Mr Spurnrose looked as though he was going to protest. In fact, he looked quite angry at her having denied his suggestion that they go to his cousin immediately. But before he could say anything malicious, Melissa added, “Though I shall happily write you a list of instructions and supply you with all the medicines you will need to treat Lord Spurnrose’s ailment yourself.”
“But I …” Mr Spurnrose protested, but Melissa had already turned and was headed towards her study to do just that.
“It shall not take me five minutes to write everything down, and I believe I already have some tonic made up,” she said over her shoulder. “It should begin to work fairly quickly if Lord Spurnrose sticks to the lifestyle choices I will suggest in my instructions.”
The footsteps hurrying after her told Melissa that Mr Spurnrose was following, but just as quickly, they stopped at the sound of Flit growling once more. One glance told Melissa that the spaniel had barred the gentleman’s way, and she had to bite back laughter.
“I shall not be a moment, Mr Spurnrose,” she assured him, catching his eye for only a second before she disappeared into the study.
This was the best way. It had to be. Otherwise, she might let Lord Spurnrose too close. And what happened if she was wrong about her diagnosis? She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, too.
Chapter 21
It had been a few days since Mr Spurnrose’s visit to her home, and Melissa had not heard anything from him, not even a letter to tell her how her instructions and medicine had been received. In fact, she was a little annoyed that she hadn’t heard anything from Lord Spurnrose himself, unable to understand why she had not had so much as a thank you letter.
Maybe she had been wrong after all, and Lord Spurnrose’s stomach ulcers were actually the dreaded consumption that the London doctors had diagnosed him with.
No. As Melissa sat in her garden beneath the willow tree, reading one of her medical books, she would not allow herself to believe she had been wrong.
“My Lady?”
The voice of Mr Winston, her butler, almost caused her to jump right out of her skin. She had only been half-reading, her mind almost entirely on Lord Spurnrose and his situation, wondering whether the things she had recommended to Mr Spurnrose had been good enough. She even wondered whether there was anything she might have missed or whether she ought to make the trip over there to see how they were getting on.
She had been so focused on her thoughts that she hadn’t heard the butler’s footsteps on the shingle path until he was practically right on top of her and already speaking.
“Oh, heavens, Winston!” Melissa exclaimed, grabbing hold of her chest in fright.
Flit—who had been lazing beside her, happily enjoying the way she stroked him absentmindedly with one hand—barely raised his head to look at the butler before deeming it not worth his time. Melissa thought that had he been human, he might have even rolled his eyes before dropping his head back down onto the ground.
“Forgive me, My Lady. I did not mean to startle you,” Winston said. The mature man looked horrified at having done such a thing, and Melissa quickly offered him a reassuring smile to show that it had left no lasting harm.
“Did you need me for something, Winston?” Melissa asked, folding her book closed on her thumb so she would not lose the page she was on, making a quick mental note of the page number as she did, just in case.
“Oh, yes, My Lady,” Winston said in a slightly startled manner as though he had just remembered why he had come out into the garden in the first place. “My Lady, you have visitors.”
Melissa’s heart skipped a beat, and a wave of anticipation and excitement threatened to overwhelm her.
Just as quickly, she regained control over her emotions, forcing a polite and happy smile onto her face. “Who has come to call? I was not expecting anyone.”
Though in truth, she felt as though she had been expecting someone for days, if not Mr Spurnrose or Lord Spurnrose himself, then some servant or even a messenger with a letter to let her know how they were getting on.
“Lord and Lady Fenchurch, My Lady.”
The shock of disappointment that filled Melissa was surprising. She had never been disappointed to receive a visit from her best friend before. And yet, she wished beyond wishing that it had been Lord Spurnrose come to see her.
Still, when she closed her eyes, she could only picture him.
His auburn hair, forest green eyes, and tanned complexion haunted her waking hours and her dream world, and no matter where she went, she felt she could not escape him.
Maybe a visit from Daisy is just what I need to shake this,she thought, realising that save for her servants, she hadn’t seen anyone else since Lady Beaufort’s visit and Mr Spurnrose’s departure a few days earlier.
Perhaps fate had sent Daisy to help her back to reality, just as she always seemed to do when Melissa was really struggling with her emotions. Though she would never admit such things out loud, she often felt the grief of those she had lost, even several years after their passing, and Daisy had always been the one to help her out of her slumps. Maybe she could do the same now with whatever this attraction to Lord Spurnrose was. Even better, she might have some knowledge of the viscount, something she had heard through the grapevine.
“Well, Flit, it looks like our quiet time is over,” Melissa said, tickling Flit’s belly before she pushed herself to her feet. “Auntie Daisy has arrived.”
As if he understood just what she meant, Flit jumped to his feet and started to hurry towards the house. No doubt he had smelled some treat or other that Daisy had brought for him as she so often did on her visits.
Melissa turned to Winston. “I shall receive them in the sunroom please, Winston.”
