by Vanessa Lee
The boy nodded and went to do as he was bid.
Erica looked down at Justine, with great tears falling down her cheeks. “Hang in there, my beloved sister.”
Chapter 15
Darren was happy to be almost home. Things could not have gone better at the office today. Gavin was extremely knowledgeable and had picked things up, quickly. With as much as Darren had taught him today, he knew that Gavin would be teaching him some valuable tricks of the trade, as well. Gavin had an eye for business, which Nick appreciated. He would no longer have to struggle over certain agreements when Nick was otherwise occupied. He could run them by Gavin for his expert advice. All-in-all, it had been a great day. Gavin was sure to be an excellent addition to their team and Darren was greatly assured that Nick did indeed value his work. His brother’s carriage was now following behind him. Darren was looking forward to a nice, quiet meal with his family. He smiled, thinking of Justine as his family. In a short amount of time, she had become the most important thing in his life. Together, they would build their own family. He was suddenly impatient to see her.
As his carriage pulled into his drive, Darren was surprised to see the doctor’s carriage parked in front of his house. Jumping out of the carriage, he saw Eddison waiting anxiously for him in the doorway.
Darren ran to the doorway. “What is it, Eddison?”
“Oh, Sir! It is the most dreadful news. Lady Justine fell and hit her head!”
Darren went numb. He imagined fifty of the worse ways that his sweet wife could have done that and he was horrified by every one of them.
From behind him, Nick said, “How the hell did she fall, Eddison?”
Wringing his hands together, the butler said, “It was poachers, Sir! A boy fired a gun and it startled the horses the ladies were riding.”
“They were riding?” Darren asked.
“Erica was with her?” Nick wanted to know.
“Yes, yes! Come quickly, the poor missus has lost consciousness.”
“What about Erica? Is she alright?” Nick demanded in a roar.
“Yes, husband! I am here,” Erica said as she ran to him.
Nick pulled her in close against him, relieved that she was safe. “Are you injured, my love?”
Erica shook her head. It was obvious that she had been crying. Her eyes filled up with tears once more as she said, “Justine hit her head on a rock when she was thrown from her horse.”
Darren’s hands were shaking as he took the steps two at a time, consumed with worry for his wife. Just as he rounded the stairs, he saw Dr. Cromwell come out of his bedroom, and close the door behind him.
“Cromwell,” Darren said. “How is my wife? Will she be alright?”
The doctor had been the family physician to the Wellingtons since before Darren was born. He had even helped his mother give birth to Nick and Darren. He put his hand on Darren’s arm, and said, “I’m afraid that your wife has not regained consciousness from her fall.”
All the blood drained out of Darren’s face. Justine would be alright. She had to be. “Is she going to make it?”
“At this point, it is too early to say. Head wounds are very tricky. The bleeding has stopped. She’s lucky that she didn’t break any bones or receive any other wounds. She will need all of her strength to heal from this. We will need to watch her closely and continue to monitor her condition.”
“Dr. Cromwell, please. I am begging you. There must be something that we can do. I cannot lose her.”
Dr. Cromwell patted his arm again. “I know, my dear boy. For now, we must let her body heal itself. Only then will she have the strength to regain consciousness.” He started to walk past him.
“You must not leave!” Darren exclaimed. He wanted the doctor right there, incase anything happened.
The doctor nodded. “I can stay on for a while longer.”
Turning, Darren raced into his bedroom. The site that met him stopped him in his tracks. His beautiful wife was stretched out on the bed, still dressed in her riding gown. Her face was very pale. A large bandage had been wrapped around her head. It scared him to his bones that his wife was unconscious to the world. That she may never regain consciousness.
Darren walked over to the side of the bed. He sat down beside her and picked up her hand. Holding it in his, he pressed a soft kiss onto her fingers. Justine continued to lie unmoving.
“Justine, my dear. You must come back to me. Surely you must know how much I need you.”
She didn’t answer him. He leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to the space in between her brows that was not covered by the bandages. “Please, come back to me,” he whispered. “I know that I don’t deserve you, but you are mine. You are my wife.” He shook his head. “You cannot leave me. You are the very best part of me.” His eyes teared up as he said, “I love you so very much.”
Erica came to stand behind him. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, “Nick went to go speak with the boy who did the shooting. You and I will sit here with Justine. She will awake soon. You will see.”
Darren nodded, barely hearing her. He continued to watch the sleeping face of his wife. If she did not make it through this ordeal, he would quite simply be lost. She had become the very best part of him, and without her, he was nothing. Yes, he had put his work before her, but he had only done so for her. He had worked tirelessly since he first returned from the colonies so that they could live a happy and comfortable life together, one that she would be proud of. Yet, none of it would matter if she was not here.
He had wasted so much precious time on his business affairs, that he had actually ignored her. Put her aside and treated her like an inconvenience. He was deeply ashamed. He stroked the back of his hand very softly against her smooth cheek. Darren willed her to open her eyes and look at him. He needed to tell her that he loved her. That he had been such a fool and that she deserved so much better. But he would never let her go. She would remain by his side forever.
