our little group.”
Lizzy glanced away, then back. “I imagine it will be another challenge, which I had not counted on.”
“I’m sure you will be up to it. How is your patient doing?”
Lizzy studied the floor. “He’s not my patient. Dr. Barns has that privilege. Whatever poisoned him left him very weak. His shoulder has healed and he is getting stronger, but he still refuses to eat much. He’s been leached several times, and the leeches die from the poison in his blood. I think that must mean they are successfully drawing it out, and he is getting better.”
“I hope you’re right.” Lillian kept her voice low so Reece couldn’t hear the doubt in her tone.
“He is so much better than when he first came from Edinburgh. He is a strong man, a fact he seems to have forgotten. Once he remembers, his recovery will go quickly.”
“I can see you are the perfect person to nurse him.”
“It is the least I can do. If not for you and Reece, I might not be here today. I would have died on that altar, and who knows what plans the master had for my soul.”
“You owe us nothing, but I’m glad you are here to help with his recovery. I don’t know how you find the time while training to become a hunter.”
Lizzy glanced at the clock on the mantle. “Oh my, speaking of time, I must get his tray down to the kitchen and get to my combat class. If you’ll excuse me?”
“Of course.”
She turned to leave, but stopped. “I almost forgot to tell you. Mei Lin asked me to give you her regrets that she is not here to see you.”
“I heard she has already been sent on her first assignment.” The strong willed Oriental girl had been a hellion when Lillian found her. It was impressive that after only a few months training she was ready for assignment.
“Yes. She is remarkable.”
“Do you know where they sent her?”
“I’m afraid not. I’m not even sure Mei knew where she was headed.”
Lillian didn’t like the sound of that, but there was little she could do. Drake Cullum knew what he was doing. “She will do well, no matter where she has gone. You had better get to class.”
After a bob, Lizzy scurried out of the room.
“Hello, Reece.” She sat across from him on a small settee.
Dark wood wainscoting and rich draperies darkened the room. Three beds had been set up, but at the moment, only Reece occupied the space. Other wounded hunters had been treated here rather than carting them all the way to London.
Hunched in a dark blue robe, Reese stared outside. Fog rolled in and a light drizzle added to the gloom. “How are you, Lilly?”
“I came to complain and bristle about the meeting I’ve just walked out of, but I can see you are not in the mood for my foul temper.”
He turned his head, and a hint of a smile lit his face. “I always love to see that fiery temper of yours, my sweet. Nothing gives me more pleasure.”
“Lies. Many things give you far more pleasure. In fact, I’m surprised that lovely young woman who just carted your uneaten tray out of here is not under your spell. There was a time when a girl like Lizzy would have brought a smile to your face.”
He frowned and the glint went out of his eyes. “She is a sweet thing, but that time has passed.”
“She looked at you as if you were the sun and the moon. Why don’t you court her?”
His stare returned to the window. “Those days have passed, Lilly. I am not the same man anymore. Lizzy deserves a man who can take care of her.”
“I think she is well on her way to taking care of herself and you as well.”
He shrugged. “Then a man who will fight alongside her.”
“You will fight again, my dearest.”
He shook his head. His malaise was worse than expected. The short, hairy pravus demon had damaged him more than sword or fist injuries ever had.
The hunters had first encountered the harmless looking demons at the Fatum Manor battle. Pravus climbed walls and ceilings like spiders on a web, and had almost cost Reece his life.
She shivered against the memory of that terrible night. She should have come sooner. Perhaps she should have brought Reece to The Company sponsored hospital in London to recover. She’d thought the castle comforts offered a better place to regain his strength. All the youthful recruits should have bolstered his spirits. “I spoke to Dr. Barns not a week ago, and she told me you were recovering nicely from your injuries. Why don’t we go and watch the students practice their combat training? It will cheer you.”
Dr. Emily Barns made the long trek once a month if there was a need. It was time The Company invested in a second doctor. Lillian had a feeling the wounded would be increasing in the short term.
His chest lifted as he sighed deeply. “I would rather not. Tell me why you were in such a fit of temper when you came in here?”
She paced the carpet. “I nearly cut the head off of our host in the meeting downstairs. I imagined his bulbous crown rolling down the table and landing in Cullum’s lap. He is insufferable, going on and on about how we have jeopardized all of England because we chose to save Belinda. The fact that he didn’t provide us with enough information to destroy, or even trap, the master never entered into his tirade.”
“Do you think that could be why he’s going overboard with blaming us? Is he covering up his failure?”
Lillian saw fear behind the earl’s bluster, fear that needed an explanation. “I think it’s more than that, Reece. He’s hiding something. We saved his daughter’s life, and he is completely ungrateful for our effort. In fact, he accused Belinda of negligence for not singlehandedly killing the master while she was imprisoned in the Fatum dungeon.”
“He did not.” Reece’s voice rose, and he scowled.
“I know he is hiding something, and I intend to find out what it is.”
Reece’s attention returned to the window. “Would not your time be better spent finding the master and destroying him?”
Lillian knelt in front of Reece’s chair and took his hands.
He looked down at her with tired eyes.
“I know that seems like the thing to do, but if I find him, how do I kill him? I don’t even know if it’s possible to kill the master. Is he even alive? Does he bleed? In my belly, I know whatever Shafton is hiding is a clue to how to win this war.”
“Wouldn’t he be eager to tell us something that might help us defeat these demons?”
“I don’t know. He is a proud man, too proud. Look at how he endangered Belinda to keep his secrets. I don’t trust him.”
Reece
