“I don’t know,” Lady Emily admitted. “All I know is that his clothes are quite ragged, and he is very injured.”
“I’ll ask Sophie for help, so it’s done quite quickly,” Hannah said, and scurried off.
Lady Emily felt better when she was doing something, rather than standing around. She went to the room Hannah indicated would be set up, and started to build a fire. It shocked both the maids, but they knew their mistress better than most. Lady Emily had to do something, or she wouldn’t feel very useful.
When she heard the carriage arrive, Lady Emily tore down the stairs and into the front hallway. The baron and Edward were carrying the man, and she indicated they should take him right upstairs.
“My father has sent for a doctor,” she said. “Is he still alive? Please tell me he’s still alive.”
“Yes,” Edward assured her. “Seems no worse nor better than when he was on the beach. He is very heavy though. And still very wet.”
“We’ll find him some fresh clothes,” Lady Emily said, as they carried him upstairs.
“Well, this is certainly not the way I expected the hunt to go,” Catherine said, when the men were upstairs. “I thought we were going to have a nice quiet day.”
“But nice quiet days are boring,” Lady Emily said. “Although I don’t wish this outcome on anyone.”
“Perhaps he will recover enough to tell us his name and where he is from,” Catherine said. “Do you think he’s from the colonies?”
“That is possible,” Lady Emily said. “Although maybe he just went for a visit. Hannah asked me whether he was a gentleman or not, but I said I couldn’t tell from his clothes.”
“No, they are certainly too ragged to be able to tell,” Catherine said. “Although, Edward was saying that it is very expensive to secure passage on such a ship, so he likely has money.”
“I wonder if there is anything we can do until he wakes,” Lady Emily replied. “Perhaps the naval offices have records of who was aboard their ship? We could check?”
“I don’t think we should check,” Catherine said. “Although I do think it’s a good idea. I think we should ask one of the men to do it.”
“That’s…” Lady Emily sighed. “She knew Catherine was right, although she wished that she wasn’t. It seemed the men got to have all the exciting adventures in life, while the women stayed home. That was not the life she wanted for herself. She would not, however, scandalize her friend or make her uncomfortable. “Yes, perhaps we can ask Edward to.”
“I will ask him,” Catherine said. “We had quite a good chat on the way.”
“Did you?” Lady Emily’s face lit up.
“Yes, he’s a wonderful conversationalist,” Catherine said. “I don’t know how I never noticed until now.”
I don’t know how you’ve not noticed until now either, Lady Emily thought. She thought that Edward made it very clear he had feelings for Catherine, but Catherine seemed completely obvious to everything.
When Edward finally came down the stairs, he seemed tired but successful in his endeavours.
“He’s resting comfortably and breathing a little easier,” he said to Lady Emily. “So I think he’ll be all right. I’m not a doctor, of course, but there is hope.”
“The doctor is on the way,” the baron said, right behind Edward. “Your father has already sent the messenger”
“Wonderful,” Lady Emily said, and then turned to Edward. “I had an idea. I’m sure the naval offices in town would have records of who was on the ships. Perhaps you could enquire? They would have no idea where he was, after all, and it’s possible there was someone waiting for him.”
“Of course,” Edward said. “I’d be happy to do so.”
“I wish I could go into town,” Catherine said, not quite putting the pieces together. “There is a new dressmaker I’d love to speak to.”
“Why don’t I accompany you?” Edward asked. “That way, we both have missions to complete and we could continue our conversation.”
Catherine looked to Lady Emily for what seemed like permission. Lady Emily practically shoved her friend out of the door.
“Of course you should go with him,” Lady Emily said. “But please hurry back. I am curious to see who this man is.”
“Of course,” Edward said.
With the two of them having something to do, Lady Emily went to find her father.
“How long until he gets here?” she asked.
Sir Preston raised an eyebrow. “I wish I could tell you, my dear,” he said. “I said it was urgent, but he could be out on another call.”
“It should be his first priority,” Lady Emily said. “Given all the patronage we give to the village.”
“I know that is how you feel,” Sir Preston replied. “And I know that we do indeed give a great deal of money to the hospital. However, we cannot demand that he come away from others in need.”