He slipped his hand through hers and held it. Sitting by her side on the bed, he stayed that way for a very long time, and prayed.
Down in the kitchen, Nick located Tommy, the boy Erica said was the shooter who had caused today’s events. Two children were sitting at the table, waiting to hear their fate. The boy looked to be about twelve years old and he was filthy. Both he and the younger girl he was with were dress in raggedy clothing and looked like they could use about a dozen good meals. Nick walked over to the table, with his hands clasped behind him.
“So, you children are the ones who are responsible for the lady’s mishap this afternoon.”
“We are so sorry, Sir. We didn’t mean no harm,” the boy said.
“Regardless, your actions have caused great harm to my dear sister-in-law, who is now possibly dying.”
The boy hung his head. “We are sorry. Emma here, and me, well, we were hungry.”
Nick nodded. “And so you were hunting, illegally, on my property.”
Just then, Emma’s stomach growled. She continued to stare at him with an expressionless look on her face.
The boy nodded. “We didn’t have much choice in the matter. Our Ma passed on almost a year ago, and we got to eat.”
“You have been on your own for a year?” Nick asked.
The children nodded. The girl said, “We gots nowhere to go.”
Tommy said, “I can’t bear to think of Emma in an orphanage. They’ll beat her, or worse.”
His brows furrowing, Nick said, “You are a good brother for looking after your sister, young Thomas. However, you will stop this poaching business, do you understand?”
The boy nodded, looking glum.
Nick turned to Mrs. Tindle. “My dear Mrs. Tindle, would you please prepare the bird this boy shot and fix the children a proper meal?”
The older woman, who had been standing there, watching the scene stoically, brightened. “Why yes, I would be happy to, Milord.”
“Wonderful,” Nick said. Look
ing back at the children, he said, “If I may further impose on you, would you mind preparing a bath for these two? Also, a clean change of clothing? I believe some of our clothing from when we were children is still here, somewhere.”
Mrs. Tindle nodded enthusiastically. “I know exactly where they are,” she said. “I will prepare a bath for the children directly after their meal.”
Nick nodded to her, pleased with her enthusiasm. The children were looking at him with wide eyed shock. In a serious tone of voice, so that they knew he meant business, Nick said, “You will both accompany my wife and I to our home, where you will stay on. You will attend school and you, Thomas, will help attend the horses in my barn, and you, Emma, will assist the lady of the house. If you do not comply, I will report you to the proper authorities. Is that clear?”
The children nodded. Tommy looked relieved and Emma smiled at him. Nick understood that he had just taken on a huge role. He knew that the children would become more like family than servants. It was bound to be an enormous adjustment for them all. They would just have to take things one step at a time.
“But what about the lady?” Tommy asked, his concern in his eyes.
“We will have to wait and see,” Nick answered. He prayed that his sister-in-law would make it through this horrible ordeal. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen to Darren if he lost her. It was obvious that his brother was in love with his wife. He wondered if Darren knew. Nick had hired Gavin because of the abundant workload, but also because he saw how his brother struggled. They all had to work hard, that was true. But somewhere along the way, Darren’s priorities had gotten skewed. Nick knew there were troubles on the home front. Having Gavin bear some of the load would allow Darren to have some time for himself and some time to devote to his wife. No matter what happened now, he would be here for his brother. He just hoped that Darren’s marriage was not ending before it had truly begun.
Chapter 16
Justine awoke the next morning. Her eyes remained closed. She didn’t want to open them because her head hurt. Her body felt stiff and sore in various places. Then she remembered. She had been out riding with Erica and she had gotten thrown from her horse. There had been a loud shot. She was thrown from her horse, then there was nothing. Justine slowly opened her eyes. It was daytime and the sun was shining brightly into the room. She heard soft breathing and looked over to see Darren sleeping in a chair close by. That was odd, she thought. Why is he not sleeping in their bed? The pounding in her head gained her complete attention. Why was it aching so badly? She brought her hand up to her forehead and felt the bandage that was wrapped around her head. Justine sighed. She must have hit her head when she fell. Darren was likely sleeping in the chair because he was nursing her sickbed.
Oh, no, she thought. He is surely missing out on his work. He must be so angry with her for having an accident and causing him to miss out on pressing business affairs. He undoubtedly had to cancel important meetings, because he was bound by honor to sit by and take care of her. They had just found a new balance of peace and understanding in their relationship and now she had completely ruined it. She hoped that he wouldn’t be too angry with her. If he was, would he grow cold and withdrawn with her again? Justine groaned in despair.
Darren shot up. Seeing that she was awake, he smiled at her and rose from the chair. He sat beside her on the bed and gently cupped both sides of her face in his hands. His eyes combed every feature on her face, checking to see if she was truly well. “My love,” he said, “how are you feeling?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “You’re not angry with me?” Her voice sounded coarse and brittle.
He shook his head. “No, sweetheart. I have been sitting here, waiting a very long time for you to wake up. You scared me.”
“I am so sorry,” she whispered.
He lifted her fingers to his lips. “It is I who am sorry,” he said, softly kissing her fingertips. “Would you like some water?”
