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That Corvo was in pain was immediately obvious. When he came out of that sewer tunnel, head hanging low, tattered hair hiding his face, he was barely keeping upright and moving in a straight line. He made it as far as Samuel's boat and collapsed like a pile of sticks, so thin and fragile. He apologized, which only made things worse. Samuel had to help him into the boat. When they touched Corvo hissed in pain.
But that was immediately following his escape. Samuel expected that Havelock and Pendleton would put him to rights once they got their hands on him, but today, just before sunrise, he found Corvo sitting on the railing surrounding the ruined tower. His immediate thought was to leave the poor man alone--he probably needed some solitude after what he'd been through--but then Corvo made to stand and suddenly collapsed, hissing through his teeth again, and Samuel hurried forward to keep him from falling.
"Sorry," Corvo gritted out. "And thanks."
"Not a problem." Samuel took him by the arm and helped him down to the ground, where he crouched down for a moment. At a loss for what else to do, Samuel crouched down with him. "Something I can get for ya? Something to drink? Something to eat?"
Corvo gave him a toothy smile that didn't extend to his eyes. "Think it's a rib. Hope it's a rib. I'm in a lot of trouble if it's not."
Samuel didn't know what to say. "Reckon you might want to take it easy for a few days, in that case. Get some rest."
"I can't." Corvo tried to stand and immediately recoiled in pain. "Ah... gotta find Emily."
"I don't like to say it, sir, but I don't think you're going anywhere like this."
"Damn it." Corvo wrapped his arms around his ribs and looked up at the sky. He seemed as if he were about to say something else, but instead he softly repeated, "Damn it."
They crouched there for a while, not quite touching. Eventually Corvo shifted to grab hold of the railing and began the laborious process of getting to his feet. Unsure what to do, Samuel staggered to his feet as well and waited. When Corvo finally found his footing, he took a step back.
"If there's something I can do," Samuel started to say, but Corvo shook his head.
"Thank you," he said. "I'm fine."
He tried to take a few steps forward, and Samuel barely caught him before his head hit the ground.
"I'm fine," he said again, his voice weak. He clung to Samuel's arm as he helped him stand.
"Would it help to lie down? If you can make it across the yard, you can use my bed. It's not much, but..."
Corvo ducked his head with a quick nod. He clutched Samuel's arm as they crossed to the little lean-to and let go only to crawl onto the stack of mattresses.
"Like I said, it's not much," Samuel admitted, taking in as if for the first time how rough everything looked, but Corvo shook his head as he settled into the mattresses.
"I've slept in worse places," he mumbled, already half-gone.
Samuel certainly didn't doubt that.
He left Corvo to sleep for a few hours, but when he returned he found the man still conscious, grinding his fist into his forehead.
"Sorry," he mumbled when he saw Samuel waiting. "Don't sleep well. In prison..." He trails off, letting his hand slide down to cover his eyes.
"It's no trouble to me, sir. No need to get up on my account."
But Corvo started to crawl out of the bed. "The loyalists..."
"Haven't said a word to me," Samuel said. "They'll let you know when they need you. Meantime, you ought to try to sleep."
Corvo looked up at him out of one eye, clearly hesitant to say anything else.
"If you won't do that, why not just lie there with your eyes closed? Just for a few minutes."
Corvo smiled a wan little smile. "Just a few minutes, huh?"
"I'll get out of your way." Samuel started to stand, but Corvo grabbed him by the wrist.
"It's alright," he said, his voice tight. "I don't mind if..."
And Samuel saw something in his eyes that he thought he recognized. He sat back down, settling against the lean-to. "Alright, sir. Let's get you some sleep."
"It's Corvo," the other man whispered. "Just... Corvo."
Samuel smiled. "Corvo."
Corvo smiled back, and as he settled in, curling into a ball on the pile of mattresses, Samuel thought he had a very nice smile.