Seeing Danger (Sinclair and Raven #2)(56)

“Very well, I will speak with her tomorrow. And I would thank you for your harsh words; they have made me see just what I have become, Lord Sinclair.”

“Words will cost you nothing, Braithwaite,” Dev said, brushing past him. “Actions, however, now they are worth a great deal more.”



Dev helped Essie and Lilly clean Toby's wound. He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness, and the tension in the room grew with each breath he struggled to draw into his small body.

“There is so much blood,” Lilly whispered as she once again rinsed the cloth in the bowl, the water now red.

“Dev says the damage inside him is bad and that he is bleeding. Therefore, I must be honest, Lilly, it does not look good.”

Lilly's hands stilled as Essex spoke. “Please tell me he will live.”

“Essie will do everything she can and James has called for a doctor,” Dev reassured her.

Lilly looked up at him, her eyes wide and pleading. “He can't die, Devon.”

“We won't know anything until he has been treated, Lilly, but for now, we have to stop the bleeding,” Essie soothed.

Dev let himself slide into his other vision. The boy was bleeding from the inside, and he could see his color was weaker, the yellow now almost cream. Unless they stopped that bleeding, Toby would die; he knew it, Essie knew it. Lilly, however, did not.

The doctor came, a ridiculously young-looking man who, as far as Lilly was concerned, did not have enough experience to make an accurate diagnosis. She looked over his shoulder as he checked Toby, and Dev could see the young man was intimidated.

“He has internal injuries I am afraid, and is losing too much blood. I fear the prognosis is not promising.”

“Well, then do something!”

Dev intervened as Lilly glared at the doctor, and he quickly pushed him from the room into James's hands outside.

After applying a paste to the wound and forcing several sips of herbal tea down Toby's throat, Essie left, muttering about needing a medical book she had in her room. Toby's breath had grown weak and his face was as white as the sheet he lay upon. Dev took the cup of warm tea and buttered crumpet off the tray, both of which Lilly had refused, and moved to her side.

“Eat this.”

“I couldn't,” she said, her eyes still on Toby, and Dev wondered where she got her strength. He was wilting and he hadn't been abducted, bound, and left in a small room with no nourishment for hours on end.

“You will eat this, Lilly, because you will need your strength to care for Toby. If you faint, then it will be me he sees when he opens his eyes, not you.”

She took the tea and gulped it down, then nibbled the crumpet. He wiped the corner of her mouth when she ate the last bite. The sob came from nowhere, and when she launched into his arms he caught her.





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


“T-tell me he will live, Dev.”

“I can't, sweetheart, you must understand that,” he said, running his hand over her hair.

She lay against him, looking at Toby. Dev lifted her hands, looking at her bloodied and torn gloves, and slowly took them from her fingers.

“Do you trust me, Lilly?”

“Yes.”

Amazing how one simple word could warm him to his toes. He kissed each finger because he knew she liked it, and was rewarded with a gentle sigh. Even exhausted, she responded to him as he knew she always would. Looking at her slender hands, he wondered if his hunch was accurate. It seemed now was the time to test his theory.

“Did you ever touch another person before you took to wearing gloves, and feel strange sensations, Lilly?”

She looked at him for several seconds and then slowly nodded. Lord, she was beautiful. Her hair was everywhere, her clothes dirty with bits torn here and there, yet he had never wanted another woman like he did Lilliana Braithwaite. He wanted to take her home with him and keep her safe, lock her away from anyone who would harm her, and that simply confirmed just how important she had become to him.

Only his family made him feel such emotions, yet now it seemed Lilly could too. Brushing his lips over hers, he kept the kiss light, and then turning to the bed he looked at the small boy lying motionless. Switching his vision, he could see Toby's color was now white, and Dev feared he did not have long to live. Essie had tried everything and was even now looking for something to save the boy, but Dev knew death better than most, and Toby was close. His breathing had grown shallow and he lay still in the big bed.

“Will you try something for me?” Dev said, once again taking Lilly's hand in his. “Just place your hands on Toby and tell me what you feel.” She didn't speak, just turned and laid one palm flat on Toby's forehead, the other on his chest. The boy twitched instantly and then calmed.

“What do you feel?”

“He's so cold, almost like he's—”

“No, Lilly, he's not dead,” Dev said, placing his hand over hers. If what he suspected was true and Lilly could heal with her hands, then maybe he could help her in some way, use his strength to support her.

“Now we're going to move your hand slowly down his arm.”

“I'm scared.”

“I know, love, but I'm here and I will keep you safe. You said you trusted me, remember.” She nodded as he moved as close to her as he could, his front now pressed to her back, and then cupping her hands with his, he began to run them over the boy. The heat from her hands made his tingle, the sensation not unbearable, but he could feel it traveling up his arms.