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"I am certain," said Daniels patiently, "she has broken some ribs But broken ribs alone should not cause this sort of difficulty and pain Not suddenly, after soabout physical activity since the initial wound, the broken bones , inside Over the hours, the blood has been gathering inside her chest with no outlet Now it’s pressing on her lungs andit difficult for her to breathe It’s called a hemo--"

"--thorax," Susanna finished Herimly She’d read about that It made perfect sense

"Ah," said the doctor, in a tone of surprise "So the patient is both lovely and clever"

"She’s also et any ideas She’s mine"

Susanna squeezed his hand That sort of talk was so medieval and possessive And she loved him for it

"Yes, well" Daniels cleared his throat and reached for his satchel "The good news is, this is all too coood news?" Braood news is, I’ve seen this many times, and there’s a simple cure It’s a newer, controversial treatreat success All we need to do is drain the blood from her chest, and the condition will resolve"

"No" Wild with fear, she struggled to make the words "Bram, no Don’tdon’t let him bleed me"

"You can’t bleed her," he said "She had too much of that in her youth, and it nearly did her in" He turned her wrist scars-up for the surgeon’s view

"So I see"

And then Mr Daniels did the truly astonishing Soeons in her youth had ever done He crouched at her shoulder, where she could look him in the eye And then he talked to her, not about her As if she had a brain of her own, and full control over her own body

"Miss Finch, if I can say it without risking a thuent woman I hope you will understand and believeThe pressure in your chest is unlikely to resolve on its own If we do nothing, there is a good chance you’ll die Of course, there’s always the risk of infection with such a procedure But you’re young and strong I like your chances against a fever better than I like your chances against this" He thuely dull "I won’t do anything without your agreearded hi, it seemed Scarcely older than she His hair was unruly, but his eyes were calent Still, on this short acquaintance, she didn’t know that she could bring herself to trust any man who carried one of those horrific black satchels

But there was someone else Someone she could always trust to protect her

She looked to Bram "Do youtrust himwith my life?"

"Absolutely"

"Then" She pressed his hand and sucked another painful breath through a rapidly narrowing straw "I trust you Love you" She needed to say that, once more

Relief washed over his face "Do it," Bra as it was her choice, and Bra

Or so she thought, until she gliainst her pale skin The sight made her recoil in horror Her whole body flinched

Daniels lifted the scalpel "Where is that blacksmith? We ht her to the bed The sharp fire of the lancet against her wrist

"No," Bram said firmly "No restraints No one touches her but me" He turned her head to face hi Only look at aze over the handso herself sink into those faers with hers With the other hand, he stroked her hair So tenderly

"Now listen to ht we met in the cove? I can refresh yourcostu a medieval torture device"

She smiled Only he could ested weto oing to proht?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out

"I promise to stay at your side," he said, "until this is all over And for the lifetilistened, and his voice was rough with eo on without you, love"

She gritted her teeth, and ed a tiny nod

Then the blade pierced her And if there’d been any air left in her lungs, she would have screa and intense But relief folloiftly, like a quenching rain

That first rush of air into her lungsshe was dizzied by it, turned upside-down The world narrowed, and she felt as though she’d stumbled into a deep, dark well As she fell down and down, she heard distant voices Braone unconscious"