Dahlia gasped.
“Robbie, you talk too much.” Ronan frowned at his friend. “It wasn’t quite that bad.”
Her uncle shook his head. “Dahlia, go downstairs for a few minutes. I have to check his ribs and lungs. He is going to howl when I do.”
“I want to stay, Uncle George. I can hold his hand.”
“I also need to remove his trousers to see if he suffered more bruising that he hasn’t told anyone about. Captain Brayden, how high up were you when you fell into the water?”
“About two stories.”
“Dinna believe him Dr. Farthingale. Joshua says he was at least twice that high up when he fell.”
“I’m going to check you for a possible concussion as well,” her uncle calmly remarked. “How does your spine feel? I’ll have to check it, too.”
“Oh, dear heaven.” Dahlia was now trembling noticeably. “Ronan, if you ever do anything so foolish again, I will put my hands around your neck and throttle you. Do you hear me?”
He grinned. “Loud and clear, Queen Pea.”
She desperately wanted to kiss him, but how could she with an audience? “I’ll come back when your examination is over.”
She hurried out before any of them saw how overset she was. If the ropes hadn’t crushed him, then falling from that height might have killed him. How could he be so calm about it? She walked back into the dining room where Joshua, Holly, and Heather were now seated. “Where are your men?”
“On their way back to the barracks. I’ll join up with them later.” Joshua’s expression remained grim. “I’ll have to let Miranda and our brothers know about Ronan’s condition. I suppose my cousins will insist on hearing the details as well. But I’d like to hear your uncle’s assessment of his injuries first. I want to give my family an accurate account.”
“Uncle George will be thorough. I left because he’s going to check Ronan from head to toe.”
Joshua turned to Holly. “Love, do you mind if I go up and watch?”
Holly kissed his cheek. “Do whatever you must. I’ll have Cook prepare some simple but hearty meals as I’m sure we’ll have more company today. Tynan and Finn will rush over and bring Abby and Belle with them. James and Marcus will want to stop by as well. That means Sophie and Lara will insist on coming, too. They might arrive before their husbands.”
Dahlia listened quietly as the pair conversed.
These Brayden men were eight in all and close in age. They were lovingly referred to as the wildebeests by their parents because these gorgeous, big men had been wild as beasts when they were younger. Much tamer now, of course. But still very much a beastly herd that would gather protectively around any one of them who happened to be injured.
“I’ll send word to Romulus and Caleb once we have all the information,” Joshua said as he and Holly began to review what needed to be done while she followed him to the door. “They will be very upset their duties kept them out of London. But Romulus may be back within a day or two. It won’t be so easy for Caleb to leave his post in York. However, I don’t think Lord Liverpool will dare stop him from riding down here once news reaches him.”
Holly nodded. “Do you think your mother might want to stay over?”
“Miranda? Good heavens, no.” Joshua shook his head. “She’s a handful. Besides, there’s no room. I’m not going to kick your sisters out. Ronan won’t let me, in any case. The only person he really wants to see is Dahlia.” He turned to her with a wincing smile. “He hardly spoke the entire ride back because he was in so much pain. But the few words he did manage were all about you.”
She nodded. “I didn’t want to leave his side. I’ll stay with him once Uncle George is through.”
“He’ll feel better having you near. But I don’t know what he’s going to do about the budget matter. Fortunately, he’s already met with most of the committees. We’ve both lost this week, and now he might lose next week, which is when the House of Lords will vote. He’ll ignore your uncle’s directive to stay in bed. I know my brother will be stubborn about it. He’ll get to Parliament even if he has to crawl.”
Dahlia pursed her lips, knowing everything Joshua said was accurate. “What about the Lord Admiral? Can he not take over for these next few days?”
Joshua nodded. “I know he’ll do whatever he can. But Sir William is not in very good health himself. Robbie and I will do what we can, of course. But we aren’t Royal Navy, and our own superiors will frown on our lending too much help. We have our own budgets to worry about. I’ll probably receive a blistering set down for riding off with my regiment to Tilbury. But I could not assign the matter to anyone else. Who would protect my little brother better than me?”
Dahlia managed a chuckle. “Little? He’s big as an ox. Even bigger than you, Joshua.”
“Big pain in my arse, too. Stubborn oaf.”
Holly rolled her eyes and gave an impudent cough. “And you’re not?”
“No, love. I’m perfect. You tell me so often enough. Especially at night, when in my arms, right after I–”
“Joshua! My sisters!” But now that Joshua was home safe, Holly seemed much more composed. She shot him a warning scowl, and then faced them all with an expression of determination that commanded everyone’s attention. “Let’s get down to important business. There’s also been rumblings in the gossip rags about who is going to be blamed for this blunder. Ronan’s name was mentioned.”
She pointedly eyed her sisters. “You tossed the paper into the fire, but burning that trash will not erase the fact that someone is already working to pin the blame on Ronan.”
Joshua appeared stunned. “You must be jesting. He almost lost his life saving that vessel.”
Holly pursed her lips. “I wish I were. We cannot ignore this news item, even if it is obvious nonsense. The Braydens are a powerful family, and several hold important titles. But we Farthingales also have our connections.”
“Indeed, we do. And I won’t hesitate to call on them to help Ronan.” Dahlia’s thoughts were already on the same path as her sister’s. “He is not going to take the fall for this blunder.”
Heather chimed in, too. “Knowing our cousins, they are going to insist on helping whether asked to or not. And Robbie is the grandson of an earl. Scottish,” she said with a shrug, “but an earl nonetheless. Not to mention that Poppy is married to the Earl of Welles, and Honey is married to the Earl of Wycke.”
Joshua groaned. “Enough with the Farthingale marriage connections. I am vastly impressed. But we don’t need the Earl of Caithness or you meddlesome Farthingales stepping in and starting an insurrection.”
Holly curled her hands into fists. “We will fight for your brother if we have to. Don’t ask us to sit idly by and watch him get battered any worse than he already is because all those lords who are to blame for putting Hawley -that incompetent - in command in the first place are looking to save their hides and offer up your brother as the scapegoat.”
Joshua held up a hand. “Sweetheart, I think you are getting a little ahead of yourself. Yes, we will flex some Brayden muscle to make sure the right men are called to account. And yes, it is good to have the Farthingales on alert if more is needed. But Ronan is well respected. He’ll also be mad as hell if we interfere before he’s had a chance to deal with the matter on his own.”