James' hand tightened around hers. It was childish, silly, to feel so horrified at the prospect of leaving her. Yet when he tried to pry himself away, he couldn't quite make it happen. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "can't I stay?"
Doctor Ashburn clicked his tongue; then he must have remembered who he was talking to, because he bit down on his lip and said, "I'm afraid not, my lord. It's in this young lady's best interests."
All right. He could leave if he knew it meant giving Alicia a better chance at recovery. Tearing himself from her side, he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his trousers - for if he didn't, he would be tempted to grab a hold of her all over again. "Please, call me as soon as you have an answer."
"Of course."
It hurt to leave her, so small and frail in that big four poster bed. Yet he did it, somehow, closing the door behind him. Now standing in the hall, leaning against the door, James let out a strangled gasp. Every breath made his lungs ache, but he forced another and another down his throat, until his pulse finally began to return to normal. Mostly, anyway. He didn't think he would truly calm until he knew Alicia was all right.
"My lord?" a small voice called from his left, "is she going to be okay?"
It was Nora, wringing her apron between her hands as she wiped tears from her eyes. She looked up at him with a hopeful expression, lips parted just enough that he could hear her rasping, struggling breaths. The poor girl was trying hard to keep herself together.
"I'm sure she will be," he answered, forcing false cheer into his voice. It fell flat, but he didn't have the energy to try any more. He felt ill, stomach queasy, but he knew it was nothing compared to what Alicia was going through right now, just beyond the bedroom door.
"I was going to make tea," Nora murmured, "but I don't know if I can stomach it now. Would... would it be all right if I waited with you, my lord?"
He couldn't say no to her softly pleading face, so he nodded in agreement. "Of course, Nora. Though I ask that if you see the children, please take them somewhere else. I don't want them seeing anything until we know for sure what's wrong."
Nora nodded and swiped at her eyes again. They were red and puffy, and James felt a jolt of shock at the sight. He hadn't known that she was all that close with Alicia; then again, Nora had always been a delicate girl.
They stood together in silence for a long time, waiting for the doctor to make himself known. It felt like James waited for hours, although in reality it was probably much less. Without a clock or a pocket watch, it was impossible to know for certain.
Eventually, Nora broke the silence. "When I found her, she could barely stand. What could do that in such a short space of time?"
James didn't have an answer. He wished he did, dearly so, but it was beyond him.
Chapter Twenty-One
James didn't like to interrogate his staff, but it seemed he had no choice. He thought of Alicia, lying unconscious in her bed, and he was filled with a new determination to find out who did this to her.
Two maids sat across from him now, both fidgeting awkwardly with the hems of their aprons. Nora was one of them; and the other was Olivia, the head housekeeper of the manor. Olivia, at least, managed to keep her calm; but James had never seen poor Nora look so nervous.
"I just need to know what happened," he said kindly, "Nora already told me some, but ifanyonesaw anything, I need to know."
Olivia's gaze flickered between James and Nora; lip caught between her lips. "I'm afraid that I didn't see anything," came her reply, "I wasn't there when Miss Sempill collapsed, my lord."
"The doctor said it was poison. Could somebody find something poisonous on this estate?"
Olivia let out a ragged sigh. "My lord, why would we keeppoisonson the property? Unless there's some kind of dangerous plants growing in the woods at the back of the manor, I don't see how anyone could find something here." Her eyes flickered to the window, brows furrowed as if she could somehow see the woods from here.
This was getting him nowhere. Nobody had seen a thing, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that this was a waste of time. He had spoken to all of the maids, the butler, even the coachman since he had been in the servant's quarters at the time. Yet James was no closer to an answer than he was before.
"Will that be all, my lord?" Olivia asked tentatively, her bright blue eyes turned to regard him. When he nodded wordlessly, she stood, towing Nora away with her.
Nora glanced back once, worry in her gaze, but didn't offer a word.
Alone again, James took a moment to steady his breath. It didn't work, and instead his breath came out as a strangled gasp. Now tempted to simply drop his head onto the desk, James let out a low groan.
"You asked to see me, sir?"
James looked up to see Archie by the door, his hands held neatly by his side. He looked older than James remembered, his cheeks sallow and eyes dark with concern. Nodding, he ushered Archie inside. "Yes, please sit down. You see everything in this house, Archie, and I wanted to know if you've seen anything, well, odd today."
"Is this because of Miss Sempill, my lord?"
"It is."
Archie let out a great sigh as he sat, his head bowed. "How is she?" he asked, and there was genuine concern in his deep voice.
