Always True to Her (Emerson Book 2) (14 page)

He only halfway succeeded.

“Are you going to awaken the awful Mrs. Simmons?”
Irene asked quietly.

James turned to her and immediately wished he hadn’t.
She looked deliciously disheveled, rising from the bed.

Irene reached over to touch Anna’s forehead. “She
feels cooler. Though it might be the temperature of the room. But the poor
girl certainly has the chicken pox.”

Spots covered her face. They could not see beneath
her night clothes, but James had a feeling the rest of her would look much the
same.

“I am going to order breakfast and make sure the
carriage is ready for travel at first light,” he said.

“And I shall pack and help Anna with her, uh…” She
darted her eyes at the screen, beyond which lay various basins. “I shall
simply help Anna.”

“Thank you. I do not know how long we shall remain
at Ridgeway Manor, or, rather, the dower house. But I suspect it won’t be less
than a week. I do not wish to worry your family if they learn you are not at
Lady Lancaster’s. I can send you home in Layton’s carriage, then rent another
conveyance to take us to Wiltshire. Though I will, of course, have to borrow
the money.” He wished the lying, stealing Cedric Wallace to perdition for
leaving him in such straits.

Except for the fact that had it not been for Cedric
and his lying, stealing ways he never would have met Irene.

“You cannot think I would abandon you at this
juncture,” said Irene. “If you will recall, I am charged with looking after
Anna today while you sleep.”

“Truth be told, I doubt I shall sleep until we get
home. And you have already done more than enough.”

“Yet, I would still like to see this through.
Though, it occurs to me I have not yet received a formal invitation to the
dower house at Ridgeway.” She smiled at him.

She was exhausted. He was exhausted. But her smile
gave him hope for the day.

“Then Miss Irene Wallace, please allow me the honor
of escorting you to the Ridgeway estate, the longtime home of some of England’s
worst scoundrels, and the current home to its greatest earl and countess, along
with two excellent sisters and two loyal servants.”

“Thank you, sir. I will be delighted to accompany
you.”

The journey to Wiltshire was tense. They’d set off
from the inn at dawn, after Mrs. Simmons tried to extract an early morning
departure fee from them. They’d decided to keep Anna in her night clothes,
since they were less constricting than her gown. The spots had indeed spread
all over her body and while she tried not to scratch, it was difficult for her.
Which meant it was difficult for James and Irene to see her in such distress.
She was still feverish, though James hoped it would break now that the spots
were out.

James held her on the journey, hoping he would
impart some comfort to her. He and Irene spoke little, hoping the silence
would help Anna sleep.

It was almost dusk when the carriage finally began
the journey up the Ridgeway drive, diverting to the dower house. Anna’s
breathing was labored and she was burning up with fever. She now lay heavily upon
her father.

Finally, they pulled up to the house. They were not
yet at a standstill when Irene opened the door and jumped out, no doubt
surprising his family, who’d come outside to greet them.

As James made his way out of the carriage carrying
Anna, Irene approached his family with great urgency. “Anna has the chicken pox
and a high fever. If any of you have not had the disease, I suggest you go to
another part of the house. She’s having trouble breathing. I believe steam
would help her breathing, along with cold towels to bring down the fever.”

After an instant of stunned silence, everyone moved
at once.

“Bring her to the kitchen,” said Mrs. Stemple, the
cook. She was a pretty, young woman with fair hair and blue eyes. “I’ll put
pots of water to boil.”

“I’ll place a cot in the kitchen,” said Mr. Stemple,
the butler, with scars down the right side of his face and body. He raced into
the house after his wife.

“Rose, did Letty have chicken pox?” asked Colin, the
Earl of Ridgeway, as he ran to his brother.

Rose answered, even as she pulled Letty close to
her. The younger girl was in tears. “Yes,” said Rose. “We’ve all had them.
Letty please be a dear and run up to your room to see if there might be an
especially soft blanket that would comfort Anna.”

“But…” Letty started going to Anna, but was stopped
by her sister.

“Please, Letty. Anna will need as much comfort as
possible.”

Letty hesitated only a moment before running back
into the house.

Colin reached for Anna, then stopped in shock when
he reached her. The expression on his face chilled James, though his brother
quickly schooled his features. “Those spots must be making her miserable,” he
said, as he tried to take her from James.

