“Yes, and, er, she’s ill. We must change the linens, I fear.”
“All right. I’ll be right there with a couple o’ the maids.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Knagg.” Noah hurried back to the Blue Suite, where a crowd had gathered in their nightclothes. Isabelle, Julius, and Verda all huddled outside Geneva’s door. “What the devil?”
“Noah, please,” Verda chastised him with a pointed look.
“Apologies, Aunt. What are all of you doing here?”
“We were worried,” Isabelle said.
Julius’s fists clenched, even the one in the sling, and that must have hurt. “You promised to wake me the moment she came to.”
“It’s barely been twenty minutes—”
Mrs. Knagg’s entrance with two maids also in their nightclothes carrying a stack of clean linen interrupted his slightly less-than-fiery defense. She marched her troops throughwithout pause, disappearing into Geneva’s chamber. The door slammed pointedly in their faces.
“What happened?” Julius demanded.
“She’s ill.”
“Has she taken a chill? A fever?”
“A fever? Um, I don’t believe so.”
“It’s the concussion. I’ve read about such things,” Isabelle said. “There’s often nausea and vomiting involved.” Her gaze moved to the closed door of the chamber. “That’s what happened, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Noah confirmed. “It was quite sudden.”
“You shouldn’t have let her eat anything,” she returned. “She should be kept under close observation. Did you ask her if she was seeing stars? Or if she was experiencing dizziness?” Isabelle sounded nothing of her fourteen years. Her diatribe gave him the time he needed to gather his wit.
“I didn’t, my dear. Unfortunately, when I mentioned the man who accosted her… well, events ensued.”
“Did she lose consciousness?”
Noah took a minute to mull that over. “I believe she almost did. She dropped the bowl of broth she was holding and swayed.”
Isabelle nodded. “She shouldn’t be left alone for several days. Did she remember anything?”
“It doesn’t appear so. Nothing regarding her fall that I could tell. She remembered other things, from when she was a child.”
Isabelle limped over to him and touched his arm. “I think that’s quite common for such an injury, Noah. I should like to visit with her. She may require laudanum to sleep.”
Noah had his doubts Geneva would consent to dosing herself with an opiate. She would likely rather face the gates of purgatory. He paced the sitting room, stopping just short of storming Geneva’s chamber. Instead, he went to the windows,where he couldn’t see a blasted thing through the sheets of slashing rain.
“Sit down, Noah. You’re making everyone agitated.” Verda’s pragmatic tone pulled him back to his senses.
Isabelle was right; he should have inquired after her health, or at the least, observed her for signs of danger. Hell, he’d been the one who’d instructed Isabelle on such matters.
Isabelle clutched her wrap at her neck, glancing toward the closed door. “I don’t believe she should be left alone. I’d better stay the rest of the night with her.”
Verda grinned, casting Noah with a sly look. “An excellent notion, dear.”
The chamber door opened and the maids filed out, carrying the pile of soiled linen. Mrs. Knagg trailed. “She needs food. I’ll send somethin’ up. Gel’s thin as a lizard, she is.”
“I’ll wait with Isabelle,” Noah said. “She must be careful eating too much too soon after sustaining a head injury.”
“I’llstay with Isabelle,” Verda said firmly. “You shall retire to your own chamber, my dear.”
