“Thank you, My Lady, that is most generous of you.” The physician nodded gratefully, somewhat astounded by her offer of her own home.
“Generous? When someone has been injured? I should hardly think so! I do not want to meet the cold-hearted snot who would refuse to share their home!”
Inside, Lady Lanercost took her duties as hostess even more seriously. She assembled the staff and issued orders through the crisis, taking charge as only she could. Evan smiled gratefully when he caught his mother’s eye, reminded for the countless time that he was raised by truly giving people.
Inside, they laid Marjorie in the study as carefully as they could. Dr. Garret, begging the Earl’s permission, dismissed the others with strict orders that they were not to speak of this to anyone under threat of losing their positions in the Earl’s employment. He then turned to the housekeeper in the doorway and ordered that no one was to enter the room without his express permission.
“No one?” Evan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Excepting Your Lordship, that is,” Dr. Garret acknowledged with a nod. “But word of this must not travel.”
“I think I speak for all of us when I say that I care not who hears of it. Simply help her!”
“What good is saving her life if I ruin her reputation, My Lord? She will not thank us for what that means. I daresay there are some ladies who would rather be allowed to perish than risk the consequences.”
Evan was quiet, but he knew the man spoke the truth. He could not bring himself to say that he cared not a wit for her reputation or the ton’s gossip. As far as he was concerned, preserving her good standing among their peers would only ensure that her betrothal to another man would remain intact… and that was something he could not abide.
Chapter 24
When Marjorie opened her eyes, her first feeling was one of fear. Where was she? And how long had she been here? Turning her head was painful, but she had to take in her surroundings. This opulent room was nothing like her own quarters, and those she had even fondly thought of as a little too ostentatious at times. Gilt-edged framed portraits stared down at her from walls that were pasted in luxurious chintz fabric. The deep feather-down bed in which she rested was topped with a velvet canopy that perched above deep mahogany pillars, row after row of silk-covered pillows supporting her shoulders.
Marjorie looked down only to find she wore a gown that was not hers. Its lace was far more delicate than anything she would have chosen for herself, and the fit of it was a little too large for her frame. It left her feeling curiously out of sorts, wondering who had dressed her so.
Beside the bed, Harriet sat in a chair, a book perched in her lap. Instead of reading it, though, she stared blankly out the window. Her expression was unusual, as though her thoughts were tied up in a handkerchief and wrapped tightly with thin ribbon. She looked weary, tendrils of her soft hair escaping from the pins, and her dress had not been pressed in some time.
“Harriet?” Marjorie asked in a quiet, raspy voice. Her sister jumped at the sound of her name. “Where am I?”
Harriet so obviously wanted to throw herself at her sister and cling to her, but she restrained herself, obviously fearful of hurting Marjorie.
“Marjorie?” she asked instead. “Are you all right? How are you feeling?”
“I’m… I don’t quite know, actually.” Marjorie looked around, hoping to lay eyes on a carafe of water. “I really need something to drink.”
Harriet jumped up from her chair, her book falling to the rug with a soft thud as she hurried to fetch a glass. She returned and held it to her sister’s lips with shaking hands, so much that a few drops spilled from its rim.
“Oh dear! I’m so sorry! Here, let me…” She dabbed at the water that pooled above Marjorie’s collar, trying not to hurt her sister.
“Harriet, I’m all right,” Marjorie said weakly. “But… what? Where am I? I don’t recognize this room.”
“You’re at the Earl of Lanercost’s home. His own mother insisted upon putting you in her very room!” Harriet’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh Marjorie. I’ve been so scared. You’ve been asleep for days!”
“How can that be? Days? Are you sure?” Marjorie furrowed her brow only to find that even that motion wasn’t without pain.
“Yes, but only because of the medicine Dr Garret gave you. Every time you would start to wake, your injuries would pain you afresh. It was better this way, I’m sure,” she added, nodding firmly.
“Of course,” Marjorie said, her eyelids already feeling heavy again. She lifted her hands, only to find swaths of gauzy bandages encircling her palms. “Am I all right?”
Harriet laughed quietly. “I think that remains to be seen! But you were burned rather severely, especially on your hands.” She pressed her fingertips to the back of Marjorie’s hands, waiting to see if she winced.
“No, that doesn’t hurt. I don’t feel burned, only… only sore.” Marjorie flexed her arms and then her legs in turn, judging the extent of her injuries and grateful to find that she could still use all of her limbs.
A sudden thought shook her, and Marjorie turned to Harriet in shock. “But what of Father? And… and the Duke? Surely they must know about my little escapades!”
“Sadly, they do. But all is not lost,” Harriet promised her with a smile. “But you mustn’t worry about that now. I must go and tell the others that you’re awake, I know they’ll want to fetch Dr. Garret to look in on you!”
Harriet left the room in haste, leaving Marjorie to wonder: what could she mean that all was not lost? She had been discovered in the most compromising position, and her betrothal must surely be in peril. What man of any sort—let alone a man of title and fortune—would want a woman who gallivanted about disguised as a man so she might race horses? While she held no ill will towards the Duke at all, she was loathe to marry someone she’d only met a paltry few times… but what would her family do without him to secure her father’s mounting debts?
When the door opened, Marjorie expected her sister but was surprised to see none other than Lady Lanercost enter. For one who was usually so fashionably appointed, Marjorie was taken aback by her simple day gown and the lace cap that covered her hair.
