Chapter Twenty-Four

Lavender only stared at him for a long moment. She could see him fighting the unconsciousness but the shock his words induced made it difficult to remember that he should be in bed under the care of a physician and not here talking about this.

"Over me?" she repeated dumbly. She didn't realize she'd sank to his side again until he had to shift his head to look down at her. "I don't…I don't understand."

"Ignore his ramblings, Lavender," Colin spoke up from behind her. "He is delirious and clearly does not know what he is saying."

"Do you call him a liar then?" Lavender asked, her tone sharp. She turned her head, looking at Colin from the corner of her eye. "And my brother as well? And all the others who have begun to spread rumours of your duel?"

She saw him scratch the back of his head. "I did not mean it that way."

She turned back to Austin. His eyes were fluttering and he was holding his cane so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "Leave us be," she said. "You as well, Vincent. I want to speak with Austin alone."

"I'll be damned if I leave you alone with this—"

"But you would much rather entertain the thought of me marrying someone who claims he is in love with me?" she snapped at her brother, cutting him off. Lavender stood and whirled on him. "Someone who claims he is my friend yet sneakily came here knowing what he did last night and lied to my face about it?"

To her left, Colin made a step toward. "Lavender, you know that wasn't my—"

"Leave!" she shouted, her voice so loud that even Vincent jumped. "I said I need to speak with Austin alone."

Vincent seemed reluctant. But he knew he couldn't argue with her, not when she was like this. And especially not when it was clear that she was right. He shot an uncertain glance at Austin and then at Colin. Despite colorful bruises on Colin's face, Lavender had never seen it paler.

After a few seconds, they finally gave in and sluggishly made their way to the door. Lavender turned to watch them go, crossing her arms. She did not let up her glare until the door closed behind them.

Once they were gone, her anger fell away, leaving the aching worry open like a pulsing wound. She was by Austin's side again in a second. "I'm going to call you a physician," she told him. "For now, just rest until they get here. Close your eyes."

He shook his head weakly. "That isn't a good idea," he murmured.

"Why?" Lavender didn't know what else to do. It was alarming watching the tough, burly earl appear so weak and fragile. Panic settled into the rhythms of her heartbeat, chasing away all the questions she had. She leaned forward, pressing a hand against his forehead. He wasn't hot yet his eyes fluttered as if he was being taken by a fever dream.

Slowly, Austin reached up and took her hand. She thought that he would move it away but he just cradled it to his chest. "You have questions," he said softly.

She nodded. Tears rushed to her eyes. She wanted so badly to get up and get him help but she remained there, trapped with her hand against his chest. "Quite a few. But I don't think now is the time to ask them."

"Allow me to guess what they are then," he said. "You want to know why we fought over you."

She bit her lip, nodding.

"You're a smart woman, Lav," he said. "I'm sure you must have drawn your own conclusion by now."

"It would only be fair if you said it. I would rather not assume."

He nodded. The action seemed to cause him some pain. "That is true. Perhaps I should have used what little strength I had left to tell you that first, rather than arguing with Asher and your brother. "

"Austin." The grip on her hand grew weak. His fluttering eyelids began to slow as his eyes slowly closed. Her panic shot to her throat, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Austin?"

He didn't respond. He closed his eyes and let out one long breath.

She had read of such things before. Of men who had been hit so squarely in the head that they held no hope of staying alive. And even if they did, they were only half their former selves, their brains damaged to the point of no return. As she watched Austin's body sink deeper into the chair, the cane falling from his now loose hand, Lavender thought that those fears had been realized.

What happened next felt like a blur. She did not remember shooting to her feet, only that she was suddenly outside of the drawing room, running right into Vincent who had been waiting on the other side. She barely got the words out but he understood. His previous anger was gone. Only firm determination and action. He got into action, holding her tightly as he sent for the physician.

Somehow, she took notice of the fact that Colin was still there. But he didn't step forward to comfort her. He only watched from afar as she buried her face into Vincent's shoulder and wailed. Knees buckling, throat hoarse, she could only recall Austin's long breath and her panic transformed into something she could no longer contain.

She always thought she worked well under pressure. But this was something else entirely. Horror and grief trapped her so soundly that Lavender was hardly aware of what was going on around her. Vincent must have ordered footmen to get Austin. She watched him being carried by three men and followed without hesitation, even though the sight of his lifeless body was like a million knives piercing him at once.

They brought him to one of the guest bedchambers and laid him gently on the bed. She threw herself to the side of the bed, seizing one hand in both of her own. She bent her head and prayed and cried. Lavender didn't know how long she stayed there. Only that eventually, Vincent came to pry her away from the room because the physician had arrived.

Her brother stayed by her side, holding her as she cried. Colin was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he was in another room or had decided to leave. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything other than the fact that she had made a dreadful decision in not sending for the physician the moment she saw Austin's state. She would have been able to stop this from happening. She would have been able to prevent his…

"He'll be all right," Vincent soothed her. He'd been saying that for a while now, she realized. They sat outside the bedchamber on the floor, his hand slowly stroking her hair. "Everything will be all right."

"I love him, Vincent," Lavender managed to say. Her throat felt raw and painful but she needed to say the words aloud. She needed someone else to know if it couldn't be Austin.

Vincent was quiet for a very long time. Then he said, "In that case, he has no choice but to get better."

Lavender silently agreed.