One True Love (A Regency Romance)

by Lisa Follett

  “Nothing is broken, and her pulse is weak, but steady. She is still unconscious.”

  “Will she make it, Dr. Ainsworth?” asked Stephen.

  Ainsworth took a deep breath. “The longer she stays unconscious, the riskier things become, and of course, if she gets a fever, that will complicate matters. If she does not awaken within the next few hours, I will become gravely concerned.”

  “She has to awaken.” William stated through gritted teeth. “What about the babe?”

  “Everything appears to be intact. There are not any ruptures or bleeding. If Lady William wakes up and receives the proper nourishment, I believe the babe will survive,” said Dr. Ainsworth.

  “Thank you, doctor. I will have a bedchamber arranged for you, so that you may attend her when she wakes up.” He strode into the room and sat in the chair at her bedside. He forgot to arrange for the doctor’s room, so he got back up to pull the bell pull. Katie arrived before he crossed the room. “Arrange a room for Dr. Ainsworth, and let Cook know we have two guests.”

  “Of course, my lord.” Katie waited a second before asking, “Is she going to live, my lord?”

  “Yes.”

  Relief washed over the maid’s face as she curtsied and left. He crossed the room and sank back into the chair. He suddenly wished he had ordered Katie to bring him a brandy, but as usual, his brother knew what he needed most, and pushed a glass into his hand.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “The storm has passed. I sent a couple of footmen out to send word to our family and Cassie’s. You look tired. I can sit with her awhile so that you may rest.”

  “No, I will stay with her, but thank you. I am glad you are here.”

  Stephen rested a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I will say a prayer for her before I retire. I think I will go find a book in your library and go to my room. Send word if she awakens, or if you need me.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  William squirmed in the uncomfortable chair, and swore to purchase a new, larger chaise with soft cushions. He reached over and picked up his wife’s copy of Pride and Prejudice from her bedside table. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife. No truer words were ever spoken, or so he thought. He wanted a wife, and not because he possessed a huge fortune, but because he had a dream.

  And he did not want any wife; he wanted an angel –Cassie. He read her book because she read it. He read it aloud and wondered if she heard his voice. Could he call her back to the living and tell her he loved her? He wanted to remind her she carried his child. She would fight to live, so her child could live. This much he knew about her.

  William spent the night reading and talking to her. He talked about their future, decorating the nursery, taking walks through the gardens, riding across the hills and through the forest, and spending nights together in each other’s arms. He talked until the edges of twilight cast golden shadows across the room through the slit of the heavy draperies.

  He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the palms of his hands, and stretched his aching back. Still, Cassie slept, unmoved. He reached over to place a hand on her chest as he waited for the rise and fall that came with breathing. She lived. A dry swallow caught in his throat.

  “Cassie. Cassie, do you hear me sweetings? It is time to wake up now, Cassie,” he choked out with raw emotion. He thought he heard the faintest of sighs. He sat beside her on the bed and took her hand in his. Her long, slender fingers, with their manicured nails were cool to the touch. He saw the blueness of her veins through her milky skin. He rubbed her hand between his and called to her once more.

  She did not sigh or move or even twitch. She lay as still as death. He wanted to shake her, to force her to open her eyes, to make her come back to him. He touched her face, and ran a finger across her soft pink lips. So beautiful! He took in a deep breath, then stood and crossed the room to look out the window.

  He pushed the heavy peach drapes open, and allowed the early morning light to flood the room. Cassie’s bedchamber window overlooked a small rose garden, now blooming with fragrant flowers in every color. He decided to have the roses cut and placed in vases around her room. Her room would be cheery, full of sunshine and life.

  Sometime later, William heard a light tap at the door, and Katie entered with a breakfast tray. “You must eat something, my lord. Keep up your strength.” She set the tray in front of him, then he sent Katie to speak to the gardener about filling the room with roses. He was hungry, so he ate all of his hearty meal before Dr. Ainsworth and Stephen arrived.

