Chapter 10

"It is a long time to be out of doors, especially in weather like this," Hamish said as he walked with James through the woodland.

"Do not write the poor soul off so quickly," James tsked.

"I am facing reality."

"He was wrapped up well as we all were," James pointed out. "A greatcoat will offer a lot of protection from the cold."

"You must have encountered all sorts in your time in the military. I know I have never asked what horrors you faced. I am not sure if that is because I do not wish to put you through the remembrance or that I do not wish to hear your close dealings with death."

"Aye, it is not easy to remember, but I came through, and I cannae do anything to change it except live my life in the memory of those who didnae return. Far better men than me were lost when I would have been more than happy for a cannonball to end it." He had been running from the betrayal of his best friend and his then-betrothed.

"I am glad you returned," Hamish said, unusually serious. "I do not think any of us would have ever recovered from losing you."

"As am I now, though I wanted to die for so long. When I look back now, I cannae think what I ever saw in the other wench. My Alice is perfect."

"She certainly keeps you managed."

"I will tell her that you consider her a managing woman," James chuckled.

"You cannot do that to me. She might be little but she is fierce, as the Bard said," Hamish said and then held up his hand. "Did you hear that?"

"Aye," James confirmed. "Hello! Mr Marsh, can you hear me?"

"Over here." The voice was quiet but close by.

The two men separated until they found Mr Marsh, Hamish calling James over. When James approached, he noticed the grim look on his brother's face before seeing the reason why. "Nae then, Mr Marsh, what have ye been getting up to?"

"Being a bloody fool," William muttered weakly. "I think I am done for. I cannot feel my leg."

Hamish and James exchanged a look, but James was all business. "None of that nonsense. Let me have a look at you, and then we can decide what to do."

As James examined William's leg, checking him over and asking questions, Hamish took out the hunting horn he had been carrying and let forth three loud blasts on it. Hopefully, the sound would reach the pairings of searchers; each had been given a number of blasts to issue so that the others would know who had found him and in what area they were.

"I think the cold ground has done your leg a favour," James said.

"Not to sound like a doubting Thomas, but it does not feel that way," William responded.

"Once we move this trap, it is going to hurt like the devil, and the bleeding will increase suddenly. Why have they got these traps out? They are barbaric," James muttered, looking closely at the teeth digging into William's foot and ankle.

"I have no idea," William ground out. "The snow hid it completely, so it must have been out here for some time."

"We need to carry you to the house," James said, standing with hands on hips. "I can release it here, but we havnae got the bandages and tourniquet that we need to stop the bleeding."

"I am afraid I cannot walk."

James chuckled. "I can carry ye, but it will have to be slow. I dinnae want to be hitting that foot on any branches." William paled even further at the thought of such a thing, but James continued. "What I am worried about is that once your leg is off the ground, it will start to warm, and that could increase the bleeding whether the trap is still attached or not."

"In that case, brother, stop your wittering and pick the man up," Hamish said, a hand on James's shoulder. "I will go ahead and start to organise what needs to be done for his arrival."

"Aye, ye do that," James said. He bent, and without seeming to struggle in the slightest, he lifted William into his arms and held him as gently as he could.

It was going to be a long walk back, and William was not sure whether he wanted to face what was to come or not. He had got to the point where the thought of dying in the woods was becoming not so frightening after all. His foot and leg were numb with cold and shock. In fact, his whole body had started to numb.

"I thought this was it," he said quietly as James made his way slowly through the undergrowth.

"Och, ye have a lot of living to do yet," James said cheerfully. "Although there might be a bit of pain before ye get fully recovered."

"Did you downplay the injuries on the battlefield? Your words are making me feel like I am some sort of hysterical woman."

James chuckled. "Have ye ever had the pleasure of being around any hysterical women?"

"Well, no."

"I think from the moment we enter the house, ye are going to be surrounded by them."

"Oh dear lord."

***

Although perhaps not hysterical, James was correct in his assumption that William would be surrounded. Some of the search party who had heard Hamish's hunting horn had already reached the house after blowing the alert to notify anyone who had not heard that William had been found.

Then there were the ladies. Julia and Florry were the first to run out of the drawing room, almost skidding to a stop when they saw what was hanging from William's leg.

"Dear God!" Julia groaned. "Uncle William, what happened?"

"No questions yet," James said, moving immediately towards the stairs. "We have a lot to do before there is time for talking."

