So, this chapter is a little violent, but I don't know why a child would be reading a romance story, anyway. Nothing gory or detailed, just a warning.
I know how much everyone wanted Mr. Harris to smart-mouth Vivienne. It would have been very entertaining, but it didn't fit with the plot.
A few more reviews would provide motivation for the next chapter. If you have read up to this point and haven't left a comment, please do so, even if it is only a few words. Even one word would be better than nothing.
As someone mentioned to me, reviews are like paychecks for writers. So please don't short-change me.
And thank you very much to my faithful and constant reviewers. You know who you are. ;)
Done with my rant, and on to chapter 35...
Ch. 35
Vivienne took advantage of her brief interlude of freedom and unlooped the rope around her neck, casting it to the ground. Erik clutched his side in pain and doubled over, supporting his weight with his free hand. Little did she know that the pistol lay only inches away from him, and he could feel the coldness of the weapon once he had grabbed it.
Thoroughly enjoying the sight of his pain, she raised the knife high into the air, preparing to make contact with Erik once again.
"Erik!" Alinah screamed in an attempt to warn him.
Vivienne hesitated before she brought the knife down, and Erik fired the gun at her before she had reached him. It only took one bullet for her to fall, the last breath of air escaped those scarlet lips of hers.
Erik stood to his feet, panting, as he wiped the beads of sweat from his brow. The tears that fell from Alinah's cheeks pulled at the strings of his heart with a painful grip. He made his way over to her and observed the young man beside her, who by now, had grown very pale and his lips turning a shade of purple. Alinah glanced up at Erik with pleading eyes as he towered above her. He would have done anything to ease her suffering.
"He is barely breathing," she whimpered.
He nodded and bent over to to examine Jonathan himself, pressing the tips of his fingers to the icy wrist that lay motionless on the ground. She was right; barely a pulse. Not even one heartbeat per second.
"I will carry him inside," Erik said. He placed his hands beneath Jonathan's back and slowly pulled him into a sitting position, preparing to bear his full weight.
"Are you certain that you are in a condition to?" she asked.
She searched Erik's body with her eyes, but found no wound, as his black cloak hid it well. But she had seen the knife go into him, and the grimace that he gave once he had hoisted Jonathan over his shoulder. He muttered something under his breath and clenched his jaw, but she didn't hear what it was.
Erik's breath became shallow as he carried the man out of the grove of trees and into the open courtyard. Alinah kept up with his quickened pace, and she tried desperately to read his expression, but she couldn't get a good glimpse of him.
She ran a few steps ahead of him to open the front door, and a voice called out from the foyer.
"What on earth is going on out there? Did Ms. Claude decide to go hunting for ducks? Upon my word, I-"
Once Erik entered the room with Jonathan over his shoulder and Alinah in tow, Mr. Harris gasped and he immediately moved out of the way.
"What has happened?"
For being a calm and collected man, Mr. Harris could not prevent the panic that filled him when he had seen his Master place the young man on a divan and he noticed the blood that stained their shirts.
"A Doctor, immediately!" Mr. Harris shouted to himself before he fled the room. Thankfully, Mr. Adams lived only a few minutes away and would be at their disposal soon.
Alinah noticed how Erik winced as he bit through the pain. The tear in his skin was nearly two inches and he could feel the blood seeping into his clothes from the exertion of carrying Jonathan, but he turned away from Alinah and braced himself against the mantle of the fireplace. He stared into the rapid licks of orange and yellow flames and then closed his eyes.
A few minutes of silence passed and Alinah was at a loss for words. Jonathan's chest barely moved, and Erik's dark form standing by the fire as he slouched in pain made her eyebrows furrow with concern.
This is all my fault, she thought. She could feel the guilt inside of herself swell until it formed a lump in her throat that she tried with great difficulty to swallow. Any efforts to do so felt as if she was trying to choke down a shard of glass. Her throat was parched, sore from her screams and cries. She had no more tears within herself, and she was met with complete exhaustion, with only the threat of impending danger keeping her eyes open and her mind alert.
She could not help but to mentally recount all of the reasons that she was to blame for this. Had she not been outside, alone, then perhaps Vivienne would not have had the opportunity that she did. Maybe Erik and Jonathan would have never been harmed. But the thought that plagued her most was that she had brought two people, whom she cared deeply about, into harm's way simply by her presence. Had she not been at the Estate in the first place, then she would not have dragged her problems along with her.
She would rather have endured the hardships and abuse with Walter than to be faced with the possibly that either Erik or Jonathan could die. She wished more than ever that it was her lying on the divan, cold and unmoving, instead of the sweet-natured man who had become so dear to her.
"Are you alright?" she nearly whispered to Erik, afraid that if her voice was any louder it would crack with emotion. With each passing minute, he seemed to be losing his strength, and he could no longer keep a good posture.
"I am fine," he breathed through clenched teeth. Alinah wasn't convinced, but the silence was again consumed them.
