“Lady Helena should know how to properly stitch your clothing.”
“Only if I marry her, which I am inclined not to do. She is not what I want in a wife.”
Augusta glared at him. “So, you spend your time with her maid instead. How will that look to the peers of the realm? How will you explain it to the Prince Regent?”
“Like this –it is none of your business.”
Spinning on his heel, Maximilian left the solar and fumed his way to the lower levels of the castle. He had explained his coming absence to the Whitingtons at breakfast that morning, and they merely nodded a smile. Countess Whitington expressed her desire to rest, while the Earl mentioned reading books in Maximilian’s library, and Lady Helena all but begged with her eyes to be allowed to come with him. No doubt, she lived in terror of Augusta cornering her and demanding another day embroidering.
Yet, he could not. Long before Augusta invited the family to visit, Maximilian had promised to pay a call on Mallen’s estates on this day in order to talk about a business proposition. It involved his elderly mother, and she was in Belgium until now. As he hurried out the castle’s doors, he wished he could have invited Miss Betham along.
He had chosen not to ride, as the morning clouds promised rain to come later in the day. His coachman awaited him, bowing, as he trotted across the yard toward the black carriage with his coat of arms on the door. Two footmen assisted him inside, then took their places on the rear of the coach. He leaned back against the leather seat, wishing again that he could have asked Miss Betham along.
At least I can think of her as I travel.
The coachman cracked his whip, and the team of four black horses pulled against their harness as they broke into a swift trot. Heading down the long drive that led away from his castle, Maximilian closed his eyes, resting his head against the seat. He hated leaving the Whitington family to Augusta’s devious devices, but this situation could not be helped.
After the recent rains, the road was pockmarked with deep holes and ridges, and the carriage rocked from side to side after its wheels struck them. Maximilian gazed out at the passing fields, thinking of Miss Betham, and smiling as he remembered how thrilled she was at witnessing the birth of a foal. “Such sweet innocence,” he mused. “And yet tough as an oak tree.”
Not many ladies he knew would watch a horse’s birth. He tried to picture Lady Helena's enthusiasm for it and chuckled when he knew she would have run screaming away at the first sight of the baby’s hooves poking from its mother. He sobered when he also remembered her lack of enthusiasm in just walking around the stables.
No, definitely not an earthy lady.
Miss Betham was indeed earthy, and he never knew he liked earthy women until now.
The carriage lurched harder than ever, tossing Maximilian around the seat like a rag doll. “What the –”
An instant later, the carriage broke away from the galloping horses and tumbled down the embankment of a ravine.
Chapter 10
Thunder growled and rain lashed the windows as Lady Helena and Eugenia played cards in her private rooms. But the storm did not drown out the sounds of shouts from the stable below. Glancing at one another, they both hurried to the window and peered out through the rain-streaked glass.
“Something has happened,” Lady Helena said. “What could it be?”
Not afraid of getting wet, Eugenia opened the window. As the rain lashed her face and hair and the wind howled in her ears, she saw several men carrying another in a blanket. She caught a glimpse of wet blond hair plastered against a pale face. She gasped. “It is His Grace. He is hurt.”
“Oh, no!”
Lady Helena rushed for the door, Eugenia on her heels. Skirts hiked away from legs, they ran along the stone corridor, then hurried down the stairs. Across the castle, they found others on the same errand, many talking of a carriage wreck. They opened the postern doors at the same time several footmen, maids and the household physician arrived.
“Let me through, people, let me through.”
Eugenia pulled Lady Helena out of the way as a tall, robust man pushed his way through the mass of servants. The men, dripping rain from their cloaks, carried the unconscious Duke inside, still on the thick blanket. Eugenia stood close by as he was taken past her. His eyes were closed, thick blood trailed down from his brow and matted in his hair. Though the skin of his face was grey, he did not appear to be at death’s door.
“The coachman was killed,” someone carrying the Duke shouted loudly. “The footmen are hurt, too. Can someone go out and see to them?”
Several other footmen bolted out of the castle’s doors, heedless of their livery and powdered wigs in the seething rain. A few maids ran out also, but Eugenia had no medical training and knew she could not help. Lady Helena clasped her hand tightly and allowed herself to be pulled along as Eugenia followed the men carrying the Duke.
“His chambers are too far,” the tall man, who Eugenia now surmised was the physician, called. “Take him into the drawing room. Lay him on a couch.”
The men carrying the Duke obeyed as servants led the way to the drawing room and opened the doors. Eugenia, dragging Lady Helena with her, also went in, not caring if it was her place to be there or not. Most of the servants retreated, talking, gossiping about what could have happened, what if the Duke died.
Eugenia hovered close, using Lady Helena's rank and her attachment to her to avoid being evicted as Mr. Leary began his examination. She could not help herself as fear flooded her stomach. “Will he be all right?” she whispered.
The Duke lay so still, so silent. Eugenia fretted and prayed for his good health as the household physician washed the blood from his head, and stitched the wound closed. Without removing any clothing, the physician checked him over for any other injuries, then sat back with a sigh.
“Yes, young lady,” he said, glancing at her. “His Grace will be just fine. I suspected his head was his only injury, as the men who found the crash informed me His Grace was up and walking before he collapsed into unconsciousness. As you seem to have a stronger stomach than your mistress, may I enlist your aid?”
