Chapter 33

Panting, he laid the man down and considered how he might get him onto it. He scratched his head and then pulled off his coat and rolled up his sleeves.

“Come along old chap,” he said to the man. “We are going to have to roll you onto the bed. Can you lend a hand?” The man remained motionless. Charles made a mental note to increase his physical activity, as his strength had clearly dwindled since his departure from the army, but as he stooped to move him, he bethought himself. His guest was sodden. His clothes were saturated and if he wrapped him in the blankets like that he would never get warm.

Charles hesitated, ran a hand over his mouth, took a deep breath, and then started with the shoes and stockings. The long, slender feet were ghostly pale and wet; the skin wrinkled and puckered.