A Dangerous Climate Read Online Free PDF Page A

him and whatever you may need as soon as the Quarter is awake. He'll carry a message from you, if you like, so your wife won't be worried for you, and you can tell your manservant what you need." She took the basin and rags, then ordered Kyril to bring scissors. As soon as he was gone, she began to bathe Saint-Germain's hand, taking care to inspect his knuckles closely. "You may have a damaged bone here. I'll put your hand in a splint and have Heer van Hoek examine it in the morning. He's a physician-anatomist, very skilled."
     
"So ... I hear." It was becoming more difficult to speak, and he tried to gesture to his throat; she contained his hand.
     
"Keep quiet. You have a very nasty bruise forming on your throat. I don't want it to swell any more than it has." She continued to wash his hand off. "There are a number of small cuts other than the blows to the knuckles." Satisfied for the moment, she dried his hand gently, and moved around the bed to work on his other hand. "This one isn'tso bad. Many little cuts and bruises on two fingers--they must have pulled off your rings--but you should be able to use your hands in a day or two." While she washed it free of mud, she went on, "How unfortunate. Here only four days and this happens. I hope you won't hold it against Sankt Piterburkh."
     
"No," he said breathlessly, thinking back to the long months following the Year of Yellow Snow, more than a millennium ago, when he had recovered from a slashed throat. This was surely no worse than what he had already survived.
     
"I'll have to cut your boots off, as well. I hope you have another pair, for if not, getting new ones will take months, unless you're willing to wear workmen's boots." She wiped his hand and began on his face, working deliberately and delicately. "There are nine bruises, two quite severe. Your eyes will be swollen for a while, and black, as I warned you. You won't like what you see in the mirror. It's more than bruises. Your left ear has a cut, and there's another along your jaw. I haven't seen all your injuries yet, but what I have seen indicate that those who attacked you meant to kill you, I believe."
     
He nodded his agreement, and pondered who would want to do that. Was it happenstance or had he been singled out?
     
Kyril returned with the scissors and stood by to collect Saint-Germain's clothes as they were cut away from his body. He was impassive enough until the chemise was pulled away, revealing the broad swath of ancient scars that ran from just below his ribs to the base of his abdomen. Then he crossed himself and stared.
     
Ludmilla strove to remain composed. "An extensive injury, long ago."
     
Saint-Germain nodded.
     
"It must be bad for your digestion," she observed, and continued to cut away his clothes, reaching for a sheet as she began on his black-satin britches.
     
"It is," he mouthed.
     
"Then I won't give you any tea just now. We'll see how you feel by mid-day." She looked at the knife-thrust in the heavy muscle of his right thigh. "A little more to the left and you would have bled to death."
     
Were it not for his pain, Saint-Germain would have laughed; it had been thirty-seven hundred years since he had been disemboweled; bleeding might enervate him, but it could not kill him.
     
"Your leg--very swollen in the boot. If your leg is broken, Kyril will help me to set it, or you can wait for Heer van Hoek to do it. In either case, the setting will be painful. We may have to wait until the swelling diminishes before attempting it." It took her almost five minutes to cut through the leather from his knee to his ankle, and as she worked his foot out of the boot, she made a thorough inspection of his calf and shin. "I think this is a bruise, a very bad one. Had you not been wearing such a fine boot, your leg probably would have broken. As it is, the bruise is a deep one. You would be wise to be on crutches until it is no longer tender. If you try to use it, you could delay its healing."