My Wife, My Rules – 37. chapter

Aiden woke first. Tess lay beside him, turned away. She slept deeply, peacefully. Her body rose and fell regularly with his own breath, as if she were copying it even in sleep. He moved, meaning to draw her closer, but then he noticed her arm, carelessly laid above her head. 

He froze.

Her wrist was scraped raw, torn open and bloodied. Not just reddened, but injured.

Places where the cord must have bitten deep into the skin.

God!

He propped himself on one elbow and leaned toward her, careful, only enough to see the other hand.

It looked the same. Worse, perhaps. He stayed there longer than he meant to. His jaw clenched. He didn’t move. Didn’t even breathe. He only looked. He’d done this. He knew her body. Every twitch, every tightening. He’d thought her resistance was under control. It wasn’t. Of course he’d felt her tearing against the bonds in the night, but it hadn’t crossed his mind that this could happen.

He quickly threw the cover aside, pulled on his clothes, and stepped into the corridor without a word. He left the door ajar.

A maid passed beneath the stairs with a basket of linen. He stopped her with a gesture.

“Bring me the doctor. Immediately.”

He returned to the chamber and closed the door. Tess hadn’t moved yet. He sat on the edge of the bed, hands braced on his knees. Fists clenched. Fingers cold.

Tess woke slowly. She looked at Aiden, studied his rigid posture for a moment, then frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

He searched for words for a few seconds.

“I hurt you. Your hands are injured.”

She didn’t understand. She lifted one hand before her face, raised her brow, and examined the wound with interest. Then she inspected the other wrist and looked at him. A triumphant smirk curved her mouth.

“A small price for freedom.”

Now it was his brow that lifted. As if it didn’t hurt. But she knew, with absolute certainty, how terribly sorry he was and that he wouldn’t dare repeat it. He might’ve thought on that longer if a knock hadn’t sounded. He knew things were about to turn serious.

He opened the door, let the doctor in, and closed it again, remaining positioned so his body shielded Tess.

“Doctor,” he said. Though he could not see Tess behind him, he could feel the panic seize her as she shrank sharply back on the bed, all the way to the headboard, her back pressed to the wall as if she wanted to vanish from the world. She understood he wasn’t considering her wishes. He’d decided.

“I need your help. But first, I need you not to tell anyone what you’re about to see.”

“Of course,” the doctor nodded automatically.

“I need her wrists treated,” Aiden said and slowly stepped aside.

The doctor looked at Tess, and went utterly still. For a moment, he didn’t understand what he was seeing. His body reacted before his mind. He swayed. His breath caught. It was as if something collapsed inside him.

“I, I’m sorry…” His voice had gone dry. He looked at Aiden. “I just spoke with your wife downstairs in the hall!”

“No,” Aiden shook his head. “My wife is exactly where she belongs. In my bed.”

The doctor needed time to process it. Under other circumstances, Aiden might’ve been amused.

“Aiden, no, please!” Tess whimpered, plastered against the headboard, knees drawn to her chest, feet up on the pillow. Aiden moved to her at once. He wrapped her gently at the waist, sat on the coverlet, and drew her into his arms. The doctor finally opened his mouth, but Aiden silenced him with a gesture and stopped any movement.

“No, Aiden, no!” Tess fought in panic.

He held her tighter.

“Quiet, kitty, quietly.”

“I don’t want to!” her voice trembled with tears.

“I’m sorry, but this can’t be left untreated.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to stop her moving, careful not to touch the injured wrists. She whimpered. He pressed her head to his chest and stroked her hair gently.

“Kitty, I need you to let the doctor touch you,” he whispered.

“I don’t want to!”

“I know,” he soothed, stroking and whispering. Persistently. Again and again. “I know you’re afraid. But we really can’t leave it like this. It’s deep. Without care it’ll become inflamed and much worse.”

She shook her head.

“Please, kitty. Please. Do this for me. Let him.”

Her breathing turned sharp and deep.

“Please. Just for me. I’ll hold you. He can’t hurt you. But you have to allow it,” he repeated patiently.

The doctor watched the scene and understood almost at once. Fear of people appeared in some patients, he and his colleagues knew that. He’d seen cases before, though never this intense.

“My lord,” he addressed Aiden quietly. Aiden shot him a refusing look, but the doctor continued. “Allow me.”

His calm certainty earned a slight nod from Aiden.

“If my lady would permit,” the doctor said gently. “I’m standing far away.”

He fell silent and waited for Tess to decide to look at him.

