And what about Mama and Phillip? If she married Hal, she would be the daughter in law of an earl. Hal might be the second son, he might not have great personal wealth, but he had connections, those essential networks of patronage and influence that would shape her brother’s life and ensure her mother would always be secure and at the heart of respectable Society. Duty again: if she had cavilled at Smyth, she could hardly refuse such a match with all its advantages for the family she loved.
As a marriage prospect, Hal was far superior to any of the men she had held out hopes for. And he knew it, knew she wanted to marry. At least, she thought bitterly, he could not believe she had manufactured this battle to entrap him. What would marriage to Hal be like? The bedroom would be exciting; she knew that already. But everyday, domestic life? It was like trying to imagine a panther in a sitting room.
Her lids were closing, fight though she might to stay awake. When had she last slept? Julia tried to remember as the blissful darkness swept her away.
‘Quiet, you’ll waken them.’
Julia knew the whispering voice, but she could not place it, nor why there was a man in her bed chamber. Nor why, as she shifted to get more comfortable, the bed was so lumpy.
And then she heard Hal’s voice. ‘My God, I am glad to see you!’
She sat up with a jerk to find Will Grey, his arm in a sling, standing in the doorway with George.
‘Not half as glad as I am to see you both,’ he said, grinning past her.
Julia twisted round, her feet tangling in the blanket. Hal was still flat on his back, looking like death. But not, as he had yesterday, as if he might actually die. He was grinning back at Captain Grey. ‘Have you got any clothes for me?’
‘No, but I’ve got food. And I can go and get you clothes.’ He walked across and sat on the end of the make shift bed. ‘Good morning, Miss Tresilian. You have him, I see.’
‘He doesn’t need clothes: he is not getting up,’ she retorted, refusing to be drawn into an exchange of pleas an tries, trying not to flinch at the captain’s choice of words. ‘Food would be good, but a cart we can lay him out flat in would be better. And should you be riding about? What about your arm?’
‘Be careful,’ Hal warned. ‘She’ll set George on you with a needle and thread.’
‘I’ve already been stitched up, thank you very much,’ Will said with a grimace. ‘And I can ride one-handed. The question is, are you fit to be moved?’
‘Damn it, yes.’
‘Damn it, no!’ Julia scram bled to her feet. ‘He needs at least one more day and night before he is jolted over that road—if there’s any road left. I heard the wounded being taken back yesterday, they were in agony.’
‘True enough.’ Will Grey scratched his chin. ‘A horse litter would be best.’
‘We have two horses, if you and George can make a litter.’
‘And how do you propose to get back?’ Hal demanded. ‘Walk?’
Julia glared at him. ‘If I have to. And stop talking, you are getting heated and your fever will get worse. Captain Grey, please come outside, you are over-exciting him.’
‘Will—’
‘In a minute. I think we have to accept that Miss Tresilian is in charge.’ Captain Grey followed her out. ‘He is going to be a terrible patient, you realize that? The last time he was badly injured, he refused to rest until our commanding officer said he was tired of Lieutenant Carlow falling flat on his face every time he stood up and ordered him to bed.’ He strolled away until they were well out of earshot of the hovel and leaned agains
t a battered apple tree. ‘How serious is it?’
‘I am no doctor.’ Julia bit her lip. ‘He was struck with a sabre over the heart, but it slid off something and sliced down through his ribs, his arm and his thigh. By some miracle, it missed any major blood vessels. We have got it clean and stitched up, and his fever is down this morning, although I don’t expect it will stay down if he will not rest. But there was a shell burst very close that knocked him off his horse: I don’t know if there are any internal injuries. He is in a lot of pain, I think, but he will not admit it.’
‘He will tell me how he feels if I make him promise to in return for getting him back to Brussels as soon as possible,’ Will said. ‘I think you are right, he should not be moved today. I will go and talk to him, then we can decide what is needed and I’ll ride back to Brussels and fetch it. You can ride pillion with me. Then I’ll come back and that groom and I can bring him back tomorrow if he’s up to it.’
‘I will not leave him,’ Julia said flatly. ‘I do not trust him an inch. He’ll be bullying poor George into letting him get up, the minute my back is turned.’
Will gave her a quizzical look, but all he said was, ‘I’ll go and speak to him now.’
Julia waited until he turned the corner of the shack, then ran to the other end, near where Hal’s bed was, and put her ear to the wall. The planks that made the structure were full of knot holes and cracks and she could hear clearly.
‘How bad is it?’
‘Bloody,’ Hal said his voice faint against the energy of Will Grey’s.
‘Internal injuries?’