As they moved past them, Carina longed to call out that they must be burned and banned for ever from men who throw away all that they hold dear simply for the excitement of pitting their luck against each other.

Lord Lynche took her to a gold brocade sofa at the far end of the room and she seated herself, arranging the skirts of her dress around her.

Because she was a woman, she felt glad that in this moment of tragedy and crisis she did not feel crushed and insignificant, as she would have been had she not dressed herself with care.

Lord Lynche’s guests shuffled in one by one. They were obviously ill at ease, not knowing quite what to say.

So they talked amongst themselves and Lord Lynche stood strong and silent with his back towards the fireplace, an expression on his face that was difficult to read and his eyebrows slightly knit together in a frown.

Carina felt that to wait any longer would be unbearable, but at length the door opened and the doctor came in.

He was a middle-aged, kindly looking man and Lord Lynche moved across the room to shake him by the hand.

“It is good of you to come so quickly, Dr. Dalton,” he said.

“It was fortunate that I was dining so near,” the doctor replied.

He had somewhat bushy eyebrows, but the eyes underneath them were piercing and perceptive.

He looked around him, his glance resting on Carina for a moment before he said,

“I would like you to order your carriage, my Lord. I wish to remove Sir Percy to hospital.”

“He is alive?” Lord Lynche asked and Carina knew that it was the question that had been on everyone’s lips and on their minds since the doctor entered the room.

“But of course,” the doctor replied. “The shot was in the right arm, not the body.”

Carina felt the tension collapse as if it was tangible and for a moment she held her breath, hardly able to believe what she heard.

“In the arm,” Lord Lynche repeated with a somewhat dazed expression on his face.

“Unfortunately the bone is shattered,” the doctor continued. “I think the arm will have to be amputated, although I shall know better when we take him to the hospital.”

“By Jove!” someone ejaculated. “That means Percy will not be able to play cards again. It’s his right arm.”

There were little smiles on the lips of several of the men present,

and Carina knew that, because they were the type of men who enjoyed each other’s misfortunes, they were glad that such just retribution should have overtaken Sir Percy.

“Then he is not going to die?” Lord Lynche said, almost as if he must hear again the confirmation before he could believe it.

“Die? Of course not!” the doctor snapped. “He fainted, that was why he was unconscious, from fear, I should imagine.”

“Fear – !”