Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Inner workings of broken minds.

*Under Revision*

*Warning* This is a graphic chapter. Blood trigger warning.

When I opened my eyes again I was still staring up at the library's high ceilings, ornately carved, deep brown ceilings that seemed to momentarily swirl in my vision with the black dots. I wasn't sure how long I had been unconscious for and I wasn't even certain of how long I laid there, staring at the dots dancing before me as pain sliced through every corner of my tensed body, my left shoulder and neck radiated a large portion of that pain and I felt a sweeping wave of unconsciousness stab through me at the slight movement I made to attempt to get off the floor.

This wasn't the first time in my life that my father or Bianca had beaten me into a state of coma and left me, not the first time that I had awaken to the feeling of agony coating my body, sinking into my muscles, and threatening my already fragile mind. How much longer could I continue to fight to live against them? It was so clear they wanted me dead and why was I fighting them so hard to live? What had that gotten me so far? more pain and I had been foolish to believe I was beyond the reach of their brand of punishment.

Suddenly the sound of heavy footsteps heading towards me broke through my despair. I knew that walk, I spent every waking moment of the last several months of my life obsessively watching, listening, and just all around observing my stranger husband, a man I knew nothing about when I agreed to be his wife just a short time ago and now I felt like I understood so much about him and I knew without a doubt he was headed my way.

His warning from last night flashed through my mind, it was as if I could still feel his warm breath ghosting my lips, the gentle brush of his own lips sending my mind spiraling out of control until I wasn't sure I could clearly give my name if asked. "If they lay a finger on you...they won't live to tell a soul about it." I couldn't do that to my sister, thinking about the scandal that would follow them if it was found out that they had been abusive to their oldest daughter. I bit my lip to keep from screaming as I forced my body to right itself into a sitting position, my teeth breaking through the delicate skin as warm and bright blood trickled down my chin.

I was panicking, what could I do?! Nothing! There was no way to hide my injuries. From the sharp and yet numbing pain throbbing through my arm I thought that it must be dislocated at the very least, it would need to be set right. My stomach cramped painfully from the punch landed against it. Tears of frustration stung at the corner of my eyes, I was going to fail at doing the only thing I had ever been good for, protecting my sisters.

"Wendy!" The alarmed shout from the Duke had me closing my eyes as a high-toned ringing had my vision blurring white, when I opened my eyes again his Grace's face was right in front of mine. I had never seen so much emotion on his face before, his perfect jaw was clenched tightly, his normally perfectly tanned skin had gone a shocked pale, the whites of his stormy gray eyes were wide and the true fear in them surprised me. Was that his reaction to my pain? some part of me wondered why he cared so much. He truly was just such a good man, I thought as my heart ached for him to love me the way I was coming to love him.

My heart was hammering in my chest, the last time I had felt fear like this was the night that I had been told my parents were dead. I had never felt so alone and vulnerable. Wendy was propped against the large cushion chairs of the library, her body sagged and she shuddered seemingly, unwillingly, every few seconds or so, her pale face wincing softly at the movement. I had been looking for Wendy for a half hour now, her sisters claiming she told them she would meet them for dinner. Mary said she never came to get dressed and a quick trip back to her sisters to ask where she had been led me to sight I wasn't expecting.

The ball of tension sitting in my stomach wound tighter, there was visible bruising up her neck and her left shoulder hung at an awkwardly low angle. She didn't seem to be aware of the blood staining the skirts of her dress. "Wendy" I spoke hoarsely to her "Where are you bleeding, my darling?"

Her delicate and curved eyebrows pressed together as her dry tongue darted out to try to moisten her equally dry lips "Bleeding?" She echoed back to me listlessly.

Fear squeezed at my chest "Lach!" I shouted out, regretting it slightly as I saw Wendy jerk back into consciousness only to moan in agony at the movement. "Lach! Lach, come now!" I only had to shout out twice more before Lach was running through the door, no doubt hearing the panic in my voice "Call for a doctor! Have Mary ready our chambers, I will carry her there now!" I spoke urgently and Lach was jumping into action before I even finished speaking, my yelling had caused other servants to come running and they were now all springing to work, the ones who saw they were in the way quickly ushering younger servants out of my way.

"I'm sorry" I whispered for only Wendy to hear as I readied myself to lift her body up, without warning I pulled her against me as I stood. The crying scream that left her lips had me blinking tears away as a blind rage built inside of me. I was promised to protect her, I promised that she would no longer have to deal with this kind of pain. And yet in my own home, on my own estate, she had been gravely harmed and I would stop at nothing to even that score.