"The doctor has been sent for," Hamish said.

"Good, but we need to act sooner." James looked to Matthew. "Ye have a background similar to mine. Fancy sorting this out?"

"Of course." Matthew followed James, who had started up the stairs, after giving Sullivan a list of items he needed. Julia and Florry stood at the bottom of the stairs, desperate to be close to William but knowing that they could not offer anything to help for the moment at least.

"I will join you too. You are going to need all the help you can get to sort this out," Captain Kelly said to James and Matthew. "I've dealt with enough injuries from cannon and musket fire to know a thing or two."

"And he still tries to convince me that he is not a pirate," Florry sniffed, trying to make a joke, but the tears pouring down her face as she clung to Julia belied her words.

Fanny had stood by Grace while the scene played out before them. "I am sure he will be well," she whispered.

"He has to be, for I do not know what I will do if he is not in my life."

"We need to speak, Grace, but now is not the time," Fanny continued. "There is a lot to explain and discuss, but know that you can remain with William as long as you need to. There is no need for us to travel as we had planned."

"I have no right to go into the sickroom."

"You know Julia and William will both consider that you have every right."

"I do not know if I can." Grace choked out a sob. "His poor leg! What he must be suffering!"

"Come, there is some wine left; you need a fortifying drink. There is no need to fall into melancholy just yet. He is alive, for now at least." Fanny led Grace back to the drawing room where some of the others were gathered around Hamish, peppering him with questions, which he could only answer with the smallest amount of detail.

Fanny handed Grace a glass, which she emptied but then stirred herself, moving to where Julia and Florry had sat when they returned to the room, Hugh hovering behind them.

Crouching in front of Julia and Florry, she covered their entwined hands with her own and dredged up her courage. "He is alive, injured badly, yes, but alive and conscious."

"That trap," Julia said. "How could that have been left around?"

Michael approached the group. "They were set by the last gamekeeper to work on the estate," he explained. "We did not know they were there until our present gamekeeper found a badger in one. He has been working to remove them all and had thought he had covered the whole area. I will have him go over the woodland again."

"I am so sorry, Julia," Arabella choked out. "It is my neglect of the estate that has caused this."

"Stop right there," Grace said quickly. "No one is to start looking to accept the blame for what has happened, or I am sure we could all find a reason to blame ourselves. This was a horrible accident that could have happened to anyone walking in the woods." She did not look at Julian, knowing that, without doubt, they had to take some responsibility for the situation.

It was some time before Captain Kelly returned to the room, looking dishevelled and upset. The party had heard the doctor arriving, and everyone had been on the alert, wanting to find out what was happening but not about to interrupt and cause a delay in William being treated.

Captain Kelly crossed to Julia and Hugh. "The doctor needs to remove his leg as soon as possible," he said, pulling Florry into an embrace as he spoke. "He says that if there is a delay, he could suffer from lockjaw, and recovery from that would be highly unlikely. But Mr Marsh is refusing to give permission for the operation to take place."

Julia, usually the strong one, burst into tears at Captain Kelly's words. "He cannot die! I cannot lose him too!" Everyone knew how much she had relied on her uncle since the brutal death of her parents.

"He is conscious and of sound mind," Captain Kelly said gently. "The doctor said he cannot force the procedure, but it is vital if he has any chance of survival. There is still a huge risk even if he has the operation; the doctor hopes the poison has not travelled through his body already."

"What should I do? If I persuade him to have the operation and he dies, I will have killed him," Julia cried into her husband's shoulder.

"He needs to listen to the doctor," Hugh said, rubbing his hand over her back to try to soothe her. "It sounds as if losing his leg is the only chance he will have to survive."

"James has witnessed the impact of lockjaw on soldiers, and he is doing his best to convince him that losing a leg is a small price to pay, but Mr Marsh is being surprisingly stubborn." Captain Kelly blew out a breath, the only sign of how difficult the conversations had been.

"Enough of this!" Grace exclaimed, standing and brushing down her dress, clearly agitated. "That man could never take good advice, no matter how sensible it was. Leave it to me. I will speak to him, and he will have that operation."

No one spoke as she stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her in such an un-Grace-like way that everyone just stared at the closed door in astonishment.

"I did not think I could feel sorrier for Mr Marsh," Captain Kelly said. "But I really do pity the man even more now."