Page 91 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
Theo’s muscles went weak as he recognized Nicholas’s voice. “Can you take her top end, and I’ll lift out her bottom?”
“Absolutely.”
Theo bent and wrapped his arms around Kate’s thighs. His arms strained as he hoisted her out through the tight space, and he was relieved when the weight lessened as Nicholas took hold and she slid smoothly off the carriage.
“Do you need a hand?” Nicholas asked.
“No, just stand back.”
Theo gripped the edge of the window and pulled himself through, the wood biting into his palms. As soon as he was outside, the snow chilled him anew. He dropped to the ground beside the carriage and knelt by Kate. Nicholas had set her on her back on the road.
“We need to get her back to Blackwell,” he said, wondering how exactly they intended to do that. The carriage was likelydamaged and not fit to travel. He could hardly take an unconscious woman on the back of Prince. She’d fall off.
“I brought one of our unmarked carriages,” Nicholas said, squatting to study Kate’s face. “The driver is already inside. He freed the horses and sent them back along the road. Once we return, he’ll have a stable boy fetch them.”
Theo closed his eyes. “You’re brilliant.”
If Nicholas hadn’t had the foresight to bring a carriage, who knew how long it would have been before he’d managed to get Kate safely home and into bed? She was pregnant. They couldn’t afford delays.
“Let’s carry her together to the carriage.” He moved around to slide one arm under her shoulders. He used the other to position her head against his abdomen so it wouldn’t flop around and hurt her.
It would be better if he could avoid touching her head at all considering her injury, but the most important thing right now was getting her home and out of the storm quickly.
Nicholas scooped her legs up, and together they moved Kate’s limp body to the carriage. The driver held the door open, and they placed her inside. Theo scrambled in with her while Nicholas went around the front of the carriage. He must have driven it himself. Theo supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. Nicholas was an excellent rider, and he’d been known to race phaetons as well as on horseback.
Theo pulled Kate partway onto his lap to protect her from the bumps and jostling of the journey. He tried to examine her head wound more closely, but the angle was awkward. It worried him that she hadn’t woken yet. Her breathing was steady, but perhaps the knock to her head had done more damage than he’d first thought.
His chest constricted.Please be all right.
As soon as the carriage stopped, he heard Nicholas shout for a footman and instruct the man to send for Dr. Hanson.
“Tell him to travel extremely carefully,” Nicholas called, his voice growing louder as he neared the carriage door. “The roads are dangerous.”
Nicholas and Theo carried Kate inside to where a worried Mrs. Tubbs waited with two maids on hand.
Mrs. Tubbs’s mouth fell open as she caught sight of Kate, and she whimpered, all of the color leaching from her face. “Mary, light the fire in Lady Blackwell’s room. Jane, turn down the bed and start filling a basin with warm water. We’ll need to clean that head wound.”
A footman stepped forward, reaching for Kate, but Theo shook his head. No one was carrying his wife except for him.
Well, him and his brother.
“Ensure Mr. Cartwright is taken care of,” he said, referring to the driver. “He’ll need a bath to warm up, and he may have some minor scrapes and bruises. He was in the accident too. When the doctor comes, he’ll need to check over both the viscountess and Mr. Cartwright.”
Mrs. Tubbs nodded. “I’ll have Mr. Tubbs assist him.”
“Thank you.”
Theo and Nicholas continued up the stairs to the bedchamber that Kate was staying in. Jane, the maid, had already turned down the bed. They set Kate on the opposite side.
Theo huffed. “I’ll have to undress her. I need Margaret to help.”
“I can—”
He cut Nicholas off. “No.” No one else would be seeing Kate in this vulnerable state. It was his job to care for her.
His brother acknowledged this with a tilt of his head and darted from the room. Less than a minute later, Margaret hurried in, her eyes wide and scared.
“I’m going to roll her onto her front,” he told her as he took hold of Kate’s shoulder. “I need you to unlace her dress while I ensure she’s able to breathe.”