Once Mr. Adams had arrived and Mr. Harris had returned, they began the examination of Jonathan's injury. Alinah couldn't bear to watch, and she went into the hallway. She fidgeted with her fingers nervously as she overheard fragments of the conversation.
"Yes...quite intact, but I shall have to remove it...hand me those, will you?"
Alinah covered her face with her hands and let out a shaky breath. How she wished that she could wake up, and this would all be a nightmare! The reality of it was too much to endure.
She heard soft footsteps and glanced up to see that Erik was on his way upstairs. She noticed the way that he stumbled upon the first few steps and his knuckles whitened from the tight grip that he had on the railing. She stifled a gasp when she saw the small trail of blood leaving drops of crimson liquid wherever he went.
"Let me help you," she ran to his side and linked her arm in his. He attempted to pull away from her with a snide remark, but she held onto him firmly. He felt too tired to resist any further.
She assisted him up the stairs and opened the door to his bedroom for him. She refused to release his arm, and his brain was too foggy and weighed down with fatigue to think about it. She slowly led him to the bed and after he had laid down on his back, she could see the faint glimmer of the wetness of his shirt. It was too dark to see anything else.
She quickly lit a few candles with trembling hands, anxious to return to the bedside. Once the room had brightened, she went to him. His breathing became shallow and his eyes barely remained open.
"May I?" she asked, hovering above him.
He slowly opened his eyes and murmured a refusal.
"Erik, I must see it. You could bleed to death."
She decided that there was no time for his arguements, and he lacked the physical strength to stop her. She inhaled sharply as she unbuttoned his shirt, one by one, exposing his bare chest. With each button that came undone, she grew more nervous. Had it been under any other circumstances, she would have been blushing by now. But once she carefully peeled back the wet fabric, revealing the large tear in his skin, she grimaced.
What an awful sight it was. It seemed as if he had strained it, even opening it further, with his physical exertion. Alinah knew that she had to do something quickly to slow the bleeding, as the Doctor was too preoccupied with Jonathan to see Erik. And if she left him there, she was certain that he would die from the blood loss.
She quickly glanced around the room, hoping to see something that would help. She could find nothing of use, and she had no time to search for bandages somewhere in the house. Instead, she unclasped the burgundy-colored cloak that she was wearing and gathered it into a ball of fabric. She placed it on Erik's wound and pressed down, causing him to hiss in pain. She hoped that the applied pressure would at least slow the bleeding until the Doctor was available.
Erik's eyes remained closed, but his breathing stayed normal. Alinah had no concept of time. The clock seemed to tick slower, the minutes passed like hours, and her arms grew sore from both holding down the cloth on Erik's wound and the tension in her shoulders from anxiety. When she was almost certain that her arms would fail her, Mr. Harris entered the room, too impatient to knock.
"The bullet has been removed from Mr. Kinsley's left shoulder. It was shot directly above his heart, but he has not suffered any major damage of vital organs, however; he has lost a great deal of blood. We can only wait and hope that he will recover," Mr. Harris announced, seemingly out of breath. The stress of the ordeal gave his nerves a terrible strain and he felt on edge. "Has Monsieur Deberaux been injured?"
"Yes, a stab wound. He is bleeding profusely. Fetch Mr. Adams when he has the chance," she replied. She didn't know how much time had passed when the Doctor came.
Mr. Adams frowned upon entering. "How is he faring?"
Alinah moved aside for the him and revealed the soaked fabric in her hand. "I have managed to slow the bleeding greatly, but so much time has passed."
She turned away as Mr. Adams cleaned the wound and began to sew it up. She felt nauseous and willed herself to keep her composure.
"If it is any consolation," Mr. Adams stood and closed his bag, "This one is much better off than the one downstairs."
Fresh tears that she didn't even know she had were formed in her eyes as she thought of how pale and miserable Jonathan had looked earlier. It was something that she could not easily forget; the way his bright and cheery countenance, the smile that usually graced his face, had now been cold and expressionless.
"I am afraid that is all I can do," he said. Both Alinah and Mr. Harris thanked him before he took his leave, and Mr. Harris turned to her after closing the door.
"How are you holding up?" he asked her, concern etched across his forehead in harsh lines.
She took a deep breath. "I am overwhelmed."
"I shall tend to Mr. Kinsley. Perhaps it would be best if you rested."
She nodded in agreement, but after he had left the room, she looked back at Erik, who, with his eyes still closed, maintained a look of agony on the good side of his face. Feeling the remorse overtake her, she knew that she wouldn't even think to leave his side until he would be able to stand up and walk around freely.
She pulled the chair closer to the bed and seated herself. She propped her elbows on her knees and massaged her temples with her hands. The thought that Mr. Harris was looking after Jonathan had somewhat reassured her, but she knew that she would not be able to rest easy without someone to watch Erik. She would remain close to him, in case he should need anything.
What a long night it would be.