"How is he?" Charles asked the doctor.

Dr. Shreve shut the door to the bedchamber where Phillip had been settled and removed his spectacles, folding them carefully and tucking them away in a slender leather case before he met Charles's gaze.

"He has several broken ribs, and his left leg is fractured in two places, but I'm most concerned about the injuries inflicted to his skull. I reset the leg and bound it, but the rest?" He shook his head. "If he survives the next ...