He snapped his head toward the maids in the room, his voice sharp and urgent as he barked, "Where's the apothecary? What are you all standing around gawking for? Go get him here right now to check on the young lady!"
The maids scattered in a flurry, shoving past each other as they stumbled out of the bedroom.
Alaric paced back and forth across the room, muttering under his breath in a panic. "I'm dead, I'm so dead. When your mother finds out about this, she's gonna read me the riot act."
Gisela spoke up softly, her tone cool and distant. "Father, could you calm down and take a breath first?"
Alaric froze mid-step and whirled around to look at her.
He cast a cautious glance around the bedroom to make sure no one else was close enough to overhear, then hurried over to the bed, lowered h