James shook his head. “I can’t let go,” he said,
his voice cracking. Not even to Colin, the person he trusted most in the
world. Somehow, James felt that if something broke the bond between him and
Anna, she would become more ill.

And die.

“Has she eaten?” asked Ava, the Countess of
Ridgeway, with light brown hair and eyes.

James was beyond answering. He couldn’t remember
the last time any of them had eaten.

“Not much,” said Irene. “I tried to give her some
toast and tea this morning to no avail. And she ate very little last night.”

Ava nodded. “We’ll try again.”

“I’ll get cloths to bathe her in cold water,” said
Rose.

Both the ladies rushed into the house.

James followed, carrying Anna. Home was a relief,
but it did little to stem the tide of terror growing in his heart.

The dower house was small for a country home and
given the family’s finances, it was sparsely furnished. There were eight bedchambers
upstairs and the entry level had a sitting room, a dining room and a library,
with the kitchen and senior servants’ quarters in the back. He and Colin had
used the house as a refuge when they were growing up. They’d often retreated
there when avoiding their father or after a particularly brutal beating. James
was surprised how comforting the house was to him now in his hour of need.

Ava and Rose had done an excellent job making it feel
like home. But James knew it was not the house which was welcoming, but its
occupants. He didn’t have to face this crisis alone. He was with his family.

He slipped through the doors to the kitchen, with
Irene right behind him. The room was already buzzing with activity. Maude had
pots of water on the stove and was stoking the fire to bring them to a boil. Stemple
was bringing in the cot from his wife’s former bedroom.

“Place it in the corner, if you please, Stemple,”
said Ava as she came out of the pantry holding the tea tin.

Colin helped Stemple place the cot far enough away from
the stove that there was no chance Anna would be burned, but close enough that
the steam could reach her.

James lay Anna on the cot gently, then smoothed hair
from her forehead. It was wet and clinging to it. He had to fight a wave of
nausea to see his daughter so lifeless and still.

He became aware of Irene standing next to him.
“She’s home, James,” she whispered. “She’s surrounded by love.”

*

Irene had never been so scared in her life. With
each mile in the carriage, Anna had worsened. She was now wheezing with the
effort to breathe. The little girl was so helpless and Irene prayed that she
would not succumb to the fever.

“Here, Miss.” Mr. Stemple was holding a pillow and
looking at her kindly.

“Thank you,” she said, as she gently placed it under
Anna’s head. She looked up to see everyone watching her with some curiosity.
The earl looked very much like James, though with shorter hair and more traditional
clothing. Similarly, their sister Rose had the dark hair and eyes of her two
brothers.

Rose helped the countess make tea, as Mrs. Stemple
sliced bread. Irene had to marvel at how differently this house was run
compared to her own. She could not picture either her grandmother or father
pitching in to help the servants, regardless of the crisis. She was not
certain if either of them could locate the kitchen.

Given James’s understandable pre-occupation with
Anna, Irene could not depend on him to introduce her. “I am Irene Wallace,”
she said to the room at large. “Lord James and my brother knew each other in
America and I am helping with a matter pertaining to his land.”

She saw the earl and countess exchange a confused
look.

Irene continued. “It may seem odd to you, given
that my brother and Lord James seem to be at odds. But we were on our way to
Portsmouth to look into the matter when Anna became ill.”

“You are most welcome here, of course,” said the
earl. “Please forgive us for not greeting you properly.” He then introduced
her to everyone. “Can you tell us what happened?”

Irene recounted Anna’s progression with the
illness. She could tell that everyone understood the gravity of the situation.

Mrs. Stemple curtsied to Irene. “Poor Anna will
want to scratch those spots something fierce when she awakens. There’s a salve
my mother used to make when one of my sisters came down with chicken pox. I’d
like to make some, if someone can please watch the pots to keep them boiling.”

“Thank you, Maude. It shall be done,” said Lord
Ridgeway. “James, you look like hell. Perhaps you would like to refresh yourself
as we tend to Anna.”

“I’m not leaving here, even for a moment,” said
James. He looked wild, like a wounded animal.

“Perhaps you could hold her hand and speak to her,”
said Irene, hoping to calm him.

James took Anna’s hand. “I don’t think she can hear
me,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

“Try speaking to her in the Algonquin language.”

