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As the third evening approached, Gabriel looked up blearily as two people entered the rooht of them infused him with relief At the same time, their presence unlatched all the wretched e his breathing, he stood aardly, his li hours on the hard chair His father ca and ruffling his hair before going to the bedside
Hishith She was the one he’d always gone to first whenever he’d done so she would never condemn or criticize, even when he deserved it She was a source of endless kindness, the one to whohts and fears
"I proainst her hair, his voice cracking
Evie’s gentle hands patted his back
"I took my eyes off her when I shouldn’t have," he went on "Mrs Black approached her after the play--I pulled the bitch aside, and I was too distracted to notice--" He stopped talking and cleared his throat harshly, trying not to choke on e quietly, "You remember when I told you about the time your f-father was badly injured because of me"
"That wasn’t because of you," Sebastian said irritably from the bedside "Evie, have you harbored that absurd idea for all these years?"
"It’s thein the world," Evieto make it so won’t help either of you Dearest boy, are you listening to ainst her hair, Gabriel shook his head
"Pandora won’t blame you for what happened," Evie told him, "any more than your father bla," his father said, "except for annoying me with this nonsense Obviously the only person to blairl’s injury is the woman who attehtened the covers over Pandora, bent to kiss her forehead gently, and sat in the bedside chair "My songuilt, in proper ed to excess it beco out his long legs, he crossed theently "There’s no reason to tear yourself to pieces worrying about Pandora She’s going to make a full recovery"
"You’re a doctor now?" Gabriel asked sardonically, although sorief and worry lifted at his father’s confident pronounceh illness and injuries in s included, to predict the outcoirl She’ll recover"
"I agree," Evie said firhtened his ar moment, he heard his mother say ruefully, "Sometimes I miss the days when I could solve any of my children’s problems with a nap and a biscuit"
"A nap and a biscuit wouldn’t hurt this one at the o find a proper bed and rest for a few hours We’ll watch over your little fox cub"
Chapter 23
In the week and a half since Pandora had returned ho husband back from the clinic with her
It wasn’t that Gabriel was indifferent or coldin fact, nocare of her hi hued her wound dressing, gave her sponge baths, read to her, and , blissful intervals to i her, patiently spooning beef tea or fruit ices or blance, incidentally, had turned out to be a revelation Everything she thought she’d disliked before, its mildness, its whiteness, and lack of texture, turned out to be the best things about it Although Pandora could easily have fed herself, Gabriel had refused to let her have the spoon It had taken two full days before she’d ed to wrest it from him
And flatas the least of her concerns Gabriel had once been theman in the world, but now all his irreverent humor and playfulness had vanished There was noonly this unending quiet stoicis She understood he had been deeply worried for her sake, and was concerned about potential setbacks to her recovery, but she y of attraction and humor that used to connect the better, the iron control he exerted over everyto make her feel a little hemmed in Trapped, actually
When she complained to Garrett Gibson, who visited daily to assess her progress, the doctor surprised her by taking Gabriel’s side "He experienced a great mental and emotional shock," Garrett explained "In a way, he’s been wounded, too, and needs time to recover Invisible wounds can soo back to the way he was?" Pandora asked hopefully
"I expect so, for the most part However, he’s acquired an awareness of how tenuous life can be A life-threatening illness tends to change our perspective on one particular thing"