Parno's Destiny: The Black Sheep of Soulan: Book Two (45 page)

She was conscious of Winnie moving about in the carriage, but was so preoccupied with preparing her instruments that she ignored it. When she finally did look up, Winnie had donned her quiver and was uncasing her bow, having already strapped a short sword to her side. Seeing Stephanie's wide eyed look, the younger woman shrugged.

“You care for the Prince and I'll watch your back,” she said simply. Stephanie looked at her a moment longer then nodded.

“Very well.”

*****

Sebastian Grey always kept his cards close to his vest, as the saying went. Very few people yet knew that Prince Memmnon had told the man who found him that it had been his own sister that had killed the king. He was keeping it that way for the present. There was too much that was currently not public knowledge to allow that to get out until Prince Parno could arrive and be ready to take over.

Grey acknowledged that it was a lot to throw on the young man who had only just assumed command of the army, but . . . there was no one else. Prince Memmnon, assuming he lived, would not be up and about for days, perhaps weeks. The kingdom simply could not languish without a head for that length of time. Worse, the situation with the twins had to be dealt with and sooner rather than later. Again, only the Prince could do that. Orders that could only come from the sovereign or regent would have to be issued.

He looked at the courier, one of the King's Own personal couriers. Hard riding professionals, the King's Couriers were the best riders and among the most trusted men in service to the king. He handed the small satchel to the man who took it and tucked it inside his jacket.

“This has to get to Marshal McLeod without delay,” Grey stressed. “Kill horses if you have to, man, but get this in his hands as soon as humanly possible. I can't stress enough how important it is.”

“Yes sir,” the man nodded and leaped into the saddle. With scarcely a pause he was away and gone, galloping north as fast as his charger would carry him. Grey watched him go, turning his gaze away before the man was out of sight, just in case the old wives’ tale was true.

He couldn't afford any bad luck right now.

*****

The escort pulled in to the palace grounds just under too fast, startling a still jumpy Palace Guard. They, too, were smarting, since it was technically on their watch that mayhem had occurred. The Captain and four men dismounted at once, tossing reins to others as they formed a cordon around the carriage door. Stephanie stepped out after passing her bag out to one of the men, then securing again in her own hand as Winnie simply jumped to the ground behind her. Several eyes were raised at the sight of the young mountain girl with her bow and sword, but none of the Sheep were among them. They knew how deadly Winifred Huble was.

The Captain led the group inside, passing the guard without offering a comment other than 'move aside'. The man was wearing Dynasty colors and acted like he should be there, so they moved aside, not realizing that this was exactly what had happened the previous evening.

Once inside Stephanie grabbed the first person she saw and demanded to be taken at once to the Prince. The startled maid servant bowed and practically ran to the Prince's apartments, the doctor's group following. There was a strong guard outside the door and they formed a barrier against the group.

“This is Lady Corsin-Freeman,” the Captain spoke calmly. “She is the personal physician of Marshal McLeod as well as the teaching physician at the Cove Canton military hospital. We're here because we were told the Prince is in dire need of her services.”

“Praise be on High,” one of the men murmured as the others stepped aside while he opened the door. “Mister Spurgeon is in with the Prince right now, milady,” he offered as Stephanie passed him.

“Thank you,” she said absently.

“We'll be here if you need us, milady,” the Captain called. Stephanie turned to see the tired soldiers still in the hallway. Beside her stood Winnie.

“That won't be necessary, Captain,” she said gently. “You and your men should rest. We don't know what will happen in the next hours or days.”

“Yes, milady,” he bowed slightly. She disappeared into Memmnon's apartments and the Captain turned to look at his men.

“We'll stand two hour watches, starting now, with two men on this door at all times.” Two of the men stepped forward at once, nodding. “She goes nowhere alone,” he told them flatly.

“We're standing a permanent watch here, Captain,” the sergeant of the guard detail offered. “She'll be safe here.”

“Yes, she will,” the Captain nodded, ignoring the man otherwise. “You'll be relieved in two hours,” he told his men, then departed with the rest of his men in tow.

The two hard eyed members of Parno's Company took places along the wall opposite the door and settled in to wait.

*****

“Freeman?” Spurgeon looked amazed. “My God, are you Doctor Freeman's daughter?”

“I am,” Stephanie nodded, frowning at the irrelevancy. “Status on the Prince?”

“Single stab wound that appears to have perforated the left kidney,” Spurgeon detailed professionally. “I've managed to stop the bleeding for the most part, and I've kept him sedated against the pain since his squirming was aggravating the wound. I've found no other signs of injury on his person. He is bleeding internally, presumably from the wound or the kidney itself. He's presenting blood that is red and not frothy from the mouth, coughing it up in non-congealed form.”

“Opiates would have thinned his blood and made it harder to stop the bleeding,” Stephanie noted in disapproval.

“It was that or watch him tear his bandages loose and bleed more heavily from the wound, Lady Freeman,” Spurgeon nodded. “It was a poor choice either way, I admit. Not knowing that you might be nearby, I chose to keep him somewhat comfortable and try to minimize the damage. I wanted to give him as much chance as possible.”

“You've done well,” she agreed. “I'll need you to assist me,” she informed him. “Have you a nurse?” she inquired.

“I'd be honored, milady, and yes. Two of them, one a well-trained surgical assistant, though not able to perform the surgery herself of course. The other is a general nurse, but a good one.”

“Get them, and get me a gown at once,” Stephanie ordered briskly. “We've no time to spare.”

Fifteen minutes after she had walked into the room, Stephanie Corsin-Freeman was operating on Prince Memmnon in an attempt to save his life. It did not cross her mind at the time that this surgery was all that stood between Parno and the throne.

*****

Govan had heard the news and ran to the Prince's apartments only to be told that the surgery had begun already. He could do nothing but wait with the rest to hear what happened.

