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"I can do it," Honoria said again, even though her mother had already handed her the scissors Lady Winstead rose fro a deep breath

"One step at a ti closely at the wound before proceeding Her mother had shown her how to identify which tissue needed to be cut away All she needed to do was look at one piece and trim it And then when that was done, she’d find another

"Cut as close to the healthy tissue as you can," herher scissors further up the wound Gritting her teeth, she cut

Marcus let out a moan, but he didn’t wake up

"Well done," Lady Winstead said softly

Honoria nodded, blinking back tears How could such small words make her feel so eet to," her h"

"I see it," Honoria said grimly She trimmed so the tip of the scissors as she’d seen her ainst hi the yellow ooze of the infection to escape Marcus strained against his bonds, and she whispered an apology, but she did not stop She took a cloth and pressed hard

"Water, please"

Someone handed her a cup of water, and she poured it on the wound, trying so very hard not to hear Marcuswith pain The water was hot, very hot, but her mother swore that it hat had saved her father all those years ago The heat drew out the infection

Honoria prayed she was right

She pressed a cloth against hiain, although not as wrenching as before But then he began to shake

"Oh,the cloth away "What did I do to him?"

Her mother peered doith a puzzled expression "He alive him more laudanum?" Mrs Wetherby asked

"I don’t think we should," Honoria said "I’ve heard of people not waking up when they’ve been given too ," her ," Honoria said flatly Good heavens, what on earth could he have to laugh about at such a tie to back away, and she poureduntil she was satisfied that she’d cleaned the wound to the best of her ability

"I think that’s all of it," Honoria said, sitting back She took a deep breath She felt hopelessly tense, every ht She set down the scissors and tried to stretch out her hands, but they felt like claws

"What if we poured laudanum directly on the wound?" Mrs Wetherby asked

Lady Winstead blinked "I have no idea"

"It couldn’t hurt, could it?" Honoria asked "It’s not likely to irritate his skin if it’s so to dull the pain"