  “How is she?” Stephen asked.

  “The same, although I thought I heard a sound from her this morning, but perhaps it was wishful thinking.”

  “At least she is not feverish. She must awaken or risk starving to death. We can try sitting her up and spooning soup into her mouth, but she might not swallow it,” said Dr. Ainsworth.

  “It is worth a try.” William went to the bell pull to ring for a maid. A few minutes later he ordered a bowl of broth and a cup of tea.

  They propped Cassie up and surrounded her with pillows. They jostled her around and she moaned, but did not open her eyes. William believed it a good sign. He insisted on feeding her, although Katie came and held her head as he attempted to spoon the broth into her mouth. Most of it dribbled down her chin, but she swallowed some of the liquid. Katie washed Cassie, then they worked together to change her into a clean nightgown.

  She moaned again and turned on her side on her own. William sat by his wife’s side and ran his fingers through her hair. The servants brought in vases of roses until the room burst with scent and color. He read aloud more of Pride and Prejudice, and talked about anything and everything from childhood stories, to ideas for improvements at Rosehill Manor, to the latest on dits.

  Stephen joined William in Cassie’s bedchamber for luncheon. A footman brought up a small table and two chairs so they could dine. Stephen talked in a hushed voice as he tried to help ease William’s mind. He appreciated his brother’s efforts, but, his eyes never strained too far from his wife.

  Mrs. Chambers arrived, and clucked at him like a mother hen, then sent him off for a few hours of sleep. She promised to waken him if there were any change.

  William kissed his wife before he left, and waited for her eyes to open, but alas, the tale of Sleeping Beauty was just that -a fairy tale. His sisters loved the stories, and they often insisted on hearing the tale from Elizabeth, the writer and storyteller in the family. He, too, heard the tale many times while trapped in a room, flanked by a sister on each side, who was determined to make him stay and listen as the prince kissed the girl and awakened her. If only his kisses had the same effect on Cassie.

  A few hours later, William awoke from an exhausted sleep to Stephen’s shoves. “William, come. Cassie has a fever.”

  He jumped up and ran into Cassie’s bedchamber. His wife tossed and turned from side to side and moaned while her mother pressed wet rags to her forehead. He climbed atop the bed into a sitting position, then pulled her into his arms and held her.

  “Where is Dr. Ainsworth?” he asked.

  “He went for a walk in the gardens. I sent Katie to fetch him,” said Mrs. Chambers.

  “How long has she been like this?”

  “Only a few minutes. She is burning up. We must get the fever down.”

  Cassie shivered against his warm body, as Mrs. Chambers wiped down her daughter’s face, neck, and chest with cool cloths. Dr. Ainsworth arrived and the three of them worked together for the next several hours.

  “You must fight Cassie. Think of our child, please. You cannot die,” he pleaded with her, not caring that others witnessed his anguish. The only thing that mattered was that Cassie opened her eyes and her fever broke.

  His wife’s body finally relaxed and her breathing evened. “Her fever has broken.”

  Dr. Ainsworth touched her forehead with the back of his hand
. “Yes, she is cool now, thank the good Lord. Let her rest for awhile before trying to feed her again. If she does not awaken soon, I cannot be sure she will make it.”

  “She will wake up, do you hear me?” William cradled Cassie in his arms, and then slid down beside her and held her against him through the night.

  The sky broke before dawn, and William woke to the sound of moaning. With the candles extinguished, the smoldering embers in the fireplace gave the room its only light.

  “William.”

  “Cassie? Cassie, are you awake?” He shook her shoulder slightly, but her eyes remained closed.

  “William,” she moaned.

  “I am here, sweetings. I am here. Please wake up. Please come back to me.” He embraced her tightly, and brushed her hair from her eyes with his fingers. He kissed her hot forehead.

