Yet, all the while he was silently scoffing at himself. Brie hadn't needed his protection. She had proved her courage. Indeed, she had been braver than many of his acquaintances would have been in similar circumstances. She was shaking uncontrollably now, but she was only feeling the shock of having taken a human life.
Giving a sigh, Dominic brushed his lips against her hair, then held her away. "Come, ma belle, we had better get you home. Did you break any bones? I hope not, for we have but one horse."
Brie tried to smile. "Nothing . . . is broken, but I'm afraid I must ask for assistance. I'm not quite up to mounting a horse by myself at the moment."
With Dominic's help, Brie got to her feet, but the movement made her dizzy. She swayed once before her knees buckled beneath her.
Dominic caught her as she fainted. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried Brie to his horse, but he was saved the difficulty of mounting while holding her, for Julian rode up just then.
Julian sucked in his breath when he saw Brie's blood-stained clothes. "My God! Is she . . . ?"
"No," Dominic replied tersely. "Only bruised a bit. The blood gave me a fright as well, but it belonged to him." He tossed his head in the direction of the dead man.
"Who's he?"
Dominic gave Julian an impatient frown. "I'll explain everything, but later. Now I just want to get Brie home." When Julian held out his arms to take Brie up with him, Dominic shook his head. "I'll see to her. I got her into this mess. You can take a look at that horse of hers. Perhaps he's not dead and we can save him."
He mounted his stallion, settling Brie securely in front of him, but before he left, Julian asked what should be done with the corpse.
Dominic's mouth curled sardonically. "I don't give a damn what you do with him, so long as that horse is alive when
I get back. If Jacques heard the shots, he will be here shortly. He'll know what to do. I'll return as soon as I can."
Turning Diablo then, he urged the stallion forward.
The next few hours were difficult ones for Dominic. When he reached Greenwood, he was greeted with cries of alarm by the entire household. Brie's elderly companion was particularly shocked. Her face turned white when she saw the bloody riding habit.
By the time the doctor had examined Brie and given her a sedative, Dominic was glad to make his escape. He returned to the meadow to find Julian and Jacques hard at work on the wounded horse.
Julian showed Dominic the ball they had extracted from Jester's chest. "It didn't hit any organs, but there's a nasty hole, Dom, and he lost a lot of blood. It would be much easier to put him away. He isn't worth saving anyway."
"I don't expect Brie feels that way," Dominic replied dryly.
"I know. But if infection doesn't set in and kill him, the horse will have to have food and shelter. How do you propose to do all that?"
Dominic's answer was a bit complicated, and several hours later Julian was still shaking his head. It had taken ten men to load the horse on a wagon and carry him to the Lodge stables where Dominic had designed a contraption to keep the injured animal from thrashing about and reopening the wound. A heavy net was suspended from the rafters by a series of ropes, then stretched under Jester's frame, holding him upright and immobile while a special harness supported his head and neck.
Afterward, Dominic and Julian stood watching as Jacques applied a foul-smelling poultice to the raw wound and changed the bandages. Patrick Dawson was also present, for he was to care for the injured horse.
When Dominic had inspected the coachman's handiwork, he drew Julian aside. "That should draw the heat and keep infection down. If the horse can live through the next week, he'll make it. I'd rather you didn't tell Brie about this, though. If it doesn't work, she'll only be disappointed."
Julian slanted an inquiring look at his friend. "Why are you going to all this trouble? I thought you didn't even like Brie."
Dominic became curiously preoccupied with a speck of lint on his sleeve. "Perhaps I've changed my mind."
Julian grinned, saying nothing, but his expression held such amusement that Dominic, for the first time in his life, felt himself close to blushing. He turned and directed a glance at the wounded horse, remembering the agonizing moment when he thought Brie had been shot and his fierce relief afterwards.
"Yes," he said slowly to himself. "Perhaps I have."
Chapter Ten
Struggling up from the depths of a terrifying nightmare, Brie woke, gasping for breath. When she realized she was safe in her own bed at Greenwood, her terror subsided, but the images of blood and death still remained to haunt her. She lay trembling in the darkness, her heart pounding, her skin feeling cold and clammy.
What had happened to her? Her brain felt foggy, her body stiff and sore. And why was her left ankle bound with strips of linen? She remembered falling from her horse, but the rest was a collage of murky images.
As she rubbed her sore ankle, she gradually recalled the events following her fall: her talk with Boulter, the recoil of the pistol in her hand as she fired, Dominic's concern. She had regained consciousness shortly after he had brought her home, and she remembered Dominic carrying her up to her bedroom. Then Caroline had helped her into a nightgown and she had been made to suffer the attentions of the doctor when all she had wanted to do was sleep. As soon as he had gone, though, she had slipped immediately into a deep slumber. Recalling the vivid dreams that had awakened her, Brie shuddered. Her bedroom was so cold. . . .
Sitting up, she saw that the fire in the grate had died to a dull glow. After lighting the candle on the bedside table, she eased herself from the bed and carefully tested her wrapped ankle. She was surprised to find she could move easily, despite her aches and bruises. Her robe was lying at the foot of her bed, and she drew it on. Still shivering, she slowly made her way to the hearth and stirred the coals, letting the warmth from the glowing embers drive the chill from her trembling body.