I walked, a pace that I felt was not fast enough, needing to strip her of the clothes and find the source of her bleeding, her shoulder needed to be set and it looked all too likely that the muscle leading up her neck had been damaged and would take extensive time to heal. Finally making it to our chambers I laid her as softly as I could against the downy linens draped across the bed. She moaned out, a strangled sound that ripped at my heart. After dismissing all except Mary and two other maids, who were warming water and setting out strips of cloth, Mary and I set about stripping her from her ruined blue day dress. The very same dress I had once admired her after the first night we had shared together, the same dress that she donned so many days since she had come here that I had grown to love the color, seeing it now with her blood blotting across the innocent blue sent shivers down my spine.

As I lifted the dress completely off of her I turned, I stared at the fabric in my hands, it was fueling my hate for a certain set of people. I quickly threw the dress in the fire, I knew Wendy would never wish to wear it again. "Your Grace..." The horror in Mary's voice had me spinning back around so quickly it took me a moment to understand what prompted this response from the servant girl but once I stepped closer back to the bed and my eyes locked onto Wendy's back ice shot through my veins.

While I was turned Mary had pulled Wendy's arms carefully out of the sleeves of her shift and started to peel it away from her bloody back, as she revealed the skin of her back more and more raised silver scars were uncovered, they covered so much of her back, always stopping just before they could creep around to the front of her body or anywhere a fashionable dress might reveal. They were expertly hidden, a small puncture wound surrounded by deep purple and angry red bruising sat in between her shoulder blades. Her left shoulder is so obviously out of place as it sits well below the level of her right.

How had I not noticed? How had I been so blind? the rage building inside of me was fanning to new heights, I had not known I could possess this level of murderous rage on behalf of another person. I had realized from the moment Wendy fell into my arms, breathless and so vulnerable, that she had known a life of great pain. I had mistakenly underestimated the level of physical pain she had known. I swallowed down my own feelings, I needed to focus on making sure Wendy was alright before I handled anything else, pacifying my rage with the promise that as soon as I knew Wendy would be alright, they would pay.

As Mary set about cleaning the blunt wound on Wendy's back I carefully lifted the skirts of her shift, her back was bleeding, yet that did not explain the blood stains on her skirt. I sucked air in harshly through my teeth as a fist sized bruise was coloring the soft curve of Wendy's stomach, dry blood coated the inside of her thighs though she didn't appear to be bleeding anymore. As gently as I could I cleaned the blood from her thighs, trying my best to protect her dignity as Mary helped me to slip a clean night shift over her head and rest her body back against the comfortable pillow. Mary's fingers worked Wendy's curly hair into a braid hanging over her uninjured shoulder.

Not even five minutes had passed in time before Lach was coming through the door, a young man probably no more than twenty-four in tow. "Who is that?" My voice boomed out "Where is Doctor Benne?" Though older he had been treating my family for years and I trusted his knowledge as it had proved more than helpful time and time again as my sister would become sick or the few times her children had.

"Doctor Benne is going into retirement, Your Grace." The young man bent at the waist in a sharp bow, to the point and no fanfare about it "My name is Doctor Thomas Pennington, I have recently come under the fine study of Doctor Benne and as he is currently helping to birth twins I have come to offer my assistance." The young Doctor Pennington's eyes darted behind me to Wendy before looking back at me, never once flinching under my thundering gaze "Perhaps you could tell me what you know and I will be able to know how best to help Her Grace from there." He seemed to prompt me.

I forced myself to release some of the tension from my shoulder, I needed to trust this young man, he was the only help I had for Wendy and I wouldn't stand in the way of that. "I found her almost unconscious," As soon as the words started to leave my mouth I stepped to the side and the young Doctor rushed forward, setting a carpeted bag at the end of the large bed that Wendy laid motionlessly in. He began to pull out strange tools as I continued to explain all the injuries I had noted thus far, I hesitated a moment "She was bleeding..."I swallowed harshly "between her thighs..I...I don't know...that is I..." I stared brokenly at Wendy's pale form until a warm and solid hand clasped my bicep.

"Your Grace" Doctor Pennington's serious hazel eyes drilled into me, my overwhelmed brain grabbing onto his words like a lifeline "I am going to have to reset your wife's shoulder. This is going to be very painful for her and even though I will give her something to help the pain, she may very well scream." Instantly I was reminded of the bloodcurdling scream that was ripped from her while I lifted her from the floor. "I assure you that your wife will make a full recovery in my care but I will not be able to work with you here, I can feel your emotions from here and I need to focus on her treatment. Please, your Grace, leave your wife with me and a few of your servants and when the worst is over you may return to your bride." It might have been the confidence in his voice, or the unwavering eye contact as he drilled his assurance of recovery into me, but I trusted that Wendy was safe with him.

I nodded and swallowed thickly as I brushed curled drenched with a cold sweat from her forehead, the pain causing her body to shake as the sweat that layered her skin turned cold in the air. "They won't get away with it, my darling." I whispered to her as I turned and stormed from the room.

It was time to send to souls where they belonged, straight to hell.