He nodded, then began to speak to Anna in her native
tongue. He spoke haltingly at first, as if he hadn’t done so in a long time. But
then the words came faster, flowed better. Though Irene did not speak a word
of Anna’s language, she understood exactly what James was saying to his daughter.
He was telling her he loved her.

Anna seemed to awaken for a brief moment. She
squeezed his hand and said “
Nohsh.”
Then she was still once again,
though she seemed more at peace.

“What did she say?” asked Irene.

“Father,” said James, who had to gulp back a sob.

As did Irene herself.

The room was silent, save for the sound of boiling
water.

“I have prepared some tea,” said the countess. “It
is warm, not hot. But I believe it would be a good time to try to get some
down her. When was the last time you ate, Miss Wallace?”

“I am not important.”

“You most certainly are,” said the countess. “I
would like both you and James to eat.”

“I told you. I’m not leaving Anna’s side,” said
James.

The countess was kind but firm. “And I would never
ask you to. You can stay by her side. But I must insist that you and Miss
Wallace eat something. You’ll be no good to Anna if you’re too weak to care
for her.”

The Countess of Ridgeway had chosen her words well.
For James accepted the plate that Mrs. Stemple had prepared. Then he turned
his attention to Irene. “You must eat something, as well. You’ve been tiring
yourself out caring for Anna. You look terrible.”

“James!” said the Earl of Ridgeway, with half a
smile. “Pray forgive my brother, Miss Wallace. I believe he lost his manners
in the wilds of America.”

Irene accepted her plate, but immediately set it
aside. “It is unfair to blame America, my lord. Your brother probably didn’t
have that many manners to begin with.”

That made Lord Ridgeway laugh aloud. “I daresay
you’ll do, Miss Wallace.”

“Colin,” said his countess as she went to the
doorway to where his youngest sister, Letty, was standing holding a blanket.
Silent tears were streaming down her face.

“Excuse us,” Colin said to Irene. “Ava and I should
speak to Letty. Rose, do let us know if we are needed.”

Then he left and Irene went back to the task of bathing
Anna, all the while saying a silent prayer as she did so.

*

Colin hugged his eight-year-old sister, Letty, then
led her and his wife to the sitting room. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he said, as
he sat next to her on the settee.

“But what if….what if Anna dies?” Letty asked, then
sobbed in earnest.

Colin pulled her to him as he looked at Ava. They’d
not been married long, but she had come to be the anchor in his life.

“Letty,” said Ava, as she rubbed the girl’s back.
“You love Anna very much, don’t you?”

Letty nodded, even as she continued crying softly.
Colin handed her his handkerchief.

Ava continued. “I believe love is a very powerful
emotion. It cannot solve all our problems. And sometimes the loss we feel is
all the greater because of how much we loved.”

“You mean, like when your papa died?” Letty asked
her.

Colin was surprised by the comment. He still
thought of Letty as a little girl. But perhaps she had a deeper understanding
of the world than he thought.

“Yes, poppet,” said Ava softly. “Like when Papa
died. I could not save him, but I know that I made his life better while he
was sick just by being there. He knew he was loved and I believe that was a
comfort. I am certainly not saying that anything dire will happen to Anna.
And I pray that it does not. But I know she will feel better knowing how much
you love her. And when she wakes up, I’m afraid she’s going to want to scratch
those dratted spots, so it will be up to you to distract her.”

Letty sat up. Colin’s first instinct was to keep
her clutched against him. But he let her go and watched as she dried her eyes.

“How will I distract her?”

“You could tell her what you’ve been doing since she
went to London. Perhaps you could read to her. She’s still too sick to speak
much. But I daresay your brother James could use some good cheer, as well.
Perhaps you could even sing to them tonight.”

Letty nodded slowly. “And Miss Wallace, too?”

“And Miss Wallace, too.”

Letty stood. “I will look through our music to see
what would suit.”

“That is an excellent idea,” said Ava.

“Here’s your handkerchief, Colin,” said Letty, as
she held out the cloth that had once been starched and ironed and was now
rather waterlogged.

Colin didn’t want to insult his sister. But he also
didn’t want to touch the thing. As he pondered the situation, Ava took it from
Letty.

“Thank you, Letty. And I very much look forward to
hearing you sing tonight,” she said.

Letty gave them a half smile, then left in search of
her music.

“Thank you,” Colin said to his wife.

“For retrieving your handkerchief?”

“For that, too,” he said. “But mostly for what you
said to her about love.”