“I know,” Lady Emily replied. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just know time is of the essence.”
“I have never seen you this way, my dear,” Sir Preston said gently.
“I’m going to go speak to Hannah,” Lady Emily replied, before she had to speak about her reasoning again. She didn’t want every moment in life to be influenced by the fact that her husband had died, and she did nothing about it. But sometimes it seemed that was the case.
Hannah was in the guest room next door, making the bed. Lady Emily went in and closed the door, simply because she did not want anyone else to interrupt them.
“Do you think you could get him some other clothes?” Lady Emily asked. “He can’t stay in those tattered rags forever.”
Hannah looked up and smiled.
“I could,” she said. “But I’m not sure what kind of clothes to get him.”
“Well...clothes that would suit him,” Lady Emily replied.
“Is he a gentleman?” Hannah repeated. “I just want to make sure that when he wakes up, he will not be offended by the clothing choices.”
“Well…” she said. “It’s very hard to tell, given that his clothing is ragged from the water.”
“Can I be honest?” Hannah asked, and Lady Emily nodded.
“Yes, of course you can,” she said.
“From what I could see, Miss, his clothing was a bit ragged before the water.”
“What do you…oh,” she realized. “Oh.”
“So I do not think he’s a gentleman.”
“Maybe he just did not wear his best clothes for the journey over,” Lady Emily said. “That would perhaps be a smart choice.”
“Why do you think he is a gentleman?” Hannah asked.
“Well, because passage on such a ship is expensive,” Lady Emily replied. “So he couldn’t have just bought a ticket without being a gentleman. Unless someone bought it for him.”
“Hmm,” Hannah replied. “In any case, perhaps I could just see what spare clothes are around the house, then?”
“I suppose,” Lady Emily replied, although she didn’t seem entirely happy with the decision.
“Mistress, I am happy to do whatever you like,” Hannah said. “I just need to know.”
“I just want him to be comfortable,” Lady Emily said. “So spare clothes shall do for now. He hasn’t awoken yet, has he?”
“Not yet,” Hannah said. “But I am certain he will and tell us all about his adventures.”
“Yes,” Lady Emily agreed.
She left the room, but not before stopping outside the mysterious man’s door. She paused for a moment, and then pushed it open ever so slightly.
He was lying in the exact same position where they had left him, and he looked so pale and broken. Lady Emily could only imagine what he had been through.
She felt her heart soften as she watched him. Was there someone waiting for him? Was it someone like her, a young wife hopping that she wasn’t about to be a widow? Were there children somewhere, crying and praying?
She hoped not. She hoped that no one was
waiting for him, because she hoped there was no one who would ever experience the level of pain that she had once experienced.
She wasn’t sure how long she watched him for, but he didn’t stir the entire time. She knew it wasn’t proper to just stand there, and she knew it wasn’t proper for her to go in and care for him. Hannah would have to do it and she would have to get updates from her every day.
“Excuse me, miss,” she spun around as she heard a male voice.
“Dr. Thorton!” she cried. “Oh, I thought you would never come.”
She was more familiar with Dr. Thorton that she would have liked, because he had once spent a great deal of time in this house, tending to her mother. Emily had always thought he was a great doctor, and that her mother would pull through, but that hadn’t been the case.
While she didn’t blame Dr. Thorton, she often wondered if there was something more that could be done the day her mother died. Had he missed something? Was there a prayer she didn’t say, or a moment he didn’t pay attention?
“I came as quickly as I could,” he said. “Especially when I heard that he was one of the shipwreck victims. Everyone said there were no survivors.”
“There almost weren’t,” Lady Emily replied. “However, it seems we got him out of the water just in time. Please let me know what you can do.”
“Of course,” he said and stared at her. “I’ll uh...need to get into the room.”
“Oh,” Lady Emily replied. “Of course.”
She stepped aside and he went into the room. Lady Emily lingered outside for a moment or two longer but realized there was nothing she could do just standing there.
She headed back downstairs and pretended to busy herself. She picked up her sketchbook, she picked up a book, and she even tried to walk in the garden. It seemed the doctor was taking a very long time, and she grew more worried with each passing moment. However, eventually, he found her in the garden.
