He hesitated for a moment, as if the words were right on his tongue, but he couldn'tquitebring himself to say them. Eventually he only sighed and put down his cup, without having taken a single sip. "I enjoy your company," he said at last, and although it wasn't what Alicia had hoped for, it still made her chest bloom with happiness.
"I enjoy yours too, my lord." She smiled, dazzled by his lovely blue eyes and the hesitant little smile he offered back. She was so distracted, in fact, that she didn't even notice when she went to set her tea down and it caught on the edge of the table, sending the contents spilling onto the ground at her feet. She gasped and jumped back, nervous laughter spilling from her throat. "I amso sorry."
James was on his feet in an instant. "Are you all right? Did it touch you?"
"No," she answered kindly, a flush spreading across her cheeks, "I think it’s all soaking into the ground."
He relaxed, urging her to sit back down. "As long as it didn't burn you, that's what matters." He smiled and reached for his own drink. "Here, have mine; we take it the same way and I haven't taken a drink yet."
Oh. She couldn't do that. "I already had half of my own," she murmured, "that will do-"
"I insist," he interjected, gently pushing the cup into her hands. He really was too kind for his own good, wasn't he?
Knowing it was easier not to argue, Alicia gently took the mug from James' warm hands and took a sip. It tasted just as good, with the same sugar and milk, and she felt a burst of gratefulness toward him for his kindness. "Thank you," she said softly, "I already feel better."
"I'm glad," James replied with a beaming smile. "Now, where to next? I haven't visited the maze in a while or taken a stroll through the woods."
"Whatever you want," she replied, "I'm happy as long as you are." And she meant it, too.
Chapter Twenty
After tea with James, Alicia retired to the library to read. There were hundreds of books to choose from, a whole array of both fiction and history, gardening and cookbooks, books on geography and etiquette and just about every other topic imaginable. Alicia stared up at the tall shelves with a smile on her lips as she perused the options.
It was more difficult than normal to choose something; there was a persistent ache in the back of her skull that refused to leave, making it difficult to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. When she turned her head, nausea rose in the back of her throat, and she had to swallow down the urge to double over.
Still, a good book and another cup of tea would probably do the trick, and she could even sit by the window seat to enjoy the sunshine. "If only I could spend the entire day with Lord Arvill," she mused quietly, knowing it was impossible. A quiet evening by herself would have to do.
Eventually she chose an adventure novel, one she had never heard of before, and settled in to read. The window seat overlooking the rose gardens, was a little cramped, but the cushions were soft. The sunshine was hidden behind clouds now, but enough still peeked through to give a beautiful view of the horizon, dotted with beautiful rose bushes and lattices of climbing flowers.Stunning.
Flipping the book open, Alicia began to read. That persistent headache nagged at her mind, though, slowly spreading from the back of her skull to a sharper sting near her temples. She often had stress headaches, when Mama and Papa first died, and she was trying to figure out what to do; but this wasn't like that. No, even after everything that had happened with Agatha, this didn't feel like one of those old stress headaches coming back.
After another five minutes, Alicia snapped the book closed. Perhaps peppermint tea would help? If not, perhaps a quick nap in bed. She stood, leaving the book in the little reading nook to wander towards the kitchens.
Except she barely made it through the grand library doors before a wave of nausea washed over her. Alicia snapped at the waist and doubled over, a low hiss of pain leaving her lips. When she did, the world spun around her, and she felt another spike of nausea hit her in the stomach like a physical force. Eyes scrunched shut, Alicia bit down on her lip.I will not throw up in the hallway,she told herself. There was one bathroom upstairs, because of course a marquess was wealthy enough to have indoor fixtures, and if she could just get up the stairs...
She tried to take a step. Just one, tiny step away from the wall. Her hands shook as she crept along the hall, pressed against her torso as if to try and keep herself upright. With every small step, the hallway continued to spin; Alicia felt like she was twirling around and around in a circle, for the way everything waved and dipped around her. Alicia couldn't remember the last time she had been sick, she had always been a healthy woman, but this was unlikeanythingshe had ever felt before. It was like her brain was trying to break free from her skull, and her stomach twisted itself into knots with each uneasy intake of breath.
There was somebody else in the hall. It was something that Alicia was only dimly aware of because her eyes wouldn't focus. She saw a small, dark figure dart into her line of sight. Worried eyes shone, but then the figure moved, and everything was spinning again.
"Miss Sempill," a woman's voice asked, "is everything all right? What are you doing in the servant's quarters?"
Servant's quarters. No, that wasn't right; she had been trying to get to the foyer, so she could go upstairs and use the bathroom. Or had she wanted to run a bath? Now she couldn't even remember. She blinked up at the figure - butupwasn't right. Hadn't she been the taller of the two a second ago? Her head pounded so frantically that she couldn't concentrate, and now the figure was gone.
"She needs a doctor," a voice said. Unfamiliar. Male. It sounded like Archie, but she couldn't be sure.
"I'll fetch Lord Arvill," the female voice replied, thick with concern. "She was fine earlier when I brought tea."
The man - maybe Archie, maybe not - murmured something else, but now the words had stopped sounding real and Alicia couldn't decipher them. Something about being sick?
She was kneeling now; she knew that much. Alicia felt the wood digging into her knees and her nails scratching as her hands clenched into fists. It was getting more difficult to breathe by the second, her pulse racing and head aching, but she still tried to pick herself up. She almost managed, before her foot caught on her skirts and she went down, elbows smacking off the floor as she landed on her side.
"Miss!" a voice called, almostscreamed,and Alicia just wanted it to stop. Why did she have to be so loud? "Don't try to move," the woman insisted, but her words were jumbled and hard to listen to. "I'm going to get Lord Arvill."
Then there was the skitter of feet as the woman darted off; but Alicia didn't hear anything more because at that moment her head lolled back as she collapsed fully onto the floor, and everything went black.
* * *
"Miss Sempill needs help!" Nora burst into James' study, her eyes wild and voice almost a screech. Her whole body was shaking when James' gaze shot towards her. "She collapsed in the servant's quarters, and I couldn't get a word out of her."
