Betrayal

Chapter 2

"My dear Lady, you should not be witnessing such a gruesome situation. This is a highly technical procedure and a woman such a yourself could be rendered hysterical by the proceedings," The elderly medical practitioner, Barrings, gave the new arrival in his medical tent a severe look, "it would be highly inconvenient."

Cecilia's green eyes narrowed and she brought up her blood sodden hands while replying in a monotone, "Yes, I am utterly inconsolable."

"Well, as it may be it is best if you leave immediately. There is much work to be done," The white haired man firmly closed the curtain. She could still look inside because the curtained off area hardly reached below her knees so it would be easy to bend over and see but Cecilia decided to retain some form of dignity.

She turned around just in time to see Lord Fanning enter the tent with a dramatic flair. He was the noted explorer assigned in the royal backed mission to lead the mostly academic lot into the wilderness. In another life Cecilia would have found the man enchanting but now he was a regular nuisance like the thorn on the roses he had sent to her.

"I do not know if the rumours are true but it must be a shock for such a delicate young lady such as yourself to be caught in such a position." Lord Fanning observed her windswept hair and bloody fingers with alarm.

"What are you even doing in here?" Sir Russell, a severe looking gentlemen, followed the other man in.

"I just want to know what are his chances for survival. I feel responsible since I am the one who discovered him," Cecilia completely ignored Fanning's imploring glances and addressed the other man. Russell might hate her but at least he did not disguise how useless he found her with flowery words. Fanning seemed to think his pretty insults were a seductive art.

"That was terribly dangerous of you, Lady Cecilia. For all we know you came upon a rogue bandit. There is a reason it is forbidden to leave the camp circle."

"It was a perfectly clear day with nary a rider in the distance. I thought it looked perfectly safe from my vantage point."

"Perfectly safe enough to conceal corpses only feet from our lodgings," Fanning snorted at her gullibility.

"He is not dead as yet," The red headed Lady glared at Fanning who seemed to enjoy any attention she gave him.

"The man was littered with arrows. I do not see his chances improve even with the immediate medical attention he is getting," Russell answered, gruffly.

"Only three of them were embedded in his back. I did try to remove one but he was in too much pain. Otherwise they seemed shallow," Cecilia pointed out.

"Utterly foolish of you I must say." Clyde Chester, the leading researcher, wandered in with a disdainful air, "Removing the arrows is such a silly thing to do since removing them by yourself would only lead to blood loss and a sure death. The Prince did warn us of your capricious nature."

"Yes, yes, I am sure Damian warned you of all my flaws for they are great in number, indeed," The girl crossed her arms and looked away. Clyde Chester thought himself to be above all others and found her especially distasteful.

Her mutinous thoughts were halted by a shout from behind the curtains and she would have darted back inside if Lord Fanning had not seized her arm.

"It would be best if you are escorted back to your rooms. You are in no state to help anyone," Sir Russell rumbled gravely and in fit of pique Cecilia shrugged off the other man's hand and marched outside with murder written on her face.

---

"My lady I heard the news. How utterly distraught you must be," Beth wrung her apron.

"Not you too," Cecilia groaned and landed with a thump on her bed, face down. It was not quite as sturdy as her oak structure back at home but it could take her weight and still be dismantled once the entire camp was ready to move to their next location.