She nodded. He gently lifted her into the crook of his arm and raised the glass to her lips. He would only let her drink a little. “We’ll let the doctor look at you now. Then” he said, kissing her brow and looking adoringly into her eyes, “you and I are going to talk.”
Justine’s eyes widened. Not only was Darren not angry with her, but he was looking at her with something close to…She didn’t know. Her head hurt too badly to try to comprehend his emotions. She didn’t want him to leave, she wanted him to continue holding her.
“Please stay here with me.”
He kissed her sweetly on the mouth. “I will go fetch the doctor and remain by your side as he administers to you. Alright?”
She nodded. Darren went to fetch the doctor. Justine was relieved that he didn’t seem to be upset with her. He had been so sweet and gentle with her just now. She did not believe for one moment however, that he would not come to resent her for missing out on his work. Convinced that his initial relief to her waking after a dreadful ordeal would eventually fade, she braced herself for what she knew was coming next. He had said that they needed to talk. Darren most likely wanted to make sure that she didn’t go riding at all. The last thing that he wanted, he would say, would be to have to worry about her. His business relations would suffer, after all, and he couldn’t bear that. She couldn’t walk around covered in cushions, she thought. She would be careful not to mention that to her husband, in the event that he would take her seriously.
Darren returned with an older gentleman. They walked over to the side of the bed and Darren took her hand in his once more. “My love, this is Dr. Cromwell. He is an old family friend and he is the one who so brilliantly brought you back to health.”
The older man laughed and said, “Well now, you did all the work yourself, Milady. However, I am still very pleased to meet you.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Justine said.
Dr. Cromwell moved in to inspect his patient. He checked her vision first and was happy with what he saw. As he continued to work, he asked, “Do you feel any discomfort anywhere on your person? Anything feeling broken or not right?”
Justine sighed, “I feel sore in many places, though nothing feels broken.”
The doctor nodded, “Yes, you did have quite a fall. And a rock to smack your head on, to boot. Your head will be sore for quite some time, some cool towels and plenty of rest will help lessen the pain.”
Listening intently, Darren said, “Is there anything else we can do?”
Dr. Cromwell looked at him deliberately and said, “Try to keep our patient in bed.”
Darren grinned. That was one thing that he was going to be certain to do. “I will.”
Shaking his head at him, Dr. Cromwell said, “I must advise you that relations of a more intimate nature must wait. The missus will tell you when she is ready. That, of course, will be the right time.”
Justine flushed. Sweet Lord. Must they talk about such intimate things in front of her?
Seeing her reddened face, the doctor said, “Begging your pardon, Milady. I just wanted to make sure that you receive the best care possible by your household. Now that the danger has passed, I must be on my way.” To Darren, he said, “Fetch me if anything should happen.”
Darren nodded. “Indeed, I will. Thank you doctor, we are indebted to you.” He held out his hand for the doctor to shake.
“I will send you my bill.” The doctor tipped his hat to both of them and left them alone.
Darren sat down next to her on the bed once more, and kissed her hand. His eyes had dark circles under them. He looked like he hadn’t really slept all that well. “Are you late for an appointment, husband? Surely Mrs. Tindle could look after me.”
Shaking his head, Darren said, “No my love. The only place that I need to be right now is here with you.”
“I don’t understand,” Justine said. “Surely you must have some pressing matters to attend to?”
He squeezed her hands. “Hush now, don’t worry yourself,” he said sooth
ingly. My brother knows that I must attend my ill wife now.”
“I do not mean to keep you.”
“This is the only place I want to be.” He cupped her face in his palm. “You scared the hell out of me last night. I didn’t know if you were going to live.”
“I didn’t mean to worry everyone. I wasn’t even aware of what had happened until I woke.”
“I wish you would be so careful…”
Here it is, thought Justine. She couldn’t live a completely safe life, could she?
“I cannot stay completely protected at all times…”
“Because I cannot be without you.”
Justine stilled.
“If anything should ever happen to you, I would cease to exist.”
“You would?” Justine asked, shocked.
Darren kissed her mouth sweetly, softly. “I love you more than my own life, never doubt that.”
Justine stared at him in amazement. “Why did you not say so before?”
He shook his head. “Perhaps I didn’t know. A part of me was trying to do all that I could to build a life that you would love. A life that you could be proud of.”
“Oh, Darren. I am so proud of you. You have already accomplished so much, so quickly.”
“I did not want to let my feelings for you interfere with building us a better life. I wanted it for you, even though I pushed you away.” Looking deeply into his eyes, he promised, “I swear to you that I will never again put anything before you. You are my life. Without you, it means nothing at all.”
Justine’s eyes teared. Her dear, sweet husband loved her. She felt deep contentment and joy washing over her. Nothing in the world had ever meant so much to her as he did. His love made her life complete, and she knew that their marriage would bring them great happiness, all because they loved each other. “You mean the world to me, my love,” she sniffled. “You have made me so very happy.”
“And now I will have your declaration, wife. Tell me that you love me,” he demanded.