daniel wrapped her in blankets and held her in his arms, speaking soothing words to her, hoping she could hear him.

“I love you,” he said softly. “I love you, Lily.”

Her body trembled against his, her eyes closed. He held her as close as he could, trying to transfer his body heat to her, kissing her temples, loving her, willing her to come back to him. When the chills finally subsided, he laid her back on the bed and tried to feed her some water, most of which dribbled down her chin. “Come on, love, just a little,” he said, “for me.”

In another hour she was burning again, so he fed her pieces of ice and cooled her as Lucy had shown him. Dawn broke, and at the hour of seven, he gave her another dose of morphine. Soon after, Dr. Blake came in.

“How is she?” he asked.

“Feverish,” Daniel said. “My aunt showed me what to do.”

“Have you been up all night, Your Grace?”

“I slept a little.”

Blake shook his head. “Let me examine her.” The doctor removed the covers and gazed upon Lily, clad only in a dressing robe that Daniel had draped over her. He held his hand to her forehead. “She’s a little warm, but not burning. You’ve taken good care of her.” He looked between her legs. “No residual bleeding. That’s good. When was her last dose of morphine?”

“Just a little while ago, at seven.”

“Good. Let’s continue it every six hours for the next full day. We should be able to cut back after that. She may wake up for a few minutes today, but that remains to be seen. Her concussion may keep her unconscious for another twenty-four hours. I’d like for her to take some broth if she wakes up. I’ll have some sent up. You’ll need to keep it warm on the grate since we don’t know when or if she’ll wake up today. Has she taken any water?”

“A little. It mostly drips down her chin.”

“How about ice?”

“When she’s burning, I let it melt in her mouth. It seems to go down.”

“Try ice for now, then. It will be easier to get into her than water. Keep feeding it to her.”

“Yes, all right.”

“Also, I’d like her bed linens changed. She’ll be more comfortable if they’re changed every day. More frequently if possible. The sweat from her body soils the linens and will irritate her skin.”

“I’ll see to it.”

“Good. Have her parents been in yet?”

“I’m here now,” the Countess of Ashford said, entering the room carrying a wicker basket. “How is my daughter?”

“She’s doing well, my lady. She’s feverish, but His Grace has taken excellent care of her. He’s hardly slept.”

“You should go, Your Grace. I’ll sit with her.”

“She needs her bed linens changed,” Daniel said.

“I’ll call for a maid,” the countess said.

“No, I want to do it.”

“Your Grace, that’s silly. There are servants—”

“I want to take care of her.”

Dr. Blake bowed. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you two to fight this out. I’ll be back in to check on her in a few hours.” As he walked out, he turned to look at Daniel. “Your Grace, Lady Ashford is right. You need to rest. Have the servants change the linens, and let her mother sit with her for a while. She’s in good hands.” He shut the door behind him.