Free The Makeshift Marriage by Sandra Heath Page A

ever think to witness, and only the fact that Sir Nicholas swayed on his feet at that moment saved him from certain death.”
    “Where did the second shot strike him?”
    “It grazed his temple. It was meant to strike his head a mortal blow.”
    She closed her eyes weakly. So close, so very close….
    “The baron has been forced to flee from Venice, Fraulein. He may be close to the governor, but even that would not assist him under these vile circumstances. To fire at a defenseless opponent and to do so before witnesses is an act with consequences from which even he could not hope to escape. He will never be able to hold his head up here in Venice again, for all will despise him even more than they already do. He is an evil man, Fräulein Milbanke, the devil’s henchman.”
    She nodded. “I must go to Sir Nicholas… . ”
    Still he detained her. “Wait one moment more, Fraulein, I beg of you. I think it only right to tell you that the doctor wishes to amputate Sir Nicholas’s left arm; he says that that is his only chance —and a very slender one at that.”
    “If it is his only chance, then it must be done.”
    “In my opinion he stands more chance without the attentions of a doctor-surgeon! On the field of battle I have seen more men die after treatment than I care to remember. There is another thing, however, and that is that before the commencement of the duel, Sir Nicholas took me aside and gave me specific instructions that on no account were any injuries he might receive to be treated by amputation. He was most firm on this and demanded that I gave him my word as an officer and a gentleman. This I did, I believe that I am right, both because I honor my sworn word, and because such chance as he may have will be eliminated by such savage surgery in his present weakened state. There you have it, Fraulein Milbanke, and I tell you because I know that the doctor will try to persuade you to give your permission for the operation to be carried out.”
    “My permission? But I have no right —”
    “You are Sir Nicholas’s friend. He spent yesterday with you and he fought the baron because of you. I think you have the right to decide. If you wish the operation to be carried out, then I will not stand in your way. I may be wrong to stop the operation; I know only that I have done what Sir Nicholas asked of me. You are not bound by my promises if you believe the doctor is correct. Do you see what I am trying to say? I think Sir Nicholas is a brave and valiant man, and I do not want honor to deprive him of his life.”
    She smiled a little. “Honor. Honor appears to be everything,” she murmured, walking slowly on towards Nicholas’s room.
    Dr. Meyer was a sallow-faced man with graying hair. His white uniform outlined his lean, bony shape as he bent over Nicholas’s still figure. Nicholas’s valet, Henderson, stood at the other side of the bed, holding a bowl of water and some fresh dressings. The wiry little valet looked anxiously down into his master’s ashen face. Nicholas did not move; his eyes were closed and the aura of death lay over him.
    A bandage had been hastily applied to the wound on his right temple, but already a red stain marred its whiteness. There had not been time to remove his coat and the doctor had cut away the arm of the garment that a Bond Street tailor had labored over so long and lovingly. Such a sad end to a magnificent coat… . The blood from the shattered arm flowed freshly, staining the Hotel Contarini’s expensive silk coverlet. At last the doctor succeeded in stemming the flow a little, and then he straightened, giving Major Bergmann a cold disdainful look before turning to Laura.
    “Forgive me, Fraulein, for subjecting you to this ordeal, but I must beg of you to give your permission for me to remove Sir Nicholas’s left arm immediately.” He wiped his bloody hands on a cloth.
    “I have no right, Doctor.”
    “There is only you, and I must turn to you because others