Page 123 of Bought for Blood

“Her rooms, my lord?”

“Mine.”

“Yes, my lord.” He gets under my arm without being asked. “The doctor’s coming out from the village. Marthe has had him telephoned twice.”

Marthe is in the hall in her dressing gown with her hair down her back.

“Right,” she says. “Her first. Broth, then the doctor.”

“Marthe—”

“And you’re going too.”

“I’ve lived through worse.” I’m not certain that’s true.

“I’ve buried a husband and raised four boys.” She points at the staircase without looking at me. “Don’t argue with me at four in the morning, my lord. You’ll lose.”

They get us both up. Serenity doesn’t wake for any of it.

The doctor comes at six. He’s mortal. He’s been coming to this house since he was a young man, and he has never asked a question about anyone in it.

He cleans the shoulder front and back. He can’t stitch anything, because the wound isn’t open enough to stitch. Then he stands over his own work with the swab in his hand.

“How old is this?”

“A day.”

“Mr. Val-Serein.” He looks up at me. “I’ve seen a lot of things in this house, and I’ve never asked about any of them.”

“No.”

“Then I won’t start.” He shuts the case. “Feed her. Let her sleep. And get some rest too. You look worse than she does.”

Crowe is in the front hall when I come down. He’s got his coat on and his keys in his hand.

“You’re going back,” I say.

“Faine’s people are moving the captives.” He turns the keys over once. “And somebody has to stand before Viktor Parlance and say what we did.”

“That will be an interesting conversation.”

“It’ll be short.” He stops. “There’s something you need to hear first.”

“Say it.”

“Her sister is demanding to know where Serenity is.” He watches my face. “They took that mountain apart. There’s an angry bear involved. Viktor’s had people on the road since. He’s been telephoning Faine every two hours, and Faine hasn’t said anything, which he’s worked out means she knows something.”

Grace.

“What am I telling them?” Crowe says.

She’s asleep two floors above us with a hole in her that closed overnight.

“That she’s safe.”

“He’ll ask where.”

“Then he’s getting the same answer you got.”