Sebastian Grey was relieved to hear that Lady Freeman had arrived, unexpectedly, and was now working with others to try and save the Prince. It still irked him to have had this happen, but he took some comfort in knowing that Tammon McLeod's insistence on how the entire affair had been handled was the root cause of this trouble. That didn't make him like it any better, but it did ease any pangs of guilt at the failure of his own people to prevent what had happened.

Colonel Mason Stang, commander of Tammon McLeod's personal regiment, arrived soon after Grey and joined the other senior men in waiting to hear if the surgery would be successful. In less than ten minutes their number grew again as Colonel Robert Moore, the commander of Memmnon's regiment arrived, followed by the changing of the guard. He frowned at the two men from Parno's regiment, but both ignored him, confident in their place as combat soldiers assigned to Prince Parno's Own. There was very little either of the other commanders could do to them, especially when following orders.

And so the small group filled the hallway, hoping against hope that the talented young 'lady doctor' could indeed save the life of the Crown Prince.

*****

Inside, Stephanie worked quickly but skillfully, knowing that time was against her in more ways than one. Memmnon had lost entirely too much blood for her liking and now she was forced to cut him open in order to repair the damage done by the stab wound. As she literally pulled his insides apart in order to get to his kidney, she realized right away what had happened.

“The knife missed the kidney,” she told Spurgeon and the others with no small relief. “The blood is coming from a slice in the main vein into the organ, see here?” she allowed Spurgeon to see. “What we must do is collect the blood that has pooled inside his body cavity, while repairing that vein to insure that it stops losing blood. Can you see to cleaning him?” she asked the surgical nurse.

“Yes milady,” she nodded firmly. “I've done that work before.”

“Excellent,” Stephanie nodded. “Have the other nurse assist if necessary. Meanwhile, Doctor Spurgeon would you assist me in caring for the Prince's wound?”

“I'd be honored Lady Freeman,” Spurgeon said gently. “And thank you so much for being here,” he added.

“I'm glad I was here as well,” she assured him.

The two sewed the vein's damaged area closed, with Stephanie adding two additional cross stitches of sterilized cat gut to the work to strengthen it while it healed. As the wound healed, the stitches would slowly dissolve and be absorbed by Memmnon's body, eliminating any need to remove them later. She allowed Spurgeon to place two of the stitches himself under her supervision, and then inspected Memmnon's innards to make sure all the lost blood was cleaned. Using distilled water, they carefully washed his insides, cleaning the residue from the blood as well as any foreign material from the weapon used to stab him.

Finally, she allowed Spurgeon to close Memmnon's wound while she supervised. The man's hands were steady and quick, and his eye sharp. By the time they were finished she was impressed with his ability and said so as they all changed from their bloody smocks.

“Thank you, milady,” Spurgeon almost glowed. “I sincerely appreciate that, and the wonderful opportunity to assist you. I've never had such an opportunity before and like as not won't again. Thank you,” he repeated.

“Don't thank me, you performed very well and earned whatever opportunity you received here, I promise you.” She turned to the nurses.

“I want someone trained with him at all times. The slightest hint of a fever and I want to be informed at once. Likewise, any scent of infection or sign of continued internal bleeding. And well done, both of you,” she smiled tiredly. “I appreciate your efforts sincerely. Prince Memmnon is fortunate indeed to have you in his household.”

Both women flushed at the praise and bowed slightly before working out a schedule between them to ensure that Memmnon had someone with him all the time.

“I believe you should remain in the palace for the time being, Doctor Spurgeon,” she added. “You are quick thinking and well read, obviously. You did well and the Prince could do far worse than have you caring for him. Speaking of which, I have to wonder why my uncle wasn't doing this. Do you know where Physician Smithe is at? Was the king injured as well? I cannot imagine him not coming to the Prince's aid unless. . .what is it?”

*****

“Dead?” Stephanie felt her face grow pale as Sebastian Grey explained what had happened to her uncle.

“Yes, milady, I'm afraid so,” he nodded. “He was killed the same time the king was, and just before the Prince was injured. Apparently he was checking on the king's health before retiring for the evening. I am so sorry,” he added sincerely.

“I. . .I don't know-,” she stammered a bit, then asked; “Does my mother know? Have you informed his family?”

“We have not, milady,” Grey admitted. “I'm afraid we've all been a bit consumed with finding someone to help the Prince. Please forgive me.”

“Of course,” she nodded absently, thinking of how her mother would react to this news. She and her brother had been very close, despite their age difference. “The living always take precedence, Constable.”

“Thank you,” Grey bowed slightly. “Now, if I may, Lady Freeman? You need rest. You look as if you are about done it, and you've done a great deal of work after a long trip and now I've given you quite the shock.”

Grey had quite a gift for understatement Stephanie noted. Shock was hardly the right word to find out that one of your mentors had been killed, as had your liege. Even in time of war you expect some places to be safe, and if the Royal Family's apartments on the palace grounds weren't among them. . .she shook her head at the thought.

Parno was right to be fearful
, she thought bleakly.
He was right to be fearful and I was wrong, or at least terribly naive, to brush those concerns aside. And he worried about his age
, she shook her head again. He seemed to be more mature than all of them put together.

“Where do we go from here, Lady Freeman?” Winnie asked softly.

“Winnie, for goodness sake call me Stephanie,” she managed to smile. “And I have no idea.”

“We should be nearby in case the Prince needs you,” Winnie pointed out. “You have to be close by until he is out of danger. He. . .he's the king, now.”

Stephanie hadn't considered that until this very moment. She nodded absently as she thought about it. An idea hit her of a sudden and despite the gravity of the situation around her the thought brought an almost sinister smile to her face. She schooled her features and grabbed a passing servant.