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It was too early to think that so in her and in hiether they would triu the face of medical science

"Together, Selena," he whispered, taking her hand in his "Together, we'll get through this You'll be fine"

He closed his eyes and iain, his triumphant return to medicine

It would happen because he demanded it She would awaken and she would be injured?of course, she'd be terribly injured?but not irreparably daed He would ith her, test her, devote his life to her Anything to heal her

And if he had to, he'd create her

Pushing back in his chair, he got to his feet "I'll be right back, Selena I proive them a report"

They were all in the drawing room

He paused at the door, hating the thought of opening it In the six years since his return, he'd kept himself as removed froe his guilt, anyway He'd wanted Maeve to be less lonely, and he'd willfully misinterpreted her requests for companionship She'd wanted Ian with her In answer to her need, he'd turned Lethe House into a private asylu that that was good enough He'd tried to give her a fa her faroup of misfits and lunatics that society had washed from their collective conscience Oh, occasionally Ian prescribed a headache powder or directed Edith to dress a wound or stitch a cut, but nothingthan that He was their

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keeper, nothing h for the families of these poor unfortunates For Lethe House provided what the families wanted, what proper Victorian society de Ian?did so easily Shut these people away and pretend they didn't exist

He went inside and iretted it The roo back into his subconscious as subtly as the fragrance of the oldboy, he'd co into the darkness and curling onto the crushed velvet of the settee, to wait for his father to come home

She didn 't knoho I was at supper tonight Why is she like that, Papawhy?

&

nbsp; Neither this room nor his father had ever held an answer to Ian's questions And noas here again, seeking answers to questions he couldn't even na once more

It was a studiously powerful rooundy and black chamber On its carved mantel, a trio of silver candleholders housed bloodred candles, their flames reflected in the i above it Ornately fras covered every square inch of the claret-painted walls, red and black Aubusson rugs covered