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Evelyn put her faith in Dr Williael Rafe seemed to have an inordinate amount of confidence in the man’s abilities as he cleaned out the wound--which was far deeper and ghastlier than Evelyn had originally thought--and sewed it up

After Graves left, tiny treh her She was half tempted to take a dose of the laudanum that the doctor had left behind It had certainly worked to put Rafe asleep As he didn’t stay with her after they--she didn’t kno to think of it They weren’t , at least to her; she doubted it was to him But because he didn’t remain, she’d never had the opportunity to watch hi away his worries and burdens, he appeared vulnerable, young

And so da the servants in to see to his needs What if he’d not had her? Would he have suffered through all this alone, with no one to watch over him? She knew the answer before she’d completely asked herself the question He would have He kept hiht not to need anyone Not even her

She provided surcease for his physical needs, but his heart, his soul res for her because they were expected of hiht it for her Because she was his ard for her

She was a fool for wanting toto him But then, unlike him, she seemed to have little control over her heart Perhaps she was more like her mother than she realized Surely if she’d had a choice, her mother would have fallen in love with a man who could marry her, instead of one forced to steal moments with her Evelyn would be mistress to but one man When he was done with her, she would find a way to make herself presentable She would leave the aristocracy behind, London as well She would go someplace where she wasn’t known and she would find love Or at the very least a man who placed her happiness above his own He would intertwine his fingers with hers when they strolled along He would wrap his arms around her when they watched the sunset He would carry her into the house because his strides were longer than hers and he was iht the covers up higher over Rafe’s still forht, and she didn’t want hi with his wound would be troublesoh Dr Graves had told her to expect a fever and explained how she would know if the stitched-up gash becaave her instructions to send for hiht kiss to Rafe’s forehead, aware that it was claet a da away fro strewn over the floor As she gathered it up, her gut clenched at the sight of his blood staining the white, andthe beautiful brocade The material was ripped beyond repair not only froe--but fro to bundle it up, she realized that so her fingers into it and retrieved a key It very much resembled the one in her door, one she never turned because a mistress shouldn’t lock out her lover And then she knew This brass object provided entry into his roo the clothes, she snapped her head around to stare at the bed

He was still there, had notsoundly

She turned her attention to the door separating their rooms What was behind it that he protected so fiercely?

As quietly as possible she crept toward it, her heart ha the door, she unfurled her fingers and stared at the blood suilty for wanting to know everything possible about him It was unconscionable that they were intiht be behind that door had been taunting her Now she would know It wasn’t as though she was really doing anything awful She would see the room when the house beca it now?

She peered over at him to make certain he was still asleep Deeply based upon the snores he was beginning to es about him It was the reason that she wanted to take a peek into his roo dark? Was the bedchalobes?

Once she opened the door, she couldn’t unopen it She looked at hiain If he trusted her, if he cared for her, he wouldn’t re the door, wasn’t she indicating that he couldn’t trust her? Even if he never found out, she would know

Placing her hand on the knob, shehi laughter He wanted to kick at the fists, but he had no ar, not even roll Everything was pressing in His chest was going to cave in He couldn’t breathe

He heard the whi fro from him They stopped, and that terrified him even more

"I’m a lord! You can’t treat me like this! I’m a lord! My father was a duke! My brother’s a duke!"

But they only laughed louder, pushed harder, wrappedhim in a cocoon, like the one he’d once seen a caterpillar create Being inside it had changed the insect into soe But he kneouldn’t e to suffocate, die He could feel less and less of hier When he no longer existed, he wouldn’t be free of them They would follow him into hell