“Just show me your hands, please. You only need to stretch them out.”

That won Aiden over completely, and he forgave him everything that had happened with Viktoria. Tess watched the doctor for a moment, thinking.

“I’m holding you,” Aiden whispered into her hair. “I’m with you.”

She swallowed hard and nodded faintly. It surprised Aiden more than anything. She shifted in his hold, turned her gaze away, and stretched both hands out before her.

From where he stood, the doctor couldn’t see much, but he stayed quiet so Tess would cooperate with him at least with her gaze. When the silence unsettled her enough to look at him, he offered an encouraging smile and gestured for her to lower her palms. She did, keeping her eyes on him. He stretched his neck slightly, studied the wounds, then gestured for her to turn her hands over. She did that as well.

“Thank you,” he said. “Well, it isn’t entirely good. It needs treatment.”

Aiden wasn’t sure whether he should interfere at all now. He felt Tess’s heart pounding, but her breathing had eased.

“How?” she asked.

The doctor set down the bag he’d been holding and took something out. He opened a small bottle of liquid and showed it to Tess.

“Do you have a serious problem with pain?”

She shook her head.

“I need to clean them with this. It’ll prevent infection and inflammation, but it stings quite a bit,” he explained carefully.

“That doesn’t matter,” Tess surprised them both.

“And then just bandage them,” the doctor finished.

She studied him a moment longer, then nodded.

“All right.”

He stepped closer and began. He moved slowly, avoiding any sudden gestures.

“You’re very brave,” he said in a calm voice. When he cleaned her wrists, she didn’t so much as hiss. “Most people wouldn’t allow this.”

“People aren’t like me,” she said.

“There are some who are,” he corrected gently.

“Really?” Her voice held both surprise and disbelief.

“Yes. Though, truth be told, I’ve never seen it in a woman of such high standing. It must be very hard for you,” he gave her a look and continued. “I understand now why I’ve never met you. It’s good that you go into the garden at least. It’s important to do what makes you happy.”

Aiden watched, fascinated, as the doctor won his wife’s trust, unable to understand how he had never noticed what a fine man he was. Then again, Aiden was rarely ill. They’d spoken little before.

The doctor finished and packed his tools.

“It would be good to clean and bandage them again tomorrow. If you’d be willing to call me, I’d appreciate it greatly,” he said to her, gentle and encouraging.

Aiden released Tess and followed the doctor out.

“I owe you, doctor,” he said quietly.

“Ah…” the man hesitated at the door, searching for words. “It’s rare among the wealthy to see such enormous love as you show your lady. Still, I must urge you to stop… to make sure there is no further pressure on those hands, the kind that caused this.”

Aiden narrowed his eyes. The man exhaled.

“I’m a doctor. I know what caused those wounds. Rope.”

“I know it looks terrible. Tess is very afraid of Viktoria. Viktoria is her mad sister downstairs in the hall. Tess keeps trying to flee because Viktoria threatens to hurt me if she stays. I know I have to resolve it. I just don’t know how yet.”

The doctor listened, thinking.

“It would be best to put her away in a convent. Or directly in an asylum.”

Aiden turned on him, frowning.

“I’d like that very much, but I don’t have the authority.”

“Of course. From what you’ve said, I assume she’s unmarried. Does she have a father or brother?”

“A father. But Viktoria is his showpiece jewel. I doubt he’d allow her confinement.”

“Very well. There is another option, though it’s slower.”

Aiden listened intently.

“Testimonies that she’s mentally unwell. For such a diagnosis in a woman, far less is required than pretending to be a wife she isn’t.”

“The servants?”

“Possibly. But I was thinking more of your friends. As I recall, a few days ago she played that role before a garden full of your acquaintances and those close to you.”

Aiden drew an excited breath as understanding hit him.

“And I know as well. I’m a doctor. My word carries weight. If I say what I’ve seen in this house, she won’t leave the institution on her own.”

“On her own? Meaning she could?”

“A woman can be placed in such an institution, and removed from it, by the same people. Husband, brother, or father.”

“So if her father vouched for her, he’d take her out.”

“I can’t say with certainty, but likely yes. Especially if he’s wealthy. It’d be best to have him on your side before she’s placed.”

“I understand. Doctor, I’m very grateful for today. For everything.”

“I… apologize about Viktoria. I didn’t know…”

“Forget it. She’s a truly skilled liar.”

The doctor nodded and left.

As Aiden was closing the door, he opened it again.

“Doctor?”

“Mm?”

“Send Mary from the kitchen up in about an hour, please.”