  William laid her head gently on the pillow and eased away from her body. He opened the door to the sitting room and called for Katie who slept on a cot. “Cassie’s fever has returned. Fetch fresh cloths and water.”

  Katie’s eyes opened wide, and she jumped up and ran out the door to do as he commanded without so much as a proper curtsy. He made a mental note to raise her pay for knowing her priorities.

  A few minutes later Katie returned with cool cloths, and William began the task of washing Cassie down. He folded down the bed coverings and removed her gown. Her gloriously naked form was spread before him. She tossed her head and moaned his name, which consoled him somewhat.

  By the time the morning light broke across the sky, Cassie’s fever broke once again. They dressed her in a fresh gown then he fell asleep in the chair. It seemed only minutes went by when he woke again. She sighed and moved before her eyes fluttered and opened.

  William sat beside the bed in the chair, stunned to see her misty green pools again. Moving to her side, he took her hand in his, and gently squeezed it. “Cassie.”

  “William.”

  “Thank God you are awake.” He smoothed away the strands of hair from her eyes, and smiled as she blinked several times.

  “Winnington.”

  “You must not concern yourself with anything Cassie. You have been very sick. Conserve your strength.” He patted her hand.

  “He is dead.” She made the statement without regret in her voice.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “He was mad.”

  “I am certain he was.”

  She closed her eyes a moment before they snapped back open and she cried out, “The baby! Oh, William, the baby!” She grabbed his hands and beseeched him with pleading eyes.

  His heart nearly broke at seeing her in such distress. “The babe is fine.”

  She relaxed and fell back on the pillows as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I was so afraid.”

  “It is over, and you are here, awake, and all will be well.”

  “I pray you are right. I am so tired,” she said.

  “Rest.”

  And she did.

  Chapter Twenty

  Cassie flew through the air and landed with a thud in the cold mud. Rain poured over her like a never ending pitcher of water. She coughed, and sputtered, and choked on the taste of mud in her mouth. The sounds of whinnying horses and rumbling thunder tunneled through her ears, as a sharp swath of crackling light crossed her vision.

  Winnington’s white face appeared and blood gushed from his forehead, then dripped down his cheeks and flowed from his mouth. She screamed, but the sound was lost in the fury of the storm. “Forgive me, my love” echoed in her ears again and again. A crack of thunder shook the ground as the trees whipped in the wind. She lay in the mud, unable to move, or speak. She prayed for life, but expected death.

  “Cassie…Cassie.” William shook her until her eyes opened.

  Alive. She was alive and her baby was still growing within her. She touched her stomach and wondered at the miracle. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of roses, and when she opened them she only saw William’s blurred face. She blinked until he came into focus, and she could see the concern etched across his face. He looked so tired. She wanted to reach out and comfort him in her arms forever.

  William had stayed by her side throughout her illness and filled her room to the brim with vases of flowers. She had vague memories of sitting up in bed, eating soup, and drinking tea. She remembered snatches of conversations, and passages of prose being read to her by the wonderful man she loved.

  She wiped away a tear. “I am hungry.”

  He laughed. “Hungry? I have never heard such exquisite words. Shakespeare himself could not have written a more perfect line. What would you like, my love? You may have anything your heart desires.”

  My love. The words poured over her like warm honey and dribbled all the way down to her wiggling toes. He loved her. She was sure of it, and no longer did she need to hear the words in order to know. She wanted to tell him she loved him. She wanted to declare her love, and to spend the rest of her life showing him how much she meant the words.

  But not yet. Not until she could leave her bed, bathe, change, and look her best. She was certain she would regain her strength soon. As soon as she had something decent to eat. “I would love roast beef and potatoes… and cake. Yes, I would dearly love some cake. I would also like a cup of tea, but not any soup, or at least not broth, but I would not mind some hearty stew.”

  “I will order a feast, but you must be careful not to overdo it. Dr. Ainsworth said you must slowly introduce food into your diet, or else you will become sick to your stomach.”

  “Alright then. Stew and cake.”

