The Wolf with the Iron Jaw (Elysium #1)

Chapter Twenty-One

 Alice was a fumbling mess with her new foot.

After two days of bed rest, Booker suggested she attempt to walk. So, with the assistance of Henry and some drugs to ease the pain, she gripped the bedpost, rose slowly to her feet—

And immediately fell back onto the bed with a gasp of pain.

Trinket had some sympathy as she watched, remembering how painful it had been to walk on her own injured leg. She plastered on a smile and offered words of encouragement to help the lady along.

However, after nearly three days of Alice sobbing about it being impossible and Henry protectively insisting she not push herself, Trinket found she was beginning to understand Booker's distaste for the couple.

"How's our patient doing?" Booker asked, poking his head through the door during one of her attempts to coax Alice out of bed and onto her feet.

"Awful," Alice cried. "I swear I'll never walk again!"

Collapsing onto the mattress, she burst into tears for the fourth time that day. Henry flew to her side, wrapping her up in a tight embrace and drawing her close to himself. "There, there, darling. Don't do it if you're not up to it."

Trinket clenched her teeth and met Booker's gaze. Her blood boiled as the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. "Making great progress, I see," he said.

"We're doing our best," she said, turning back to the pathetic couple.

"Well, I don't mean to interrupt. Just wanted to check in and see if there was anything I could do."

"You could stay and assist us. I'm sure your expertise as a doctor would do Alice a world of good."

"I'm certain it would, but unfortunately, I'm up to my ears in backlogged work. So sorry. But perhaps I could offer some more pain medication?"

"Yes," Alice said quickly, lifting her tear-stained face to him. "Yes, that would be most appreciated."

Trinket shot Booker an annoyed glare, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and responded, "I'll be up with some in a moment."

"Alice, you can't just keep numbing the pain," she said as he disappeared.

"You don't understand how much it hurts," Alice snapped.

"You'd be surprised."

"Pardon?"

Sighing, Trinket sat beside the pampered lovers. "Every time you take drugs for the pain, you become less motivated. You can barely carry on a proper conversation when medicated, never mind walk."

"We've started too early," Henry argued. "She needs more time to heal. It's too soon, and we're likely doing more damage trying to get her to walk on it now."

"Her doctor thinks otherwise."

Alice's lower lip began to tremble, and she buried her face in Henry's shoulder before breaking into another fit of hysterics.

Biting the inside of her cheek to keep from losing control of her tongue, Trinket rose from the bed. "Perhaps that's enough for today. We'll try again tomorrow."

Neither one of them responded, both too wrapped up in their shared sorrow.

Heaving another sigh, she stormed into the hallway and down the stairs to make a cup of tea to settle her nerves.

~

Alice refused to even leave her bed the following day. Henry, normally so docile and agreeable, stubbornly took his paramour's side, insisting that Trinket was being unreasonable in expecting his beloved to regain her strength in so short a period of time.