Chapter Twenty-Six
Their time was passing by much too quickly. They would be returning to England the following week. They would arrive home by mid-April and Julian would be married soon after and Lainey… she would continue on as she had before.
Each night as she left his tent to sleep in her lonely bed, it became more difficult to leave him. She knew soon enough every night would be spent alone.
She tried to keep her sadness from ruining the time they had left, but it was there. A distraction she couldn’t stop thinking about.
She secured her pack over her shoulders and set her foot on the first rung of the ladder.
It was mid-day, when the sun was high and they retreated into the cool darkness of the pyramid to complete etchings. She was already thinking of getting through dinner and retiring to her tent so she could sneak into Julian’s tent when everyone was asleep.
She must have been too focused on what would happen once she was alone with him and not paying attention to her climb. Because near the top of the ladder, her foot slipped.
Gripping the ladder with both hands, she turned to bring her foot back up on the rung. Climbing a ladder was no time to be daydreaming about being with a naked Julian.
But before she could start climbing again the ladder shifted and began to fall. She only had time to scream before she fell to the ground. Pain shot through her head and neck. She raised her hand to touch the spot in the back of her head and it came away wet with blood.
Her head suddenly became too heavy to hold up. Her entire body became too cumbersome to move, and she allowed herself to drift away and let go.
*
Julian’s heart poundedas he raced to where Lainey lay in a pile of rubble.
“Ben, please go get Henry and Rose. Right now. Tell them Lainey has been injured,” Julian said as he pulled Lainey’s limp body into his arms and carried her to a nearby table that was covered in etchings and drawings.
Holding her against his body with one arm, he dashed away the papers and a few pieces of broken pottery, so the surface was clear and laid her out.
When he pulled back, he saw the blood covering his sleeve. Tilting her head to the side, he gasped at the blood staining her hair.
“Elaina? Can you hear me?” He moved her to her side, not wanting to set her on her back again. “Oh, God.”
“What has happened?” Henry came in with Rose right behind him. “Is she…?”
“She is breathing. She fell and hit her head, there is so much blood.”
“Dumast has served as a surgeon. Rose, find him and bring him to Lainey’s tent. We’ll take her there. She’ll need to be stitched.”
Henry made a move to lift her, but Julian intercepted him and picked her up instead. Julian needed to feel the warmth of her body and her breath against his neck to ensure she was alive.
Henry followed behind him as they made their way to camp and placed Lainey in her bed.
Against the stark white sheets, Lainey’s skin seemed just as pale.
Julian turned to go find the Comte. He would carry the man to the tent as well, but he rushed in carrying a leather bag.
“What’s happened?” he asked in French.
Julian explained how she’d been working on the wall and fell. He thought that was enough information, but he was asked additional questions. How far up was she? What did she fall on? Had she been awake at all after the fall?
He felt like a tiny boat at sea being hammered by the waves of a storm.
He tried to answer their questions, understanding why they needed to know, but he just wanted them to help Lainey.
“Please… help her,” he finally said. “Her head.”
“Wounds of the head bleed like the devil, but are rarely as bad as they seem,” the man said in a calm tone that made Julian want to punch him, but doing so wouldn’t help Lainey.
“It seems really bad, so can we make the bleeding stop? Now?”
The man let out a huff as if Julian was annoying him. He was about ten seconds from finding out how annoying Julian and his fists could be, but he pulled a needle from his bag and began sterilizing it in the nearby flame.
Julian thought he might need to sit down as the people in the tent began to blend together. He needed to be strong for Lainey. He couldn’t swoon like a debutante with her laces too tight.
But strong or no, he did look away when the Comte began stitching Lainey’s skin. There was no reason he needed to keep watch over that.
“When will she wake up?” Lady Darlington asked with tears in her eyes.
“She’ll wake up when she’s ready. The brain likes to protect itself by pulling away from the goings on out here. It could be a few hours or it could be a few days.”
“A few days?” Julian snapped, revisiting his idea of punching the man now that he wasn’t actively taking care of Lainey.
“It’s perfectly normal when one gets a bump on the head. The bleeding has stopped. She just needs to rest now. Someone should stay with her while—”
“I’ll stay,” Julian volunteered immediately. He couldn’t leave her. What if she woke and needed him? Even more probable was that he would worry himself into a fit if he couldn’t see that her chest continued moving as she breathed.
“That isn’t necessary,” Lady Darlington said. “I will stay.”
“I will stay with you,” Julian altered his initial plan, knowing her aunt would want to see she was safe. “I insist. This is my fault.”
“Why do you think that?” Henry asked with his brows pulled together.
“I set the ladder up. I should have made certain it was secure. I should have climbed it first myself to make sure it would hold.” Suddenly the tent was too small and had too little air.
When Henry slapped him on the back, it forced him to draw in a big breath as he gasped.
“It was an accident, Julian. They happen from time to time on a dig. Everyone is aware of the dangers, including Lainey. There is no great science to setting up a ladder. I’m sure you did it well enough. Perhaps you would do better to come with me to get a drink.”
“I must stay here,” he said in his most earl-esque tone so it wouldn’t be questioned. Hale often pulled out his “duke voice” when he didn’t want to argue. Fortunately, Julian had been paying attention to how it was done.
“We’ll all stay for a bit,” Henry announced diplomatically and went to the opening in the tent to call for someone to bring more chairs.
The first hour passed in silence. Into the second, Lady Darlington began crying softly, which upset Lord Darlington.
“I would prefer she was screaming in pain as bad as that sounds,” Henry said as Rose dabbed at her worried tears.
Julian said nothing, as he continued to watch Elaina’s chest rise and fall with her breathing. He wanted to touch her, but despite seeing she was alive, he didn’t dare reach out, in case her skin was cold instead of holding its usual warmth.
He’d surely touched every inch of her skin and knew the temperature it should be. But now, he twisted his fingers in nervousness and watched.
More hours passed and they waited. Lady Darlington dozed off and Lord Darlington ordered a cot be brought for his wife, knowing she wouldn’t want to be removed from the tent.
Soon after, Lord Darlington began to snore where he leaned back in his chair.
Julian himself felt the weight of fatigue settle over him, but still he watched.
Up.
Down.
She was alive.
Up.
Down.
He might still get the chance to apologize.
Up.
Down.
He leaned close and without touching her, he whispered in her ear.
“Please, Elaina. Wake up now, sweetheart. We’re all here waiting for you.”