Far Beyond Scandalous by Bethany Sefchick Read Free Book Online

commanded.   She also gave
orders to several other footmen to begin moving people back away from where
Gibson knelt over Lady Evanston.
    When a footman put his hand on Lady
Amy's arm in order to move her back as well, he growled "not her, you
fool" and the man quickly released her.   That seemed to spur Amy into action, and she rushed to her mother's
side, kneeling on the floor beside him, regardless of the stares and whispers
her actions generated.   Her eyes were
worried, her expression serious, and he knew that she understood the gravity of
the situation.
    Lady Amy had been around tragedy
enough to know that this, whatever it was, could possibly be fatal if not
treated immediately and correctly.
    "Will she live?" Amy
asked softly, swallowing hard, as Gibson began examining her mother.   He was pleased to note that some color was
returning to the countess' cheeks.
    "Yes.   I believe so."   He began testing Thea's limbs for broken
bones, as she had hit the marble floor rather hard when she had fallen, but
thankfully, he didn't find any.   "But she is not well, either."
    "I know that.   I can tell simply by looking at
her."   Amy's voice - for as
intimate as they had been, Gibson could not call her by her title any longer,
at least not in his own mind - was still quiet, almost fearful, and he risked
looking away from his patient to glance up at her.   What he saw in Amy's eyes alarmed him quite a bit.   "She hasn't been in some time.   Weeks.   Perhaps months.   I am not
certain."
    That was not what Gibson wanted to
hear.   "And your father?   Has he not noticed?"   It was inconceivable to him that Lord
Evanston had not noted the changes in his wife, but then, he did not know much
about the family's current circumstances.
    Amy's cheeks blushed a bit, and she
spoke so quietly that even directly beside him, it was difficult to hear
her.   "Father is in the north at
the crown's request.   Scotland, I
believe, though I am not certain.   It
has just been the two of us for some time now."  
    There was no need to mention
Marcus, as he was still convalescing in Bath, and would not return to London
this season and perhaps not even the next.   His health was still far to fragile to risk, the years of near-constant
bloodletting leaving him so weak that, when Amy had last seen him the previous
summer, he appeared as thin and lanky as a boy just out of the nursery.   It had been a far cry from the muscular
older brother she had adored growing up.   Since Gibson and Dr. Hastings had been the two men who sent her brother
to the reputedly rejuvenating spa town to recover, there was no need to speak
of him in a crowed ballroom full of harpies looking for the latest on-dit .
    They both lapsed into silence as
Gibson worked, his hands fairly flying over Lady Evanston as he attempted to
make the proper diagnosis, given the limited tools at his disposal.   The situation was, indeed, worse than he had
initially thought, unfortunately, and he wasn't quite certain how he would
break the news to Amy.   Though he did
believe that she had every right to know the truth of her mother's
condition.  
    While he didn't have his medical
bag with him, a quick examination of Lady Evanston seemed to indicate that this
time, she had merely fainted.   However,
he was convinced that it was a symptom of an even greater problem with her
heart, given the swelling of her feet and lower extremities.   It was reasonable to assume that this
evening she had suffered from an apoplexy of some type and that, going forward,
if she did not sufficiently rest, she might well die.   The lady was clearly on the verge of exhaustion, and that usually
lead to fever, if she didn't have the beginnings of one already.   He didn't need to remind Amy where a fever
could lead.
    "She needs further medical
attention that I cannot administer here.   Let us take her home to Cheltenham House," he announced finally,
not wanting an audience when he broke the news of