"Do not try to move. Keep still." Cora said as calm as possible. She was scared to touch Robert; he had his eyes closed. "Where does it hurt?" She asked when Robert started moaning. His leg was lying in a weird position, as was his arm.
Robert was confused, what happened? Where was he? Why did his body hurt this much? He heard a woman's voice. He tried to lift his arm; a loud yell escaped his mouth when he felt the sharp pain. There was that voice again.
"Where does it hurt? Robert, please tell me where it hurts."
Robert blinked a couple of times; his vision was blurred. A face was hovering over him, he was not sure he knew the woman. Her voice sounded again.
"I rang for an ambulance; they are on their way. Try to lay still, they are coming."
He did not dare to move again, the sharp pain he felt just now was not something he needed to feel again. His head was throbbing, one of his legs seemed to be out of place and he could not move it. Breathing was difficult as if his chest was restricted. He closed his eyes again, he felt darkness coming over him and he wanted to give in.
"Oh Robert, please keep your eyes open. I need to see your eyes."
A soft hand touched his cheek.
"Can you open your eyes for me?"
He loved the sound of her voice. It was soothing and it sounded remarkably familiar. He opened his eyes again and looked at the woman.
"That is better. Can you tell me where you are hurt?"
He wanted to shake his head, but even that motion did hurt him. "Everywhere." He said softly.
"The ambulance will be here soon. You will get something to help you with the pain."
Robert was in a hospital bed; his leg and arm were in a cast. He had bruised his ribs and got a concussion. They gave him strong painkillers, so he did not feel much. The casts were mostly uncomfortable. He looked to his side and there was Cora, she was reading a book. How long had he been in this bed? Robert scraped his throat.
Cora turned her head upon hearing that sound. "You are awake." She said with a smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"
"Alright, I think."
"Does it hurt?"
"At the moment I do not feel much. It is mostly discomfort."
"I was so scared. The moment you disappeared; my heart stopped."
"What happened? I do not remember. One moment, I was on a horse and the next I wake up here."
"You wanted to show me, how you jumped over a ditch when you were younger. But I do not know exactly what went wrong. Everything happened so fast. I was so relieved when you started to make sounds. You could have broken your neck."
Robert got frustrated, he saw Cora's eyes shimmer, but he could not reach for her hand. "Can you please come closer?" He said.
Cora walked around the bed, to his good side and sat down on the mattress, very carefully. She took his hand in hers and brushed with her thumb over his hand. "You will need a long time to recover from this. Dr. Clarkson said that it would not be an easy recovery."
"Dr. Clarkson?" Robert exclaimed. "Is he still working in this local hospital?"
"You know him?"
"Everybody in this village knows Dr. Clarkson." Robert grimaced.
The look on Robert's face alarmed Cora. Robert's eyelid twitched, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You should close your eyes and sleep some more."
"Could you ask if I can get some more painkillers?"
"I am not sure what to do," Cora said through the phone. Robert had fallen back to sleep, and she took the opportunity to call Rosamund. "Dr. Clarkson said, he will need to stay at least a week in the hospital."
"You have a deadline coming up right?"
Cora sighed. "I have, and I did not bring my laptop. So, there is no way, I could work from here. But I cannot leave Robert here on his own."
"No, no of course not. Let me see." Rosamund was silent for a minute. "Is Baxter capable of finishing on her own?"
"I could ask her; I feel bad for asking her though. I also will need to find a place to sleep. The pub where we have a room now, does not have a room available for the next week."
"That is not a problem, we know enough people in the village to get you a place to stay. The dower house is empty at the moment. Let me call some people." Rosamund took a deep breath. "Before I forget, Mama will call you tonight."
Cora got scared. "What for?"
"I cannot say. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant. Do not let her get to you. It is not your fault. Robert was stupid, to think, that he could still make that jump. He has not been riding for years."
Cora sniffed.
"Are you alright?" Rosamund asked.
"I am, only." Cora swallowed. She had been really scared. "What if he had broken his neck or something."
"Cora, do not think like that. He did not and he will be all right. And do not be scared for Mama. It will all turn out to be nothing."
Cora stared at her phone. She took a deep breath, she waited for Rosamund's text, with the information she needed to arrange her stay here for the rest of the week. For now, she would go back to the B&B and grab some things, Robert might need or want.