“A bit, yes,” He warned, “But if you give me your hand and look away and concentrate on other things, it won’t be so bad. I promise. You only need one or two. It will be over soon.”
Ren took her hand gently in his own and settled about to work, hoping that their conversation would be distraction enough to keep her from feeling too much pain. He laughed, “I’m happy to hear you say so,” He said. Ren never thought he had much to offer in that department. He always felt scrawny and awkward standing next to Seb and Will.
He tilted his head, “Who is Regina?” He asked. It was clear that she was a child, but he thought that there were only the three Priors. Perhaps he was wrong. “Do you have another sister?”
Ren paused for a moment, wondering who she had meant. But when she said that he had simply grunted in response to her question, he smiled, “Oh, you mean Will, I suppose.” He had been assigned to guard the Priors and he wasn’t terribly happy about it. “He can be a bit … unapproachable and unsocial at times,” He explained, “Actually, that’s an understatement … he’s rarely anything else. But … don’t let him fool you, he’s one of the best people I know. He saved my life once. It was wasn’t for him, I would have been dead a long time ago.”
He hesitated a moment before answering her next question, “I taught myself,” He said and then, laughing, “I know that isn’t what you want to hear from the man who is treating you, but … as it turns out, I’m the best we’ve got.” It didn’t surprise him that she had been under the care of someone who had learned from someone who had properly learned medicine. If there was such a person in the entire world, Vardon would have been sure to find them.
He made a final cut, “There, all done.” He announced, carefully placing a bandage over her hand. “Keep it dry for the next two days … and only get it moderately wet afterwards. In about four days, I will take them out and then you will be as good as new.”
Louisa stared at him for a moment before speaking.
“If you say so...” she replied, holding out her hand to him and turning her head slightly, eyes looking up at the ceiling, the floor, anywhere but at her own hand. His question about Regina did nothing to calm her as she quickly thought up a way to skirt around the question. She didn’t want to lie entirely (though she wasn’t sure why, exactly. She owed these people nothing, including the truth) but she didn’t want to reveal Regina’s parentage.
“Another sister? No, its just me and Rebecca... Regina’s just a friend’s daughter who stays with us sometimes,” she replied quickly, biting her lip as she felt the prick of the needle on the palm of her hand, though it wasn’t as painful as she might have imagined.
“Oh yes, William, that’s right,” she turned her head away from the ceiling to face Ren now, surprised to see him smiling at the mention of the grumpy man that followed Rebecca and Louisa about in silence most of the day. “I do not think he likes us very much,” she replied, daring to grin slightly at the comment. She didn’t suppose many people here liked she and her sister very much.
"He saved your life?” Louisa asked, immediately interested in what she thought might be an exciting tale of life in the rugged south. “What happened? Was it from the undead?” she was already creating a story in her head as she so often had back home when people talked about the south. “I’ve never seen one but everyone says they’re terrifying. Howard told me, when I was little, that there was one locked in the basement and I was so scared I burst right into a very important meeting between my father and Xavier, just in tears and completely inconsolable, and well.. Howard was in a lot of trouble,” she laughed a bit at the memory.
“You taught yourself?” Louisa repeated, not nearly as concerned as she was impressed. “Just from books? That’s simply remarkable. You must be quite smart,” she informed him sincerely. She also mentally made a note not to mention any of that to her sister, who would undoubtedly be less impressed. Glancing down, she watched him cut the thread from the last stitch and wrap the bandage around her hand. “And you’re much better at sewing than I’ve ever been. I’m sure you can properly mend clothing too, can’t you?” she turned her eyes back up to him, still smiling.
“Well thank you very much, Ren, like the bird, for fixing me up. I’ll make sure to take care of it,” she flexed her hand slightly, trying to gauge if it would still hurt. It was at this point, however, she wasn’t sure what to do-- did she pay him? She knew Xavier paid James his salary and, of course, medical treatment didn’t come for free, but she and Rebecca had arrived with nothing but what they’d had on their persons when they’d been grabbed off the street.
“I’m... I’m not sure how to pay you,” she confessed, standing up from the table. “I was, unfortunately, not allowed to pack before I came here,” she hoped he would take that as a joke and not as a jab, despite it being entirely true. “I did notice your book... the one you were reading when I came in. It looks quite delicate and I thought, perhaps, if you have some paper, I could copy it for you?” Admittedly, she had no concept of whether or not this was a fair trade, but she couldn’t think of much else she might be able to do to repay him.
“I don’t mean to brag, but I have lovely penmanship.”
dailybridgerton
pixelskylines
ellievsbear
turnnoffyourmind
vaporwave
