All Victoria could do was murmur in her dazed state of drifting in and out of consciousness. She should not be out in the cold in this condition. She had no idea what was going on by the time Vail had got to her. His voice sounded distant and foggy. She could barely open her eyes. Her body shook constantly in attempts to warm itself. She was now in the danger zone of acquiring hypothermia. 

She felt limp in Vail’s arms. As he’d set her down on the chaise lounge seat, she would remain mumbling to herself as if fighting it. Nothing seemed to make sense as she put random words together. “Ger………kill…….blood…..no…….stop…….” She was trying to fight the effects of the cold. Her mind hadn’t given up as much as her frail body had. Vail would need to light the fire, keep candles near her and cover her up with anything he could find, even if that were his own clothing. She needed him now more than she ever did before. 

It would take some time for her to come around to any decent state of consciousness. As she did, her vision remained somewhat blurry until she blinked a good few times. She slowly moved a hand up to her pounding head. She looked around slowly and would see Vail was in the room with her. Then she noticed she was in the summer house. She didn’t have the energy to gasp. She didn’t remember getting here. Or sending for him.

“Am I….dreaming…?” She managed to piece a coherent sentence together as she felt the warmth spreading throughout her pale body. She looked over at Vail with her darkened eyes, she really didn’t look healthy like the last time he had seen her. “Did you…come for me?” the last thing she remembered was asking why God had forsaken her. Did he send Vail to her rescue? If he hadn’t gotten to her in time, then perhaps she wouldn’t have made it.