  William sent Katie down with the order then came back to sit next to her. Cassie noticed the creased lines in his face along with his disheveled appearance. Had he slept at all? “What day is it? How long have I been in this bed?” She moved to sit up. William helped and gave her plenty of pillows on which to relax.

  “It has been four days. Four of the longest days of my life.”

  “I am sorry you worried over me, but I am fine. I just need to regain my strength, but it looks as if you need sleep. I doubt you have slept a wink since you brought me home. Oh, how did you find me?” The last thing she remembered was lying next to Winnington as he lay dying in the mud. She still ached all over.

  “I was on my way to London when Stephen came down the road in his coach. He was coming to visit us, or more precisely, to check up on us. Apparently, Mother was concerned with our quick departure from Town. The missive was false, and the footman was a plant. I believe Winnington was behind it all. He wanted to get me out of the house so he could steal you away.”

  She nodded her head. “Yes, my thoughts exactly. He was completely irrational. I find it quite disturbing that I nearly married the man. I am such a poor judge of character.”

  William took Cassie’s hands in his. “You could not have known. Winnington acted like a gentleman in the company of others, and only showed his true colors after we were married. Your parents agreed they never would have thought Winnington capable of such acts, and I believe they are as good a judge of character as any.”

  “My parents?”

  “They came right away, and Jocelyn too, and well, the entire Prescott family. We have a house full of guests, my dear.”

  “Oh, and I must look such a fright.” She touched her hair then wiped her hands across her face.

  “You are the most lovely creature on God’s green earth.” He bent down to kiss her, but, before he made it to her lips there was a knock on the door. William lifted his eyes to the ceiling in obvious frustration. “Come.”

  Katie entered with a loaded tray full of food. Cassie’s parents followed, and so did Jocelyn, then Lady Camberley and Anne. They fussed over her, but let her dig into the stew. She savored it as if it were the finest food ever eaten. She finished half the bowl then managed a few bites of cake.

  Realizing she was tired, everyone left the room, except her mother, who insisted William get some rest. Cassie agreed and he
r mother kissed her cheek then hummed a lullaby from her childhood until precious sleep claimed her.

  The next morning she awoke stronger and restless. She managed to get down a descent breakfast, then her mother and Katie helped her take a bath, wash her hair, and change into a day dress. All of this took a great deal of effort and left her exhausted, but she refused to stay bed bound. William carried her to the drawing room where she was surrounded by family.

  “Cassie dear, it warms my heart to see you up and dressed. We were all so very worried. You gave us quite a scare,” said Lady Anne.

  Cassie grasped Anne’s hands. “I am fine now. The entire ordeal is one I would prefer to forget.”

  “Yes, of course,” said Anne.

  “I, for one, cannot believe Mr. Parker, I mean, Lord Winnington, turned out to be such a blackguard. Thank goodness you married Lord William and not that madman. It makes one think twice about marrying a man you hardly know,” said Jocelyn.

  “I knew Lord Winnington longer than William,” said Cassie.

  “True enough, but I shall endeavor to know a man well before agreeing to marry,” said Jocelyn.

  “That sounds like a wise plan. I shall do the same,” said Anne.

  William appeared at that moment. “I thought you did not want to marry at all. All of my sisters seem quite determined to become lifelong spinsters.”

  “I never said I did not want to marry, William. I do not want to marry for convenience. I want a love match, and I shall not settle for less.” Anne clasped her hands and pursed her lips.

  William insisted on carrying Cassie to luncheon. Although she thought it was silly, she secretly enjoyed his attention. She was able to manage a portion of her meal, but must have a looked tired because her family insisted she return to her room to rest.

  Once again, William swept her into his arms and carried her to her bedchamber. He helped her out of her gown and into the bed, then he locked the door and undressed. He climbed into the bed and cradled her next to his body. His warmth engulfed her, and she snuggled deeper under the covers to rest her head against his chest.