“I’ve prepared some medication for him,” he said. “As well as written some instructions about danger signs to look for. However, I think he might be all right. He’s strong and healthy. It’s just a matter of whether he pulls out of this...state he’s in.”
“State?” Lady Emily asked. “Is he not just sleeping?”
The doctor winced and shook his head.
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” he said. “But I can already tell that he’s starting to re-join us. He might be in and out for a few days, but if you follow those instructions and keep up with the dosage, you will probably be able to talk to him before the week is out.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news,” Lady Emily breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you! Thank you very much.”
“Of course,” the doctor said. “Is there anything else?”
“No,” she said. “But we’ll be sure to call you if there is. Thank you!”
“Thank you,” he said, and took the purse of coins she handed him. Normally, Lady Emily didn’t carry any money on her, but her father had given it to her specifically because he knew the doctor would likely inform her of what was happening first.
Once the doctor was paid, he headed out, and Lady Emily returned to the house. She was delighted to see that Edward and Catherine had returned.
“Did you find out anything?” she asked, and Edward shook his head with a sigh.
“Unfortunately not,” he said. “I had hoped that they would have a list of the other passengers available, but there was nothing there.”
“Really?” she said. “So what are they saying? That they don’t keep track of…”
“They implied that he was a stowaway,” Catherine said, and Lady Emily’s eyes widened.
“Really?” she said. “That would be…”
“Emmie, are you sure you want this man in your house?” Catherine asked. “I mean, if he’s a stowaway, you don’t know what kind of danger you could be in.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case,” she said, and shifted her gaze to Edward. “Correct?”
He shrugged.
“They mentioned that it might be a possibility, but I don’t think you have anything to fear right now. If I’m honest, I’m quite sure he is just a sailor who is out of uniform. Sometimes, when they are not on shift, they do that, just to have another set of clothes to wear that are dry.”
“But then, would they not know who he is?” Lady Emily asked. “Do they not have a list of who serves on what ship?”
“Well, of course they do,” Edward said. “But how are we to know which one he is? We don’t even know if he’s an officer or just a common sailor. Having a list of several hundred names isn’t very useful, is it?”
“Perhaps he doesn’t remember his own name,” Lady Emily said. “In which case, we could just start reading them to him and…”
Edward laughed.
“As much as that seems like a good idea, I don’t think it’s a possibility,” he said. “Several hundred men quite literally serve on a ship that size.”
“And now they are all gone,” Lady Emily said, and everyone sobered up.
“I just…” Catherine shook her head, and the tears started to fall. “This is too sad.”
Lady Emily was surprised by Catherine’s response, and she reached out to touch her friend’s back.
“Are you all right?” she said, after a few moments. Catherine sometimes got overwhelmed by emotion that was not her own.
“Yes,” Catherine said. “Yes, I’m sorry, I will be all right.”
“You’ve had a long day,” Edward said. “And perhaps now is not the best time to discuss further developments.”
“Maybe you two should go for a walk in the garden,” Lady Emily said. "It always helps me.”
“Yes, I could take you,” Edward said, with hope in his eyes. He knew exactly why Lady Emily was suggesting it, and he gave her a look of thanks. Catherine, however, did not seem to pick up on the signals.
“I think I will just go to my room,” she said. “If neither of you mind.”
“Of course not,” Edward said, although he did seem disappointed Once Catherine was upstairs, Lady Emily turned to him.
“I tried,” she said. Edward sighed.
“I know you did,’ he replied. “And I appreciate you trying.”
“What did you two talk about while you were in town?” Lady Emily asked.
“Nothing in particular,” Edward said. “She is such a kind-hearted woman though. I should have known she would be overwhelmed.”
“Catherine has been lucky,” Lady Emily replied. “In the sense that she has been particularly sheltered. The worst tragedy she has suffered in her life has been mine.”
“Well, I suppose that is a good thing,” Edward said. “I would do my very best to make sure she was already protected and did not suffer such tragedy."
“First she has to realize that you are interested,” Lady Emily replied. “I do not know why you will not just let me tell her. This is a normal thing that women talk about.”
A Lady's Taste For Temptation (Historical Regency Romance) Page 10