'Yes, please,' she answered. 'I believe there's a small tear in the side too, Sterns. Could you have someone patch it up, too?'
Sterns didn't answer her. Jade looked up at his face. 'Have you gone ill, sir?' she asked. The servant
was suddenly looking quite green in the complexion to her. 'Sterns, do sit down. Don't take insult, but
I believe you might be in jeopardy of a swoon,'
He shook his head when she shoved him into the chair adjacent to the window. The butler finally found his voice. He shouted in a true roar for his lord to present himself.
Caine was just starting up the stairs when he heard Sterns' bellow. 'Now what has she done?' he muttered to himself. He rushed through the foyer where the servants were again lined up, passed a wave in their general direction, and then raced up the staircase.
He came to an abrupt stop when he reached the doorway, for the sight he came upon did surprise him. Sterns was struggling to get out of the wingback chair. Jade held him down with one hand on his shoulder. She was fanning him with a thin book she held in her other hand.
'What in God's name… Sterns? Are you ill?'
'He's gone faint,' Jade announced. 'Help me get him to the bed, Caine.'
'Her side, mi'lord,' Sterns protested. 'Dear lady, do quit waving that book in my face. Caine, have a
look at her side.'
Caine understood before Jade did. He hurried over to Jade, turned her around, and when he got a good look at the god-awful blood soaking her white blouse, he wanted to sit down, too.
'Dear God,' he whispered. 'Oh, sweetheart, what happened to you?'
Jade let out a loud gasp when she saw the damage. She would have staggered backward if he hadn't
been holding her. 'Love, didn't you know you were bleeding?'
She looked dumbfounded. 'I didn't know. I thought it was a scratch from one of the branches.'
Sterns stood on her other side. 'She's lost a fair amount of blood, mi'lord,' he whispered.
'Yes, she has,' Caine answered, trying his best not to sound overly concerned. He didn't want her to become any more frightened.
His hands shook when he gently lifted the garment away from her waistband. She noticed. 'It's bad,
isn't it?' she whispered.
'Don't look at it, sweetheart,' he said. 'Does it hurt?'
'The minute I saw all the blood, it started hurting like the devil.'
Jade noticed the tear in Christina's garment then. 'They ruined my friend's lovely top,' she cried out. 'They bloody well shot right through it. Just look at that hole, Caine. It's the size of a… of a…'
'Pistol shot?' Sterns suggested.
Caine had worked the top away and was now using his knife on her chemise.
'She's getting dotty on us,' Sterns whispered. 'You'd best put her on the bed before she swoons.'
'I'll not swoon, Sterns, and you should apologize for thinking I would. Caine, please let go of me. It isn't decent to cut my clothes away. I'll take care of this injury by myself.'
Jade was suddenly desperate to get both men out of her room. Since the moment she'd seen the injury, her stomach had been in an uproar. She felt light-headed now and her knees were starting to buckle up
on her.
'Well, Sterns?' she asked. 'Do I get my apology or not?'
Before the butler was given a chance to answer, Jade said, 'Bloody hell. I am going to swoon after all.'
Chapter Eight
Jade came awake with a start. She was surprised to find herself in bed, for she didn't have the faintest idea how she'd gotten there. After a long moment, the truth settled in. Good God, she really had fainted.
She was trying to come to terms with this humiliation when she realized the breeze coming in through
the open window was cooling her bare skin.
She opened her eyes to find Sterns leaning over her from one side of the bed and Caine bending over
her from the opposite side. Their deep scowls were almost enough to send her into another faint.
'The shot went clear through,' Caine muttered.
'Thank the Lord for that,' Sterns whispered.
'Which one of you scoundrels removed my clothing when I wasn't looking?' she asked, her tone of
voice as crisp as new frost.
Sterns visibly jumped. Caine merely smiled. 'You're feeling better, mi'lady?' the butleT inquired after he'd regained his composure.
'Yes, thank you. Sterns? Why are you holding my hand?' she asked.
'To keep you still, mi'lady,' he answered.
'You may let go of me now. I won't interfere with Caine's task.'
