Get Them Off! Ch 6
"Good God!" He exclaimed. He hadn't expected this. He gently picked her up and laid her down on his bed. He realized she had a good amount of blood on her bodice and when he realized her hand was bleeding, he immediately saw to bandaging it. Then he found himself in a predicament. She had a high chance of getting a fever if he left her in the sodden clothes she was wearing, and he didn't want that. But would she want him to undress her. He had no desire to do anything other than keep her from getting sick. What would she do if she found herself naked under the covers in his bed? He worried. He decided to leave her main clothes on, just take off her shawl and coat. He grabbed some more blankets and covered her up. Then he left to the kitchen to make her some hot broth. He hoped it would help keep her from getting sick.
When he returned to his room with a bowl of broth and a spoon he saw Adreanna was awake. She had uncovered herself and was struggling to unbutton her bodice. She was shivering and her right hand was still bleeding. He could clearly see she was frustrated.
"Get them off!" She said frantically.
"Get me out of these clothes!" And at that she fainted. Her fever was already dangerously high.
Jack set the soup down on the bedside table and went over to her. He undid the buttons of her bodice and gingerly lifted her up so that he could take it off. Then he rolled her onto her side and removed her skirts. He laid her down on stomach and started pulling at the knot on her corset.
"Curse these bloody corsets, there such a nuisance!" He remembered once before when he'd had to deal with a corset. He'd just taken his knife and cut the strings. He figured he'd fussed with the knot long enough and pulled a knife out of the drawer of the bedside table, and slit the strings with one simple motion. He pulled the corset away.
He was reluctant now. If he pulled her chemise off he'd see all of her. Was that what she wanted? He didn't seem to have much choice; he covered up her lower body and slowly pulled it off. He didn't look at her lustily like he usually looked at women. He simply marveled at her beauty for a moment and then covered the rest of her up in the layers and layers of blankets. He was quite certain that she would be there in the future, and he would enjoy her then, but for now he worried about her health.
He stroked her cheek and tried to wake her up, but she remained through the night in a fitful unconscious state. She woke several times through the night, each only briefly to mumble a man's name, and then drift off again. It worried him greatly. He wanted her well. And he wanted to know the story behind the man she kept mumbling about.