“Don’t do that,” he said quietly. “Lie back, sir, or you’ll cause worse damage to yourself.”
Thomas needed no persuading—he was in too much pain to insist on sitting upright. He allowed himself to fall back onto the pillows that were behind him. “Where am I?”
“You are in the Kellet Estate,” the gentleman said. “My home. I am the Viscount of Keenward. My name is Joseph Elkins.”
Thomas nodded. “It was your dog, then?”
“The dog belongs to my niece, Madeleine,” Lord Keenward said. “You remember her, then?”
Thomas frowned. He vaguely remembered seeing a lady, but he had no clear memories of having interacted with her at all. “I’m afraid I don’t. Should I?”
“It’s quite understandable that you don’t, given what you’ve been through,” Lord Keenward said. “Madeleine was the one who found you.”
“Oh my goodness.” Thomas sucked in a breath, his head spinning at the realization that if not for this unknown young lady, he would probably not have lived to see the morning. It felt as if he had stumbled and caught himself—there was the same swooping sensation in the pit of his stomach.
Suddenly, he found himself longing to see her. He had to thank her for what she had done.
“You’ve been examined by a physician,” Lord Keenward was saying, unaware of the direction of Thomas’s thoughts, “and it looks as though you’re going to pull through. Do you know who attacked you?”
Thomas thought back. “I didn’t know who he was,” he said. “He accosted me on my way home and pulled me out of my carriage, but he was unfamiliar to me. He didn’t ask me for anything. He didn’t say anything to me. I don’t know what he wanted.”
“How very strange,” Lord Keenward said. “You’re most lucky my niece happened to be out for a walk. I’ve warned her many times against those evening walks she likes to take—even on our own grounds, that’s not safe behavior for a young lady. But last night, it was certainly to your benefit that she was out there.”
“How much time has gone by?” Thomas asked.
“Madeleine found you last night,” Lord Keenward said. “And it is now a little before noon. We worried for you for the first few hours, but the physician told us you were all right.Madeleine didn’t go to bed until she was certain you would live.” He pressed his lips together. “My niece is a very kindhearted young lady.”
“It certainly sounds that way,” Thomas said. “And you say she found me on the grounds of your estate?”
“She was walking with her dog and her maid,” Lord Keenward said. “When she found you, she sent her lady’s maid for help. She stayed with you and kept her hands on your wound. If it hadn’t been for her assistance, you might have died out there.”
Thomas felt shocked. It was alarming to hear the story of his own near death related to him after the fact. “I must thank her for her help,” he said. “And I’m so sorry for the inconvenience I’ve caused, having this happen on your estate.”
“Well, don’t be sorry,” Lord Keenward said. “Had it happened anywhere else, you would likely be dead by now.”
Thomas nodded. He was sure that was true.
“You haven’t mentioned your name, sir,” Lord Keenward said.
“Oh,” Thomas said. “My name is Thomas.”
Perhaps he would have been treated differently if Lord Keenward had known his father was the Duke of Westcourt, but Thomas didn’t want to share that information. His father had always been a source of shame to him.
“Well, you’re welcome to stay here until you recover,” Lord Keenward said. “And if you’d like to send a message to your family to let them know what’s happened and where you are, one of my staff would be happy to carry it for you.”
Thomas shook his head slowly. He wasn’t sure that was such a good idea. It had begun to occur to him that the man who had attacked him must be connected in some way. It could have been some kind of plot to strike fear into the Duke and compel him to settle his debts quickly. And while Thomas knew it was important to let his father know quickly that he hadn’t been killed or abducted, what he didn’t want was to commit anything to paper. It might fall into the wrong hands.
“I thank you for your generosity,” he said. “But I shouldn’t stay long. I don’t suppose you know what became of my carriage?”
“We didn’t find a carriage,” Lord Kenward said. “We searched the property and the surrounding roads to see if we would find anything suspicious or anything that shouldn’t be there, but there was nothing except the signs of your flight through the woods.”
Thomas nodded, hoping that this meant his footman had survived and had taken the carriage back to Westcourt. “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind loaning me a carriage to get me home?”
“I insist you stay tonight, at least,” Lord Kenward said. “You aren’t yet fit to travel. But in the morning, if you feel ready, I’ll have a carriage transport you home.”
* * *
The next morning, Thomas awoke feeling considerably fitter, though still not wholly well. He was strong enough to get out of bed and go downstairs, where he found Lord Kenward at the dining room table having breakfast.
