Arranged: An Array Series (Book #1)(48)

“You can’t go in there, my Lord,” Miranda demanded. She tried to hide the blood on the towels that she held.

“What is going on in there?!” I said harshly.

“Shhhh…” she replied. “You’ll wake His Grace.” George was slouched in a chair, passed out from too much brandy.

“What is going on?” I asked, more softly but urgently.

“She…she is coughing up blood, my Lord.”

“Blood?!” I exclaimed. I tried to push past her, but the small brunette kept her stance.

“Shhhh! The doctor said that it is good for her to do so.”

“Is he crazy?! Coughing up blood is not—”

“She was poisoned, my Lord,” she interjected. “The doctor said that by her coughing the blood out, her body is rejecting the poison which is already in her bloodstream.”

“But she is losing blood. That can’t be—”

“The doctor is doing everything he can…to save her life,” she said gently.

I swallowed.

To save her life. She was dying.

“How bad? How bad is it? I have to see her.”

Miranda hesitated. “I’ll ask the doctor.”

“Will you do it now?” I asked, pleading with her. She looked at me and nodded, walking back inside.

I walked up and down the long hallway. I didn’t know how many minutes or hours it had been before Miranda came back outside to let me in. The doctor was washing his hands and glanced in my direction.

“She needs plenty of rest. I don’t want a parade of people in and out of this room. She has lost a lot of blood. She needs to be fed, later tonight. Some broth.” He dried his hands with a clean towel. “The word ‘rest’ is key here. I will be back in the morning to check on her.”

“Thank you, doctor. Will she…make it?”

The doctor paused, looking at his patient. “I won’t know until a few days have passed.”

Lucy escorted him out of the room, and Miranda tended to the dirty towels and water. I pulled up a chair and sat next to Ava, holding her hand. Both ladies in waiting noticed and looked at each other.

“We are going to take these downstairs and bring you up something to eat,” Lucy stated. I didn’t look at her, but shook my head.

“No, I’m not hungry.”

“My Lord, you will eat. You’ve been outside that door for hours. Miranda is going to wake your brother and get him to his room.”

“Good luck. He’ll come right in here,” I declared.

She chuckled. “You are probably right.”

Both ladies walked out of the room and left us alone. I knew I would only have a few moments of silence with her. Ava’s beautiful red hair was wet by her forehead, from the cloths the girls put on her. Her breathing was still shallow, which scared me. I faced many foes and dangerous situations, but nothing compared to this. The powerless feeling of not being able to control this ate at me.

I squeezed her hand and prayed. Prayed to whatever God or almighty power would listen to me.

George stumbled ungracefully through the door, half drunk and asleep.

“How is she?” he grumbled, stumbling to the bed.

“The doctor said she lost a lot of blood.”

“Blood?!”

“Your voice could wake up the dead, George, shut up,” I growled.

George lowered his voice. “What’s the verdict? When will she be able to get up?”

“We don’t know.”

“Well, I want to know!”

“I will personally escort you out of this damn room if you don’t shut up!” I promised, shooting him a look.

“I’m sorry,” George said. “I just don’t know how much more I can take.”

“I know, George. Everything is going to be all right. She survived one ordeal; she must make it through this one.”

“She will,” he agreed, as he pulled a chair up next to me and sat down.

“Father is taking care of the arrangements,” I replied, referring to Madelyn.

George cleared his throat. “I’m sure he’ll send her home. To be with her family.”

“Is that what you want?” I asked, looking at him.



“To be honest, I don’t care at this point. I’m numb. Numb to everything. I just want to fall asleep and not wake up until this is all over.”

“I don’t think enough brandy will wipe this out,” I replied.

“My God, I don’t know how you do it,” George said, rubbing his forehead with his fingers.

“Do what?”

“Handle this. Handle protecting everyone. And when something unexpected happens, that you can’t control, you can’t fix it. You just have to wait for whatever fate has planned.”

“I’m not handling this well,” I retorted. I wanted to punch something.

We sat with her for a while in silence, each lost in our own thoughts of the future and what laid ahead for us. Ava played a large part in both our lives; we wouldn’t survive her death.

Lucy returned as promised, with food. Two plates filled with cheeses, meats, and grapes. “Eat up, my Lord and Your Grace. You both need to keep your strength up.”

We ate some of their meal, talked about Ava, and then were issued back to our rooms by Lucy and Miranda. They promised to call for us if anything had changed. But everything changed now. I needed to get her out of here.