Page 85 of Discovering Her Earl

He felt like a tiny boat at sea being hammered by the waves of a storm.

He tried to answer their questions, understanding why they needed to know, but he just wanted them to help Lainey.

“Please… help her,” he finally said. “Her head.”

“Wounds of the head bleed like the devil, but are rarely as bad as they seem,” the man said in a calm tone that made Julian want to punch him, but doing so wouldn’t help Lainey.

“It seems really bad, so can we make the bleeding stop? Now?”

The man let out a huff as if Julian was annoying him. He was about ten seconds from finding out how annoying Julian and his fists could be, but he pulled a needle from his bag and began sterilizing it in the nearby flame.

Julian thought he might need to sit down as the people in the tent began to blend together. He needed to be strong for Lainey. He couldn’t swoon like a debutante with her laces too tight.

But strong or no, he did look away when the Comte began stitching Lainey’s skin. There was no reason he needed to keep watch over that.

“When will she wake up?” Lady Darlington asked with tears in her eyes.

“She’ll wake up when she’s ready. The brain likes to protect itself by pulling away from the goings on out here. It could be a few hours or it could be a few days.”

“A few days?” Julian snapped, revisiting his idea of punching the man now that he wasn’t actively taking care of Lainey.

“It’s perfectly normal when one gets a bump on the head. The bleeding has stopped. She just needs to rest now. Someone should stay with her while—”

“I’ll stay,” Julian volunteered immediately. He couldn’t leave her. What if she woke and needed him? Even more probable was that he would worry himself into a fit if he couldn’t see that her chest continued moving as she breathed.

“That isn’t necessary,” Lady Darlington said. “I will stay.”

“I will stay with you,” Julian altered his initial plan, knowing her aunt would want to see she was safe. “I insist. This is my fault.”

“Why do you think that?” Henry asked with his brows pulled together.

“I set the ladder up. I should have made certain it was secure. I should have climbed it first myself to make sure it would hold.” Suddenly the tent was too small and had too little air.

When Henry slapped him on the back, it forced him to draw in a big breath as he gasped.

“It was an accident, Julian. They happen from time to time on a dig. Everyone is aware of the dangers, including Lainey. There is no great science to setting up a ladder. I’m sure you did it well enough. Perhaps you would do better to come with me to get a drink.”

“I must stay here,” he said in his most earl-esque tone so it wouldn’t be questioned. Hale often pulled out his “duke voice” when he didn’t want to argue. Fortunately, Julian had been paying attention to how it was done.

“We’ll all stay for a bit,” Henry announced diplomatically and went to the opening in the tent to call for someone to bring more chairs.

The first hour passed in silence. Into the second, Lady Darlington began crying softly, which upset Lord Darlington.

“I would prefer she was screaming in pain as bad as that sounds,” Henry said as Rose dabbed at her worried tears.

Julian said nothing, as he continued to watch Elaina’s chest rise and fall with her breathing. He wanted to touch her, but despite seeing she was alive, he didn’t dare reach out, in case her skin was cold instead of holding its usual warmth.

He’d surely touched every inch of her skin and knew the temperature it should be. But now, he twisted his fingers in nervousness and watched.

More hours passed and they waited. Lady Darlington dozed off and Lord Darlington ordered a cot be brought for his wife, knowing she wouldn’t want to be removed from the tent.

Soon after, Lord Darlington began to snore where he leaned back in his chair.

Julian himself felt the weight of fatigue settle over him, but still he watched.

Up.

Down.