Biggest Mess Yet

Kassidy's POV

Kassidy snuck back to her and her aunt's room to further wash up and pretend she'd been sleeping off an illness all day before her aunt came back to tell her about 'all the important gossip and networking opportunities she missed by choosing today of all days to be sick.'

She could not believe how badly today had gone. Yes, she got to prove to herself that she was indeed better with a bow than the majority of the self-important nobles who thought themselves a gift from god and she somehow managed not to get caught, well at least mostly. But how could she have gotten everything she'd been hoping for and it turned out so unbelievably bad? It was like that classic idiom 'Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.' But not at all in the way she'd expected.

Who would have thought that a grizzly would have its territory so close to the Marques hunting grounds as to be within its borders? And how come the Marques seemed unaware of that fact and so didn't warn anyone? What were the chances of her running into such a thing on this day of all days? But most of all why had the Duke shown up? She was humiliated and thankful all at once.

She was thankful he'd helped her, but embarrassed he'd discovered her ridiculous scheme and mortified by her own inability to think and speak clearly in front of him. She'd sounded like a babbling idiot.

To his credit, he hadn't once yelled at her or made fun of her and had even helped her, but that just made her feel worse. She did not deserve his patience or kindness and to have practically begged for a position to serve him as a self-centered way to escape her aunt and any further marriage proposals was selfish and rude. Not only that but it just sounded stupid, what use could the duke possibly have for the likes of her? She detested the fact that her gender made her utterly useless for everything but the few things she had no interest in.

Once as clean as she could get since she was unable to fully remove the dress the Duke had knotted too tight, another horribly humiliating moment she wished she could erase. She hid her incriminating gear and slipped under the covers of her bed trying desperately not to think about how badly she'd screwed up absolutely everything today.

 Her aunt came into her makeshift room off the bathroom shortly after to change into her evening gown for the dinner party and remind her of all the important things she'd miss. She didn't have to try too hard to appear miserable. She succeeded so well that her aunt didn't even bother to try and talk her into attending the dinner party and left her alone not long after.

She was grateful not to have to go but she also wondered if staying alone with her thoughts was worse. Unable to change her dress, she did the best she could to make herself presentable in case someone spotted her out and about as she snuck down to the garden as she'd promised.

She dreaded having to show her face again but she didn't dare disobey his order at this point. Hopefully, the doctor would be quick and she could run back to her room to hide her shame and prevent further embarrassment. She'd never stuck her foot in her mouth quite so many times, but somehow his cool level level-headed perfection just made her seem more rash and stupid.

She arrived at the garden early because she'd had nothing to do in her room but worry and she hoped being early might also translate into leaving early and being out in the cool dark refreshing garden by herself for a while might just give her time to get a grip on her brain so she could work out a way to fix some of this mess or at least not sound so utterly stupid and useless. But when she arrived at the far corner he and another man were already there waiting.

She glanced to the early night stars to judge the time temporarily afraid she'd been late and kept him waiting but it was at least a half hour until they were to meet. "I apologize If I've interrupted you," she said glancing at him in question to see if he wanted her to go somewhere else and wait for him to be done whatever business he was conducting.

"Not at all, I just came early to secure the area and was just about to remind the doctor here not to share a word of anything he might discover here with a soul," he said in a clear threat. "Please come here and let the doctor take a look at your arm."

She came closer and offered a simple greeting to both not sure if she should acknowledge the duke as such when he was dressed as a simple guard. The doctor blinked and stammered out "This is the guest you wanted me to see?"

"Yes, my Lord felt responsible and wished to offer help but without making the incident known." the duke said as if he were just a servant of the duke and she was glad she had read the situation correctly and not greeted him as proper etiquette would require.

He stepped closer and began to untie the handkerchief himself rather than instruct the doctor to do it. She looked at him in surprise then looked away in shame, he was still treating her with such gentleness and care after what she had done when he should be furious at her. The doctor raised his eyebrows when the handkerchief was removed to reveal the black bandage and he raised the lantern higher to get a better look.

This one took a little longer to untie since it had been tied much tighter but the duke remained patient and his hands remained gentle, how on earth could anyone believe the ridiculous rumors about him being cruel and violent?

"May I ask how this happened?" The doctor asked as he inspected the now exposed wound and carefully removed the moss as the duke held the lantern up for him obediently. She wondered how the doctor would react to knowing just who was assisting him tonight.

"There is no need for you to know the details, she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

Did he realize his words were being misunderstood and he was hurting his own reputation further? Did he do so because he could find no other plausible explanation and so he felt he had no choice but to take the blame or had he been purposely creating this violent and scary persona for the last year? If so why?

The doctor handed her a drink and she dutifully drank it as he explained it would help prevent infection and fever, then he cleaned the wound with something much stronger than water or wine and she hissed as the unexpected stinging caught her off guard. The lantern bobbed and a hand squeezed hers. She glanced up at the hooded figure by her side but couldn't make out more than the outline of his jaw in the dark.

"I apologize my lady I should have warned you." the doctor said. "My this is deeper than I thought now that it's clean, though at least it's clotted quite well by now," he added inspecting the laceration that was luckily no longer bleeding. "This next part is going to hurt, I can give you something for the pain if you want but it will leave you rather inebriated and won't work instantly; and we will need to work quickly before my sealing wax cools." He said pulling out a needle and thread with one hand and a bottle with the other.

"I'll be fine," she said clenching her jaw to prevent any noises from escaping her this time.

"Give her the pain medicine, I'll make sure she gets back to her room all right." the duke said. She was promptly handed the bottle and told to drink. She struggled not to cough, it was so strong. She was careful to only take small sips after that.

"You're going to want to not tense up but try to relax." the doctor instructed holding the needle and thread to her arm. "It's best not to watch" he warned.