by Anne Herries
‘Oh, you are to have a cake. I heard Lady Piper discussing it with your mama.’
‘Well, I suppose Papa would not like it if some celebration were not made. Poor Papa, he did so want to show everyone how proud he is of his daughter.’
‘Well, you may have a ball when things...are settled.’
‘Yes.’ Amanda smiled at her. ‘Thank you for being here, Jane.’
‘Oh, I shall be sorry when I have to go home.’ Jane looked wistful. ‘To live in a house like this...it would be a dream come true.’
‘I should prefer to live in a house that belonged to Phipps and me,’ Amanda said. ‘If we have to live here...but that depends. We can only pray that Alex will get better.’
* * *
Alex was in a fever for three long days and nights. It gradually mounted and he began to writhe and call out, but nothing he said made sense and that made his father look grave and brought a look of fear to Phipps’s eyes. Everyone dreaded that a crisis was coming and Amanda was relieved when Mr Knighton arrived from London.
He came into the bedroom just as Amanda was bathing her patient’s arms and talking to him in a soothing voice. Alex quietened as she spoke to him and the doctor watched her for a moment or two before addressing her.
‘Yes, I see why Lieutenant Phipps thought you should be called on,’ he said. ‘You are doing just as you ought, just as I advised. What have you been giving him?’
‘Barley water and the tisane Mama makes. The local doctor told us that we were merely prolonging the agony. Have I done wrong, sir?’
‘Not at all, though I think my own mixture may help—and, when the patient is able, I shall recommend some restorative jelly, which will give him a little strength. No hot wine, if you please, or spirits. A little thin gruel if you can get him to take it—but the fever should break soon enough and then we shall see.’
‘Do you think he will come to his senses?’ Amanda asked as he straightened after examining the sick man.
‘I have every hope of it. There is already an improvement. Had Phipps not called me in—and fetched you, Miss Hamilton—I fear his grieving family would have allowed him to die with dignity. We must thank God that Phipps had the sense to override his father.’
Amanda felt the sting of tears. ‘Oh, thank heaven,’ she said. ‘Do you think he will be as he was?’
‘That I cannot say, but I am certain he will live. The fever is a blessing in disguise, for it has made him fight—or perhaps you did that...’ He smiled at her. ‘I am going to stay here for a few days, and you may send for me at any moment of the day or night.’
Amanda thanked him profusely and he went away. Jane came to take her place while she ate a light nuncheon and then walked in the gardens. When she went up to Alexander’s room, she discovered that he was sweating profusely. Jane said it had started after Phipps gave him the second dose of Mr Knighton’s fever mixture.
After Jane had gone to take a turn in the garden, Amanda gently bathed her patient’s brow and then went to pour a little barley water into a glass. She brought it back, lifting him slightly with one arm and pressing the edge to his lips. He gulped thirstily and then muttered something, which sounded like, ‘Thank you.’
Amanda replaced the glass on the bedside table, placed a hand on his forehead, which seemed slightly less clammy. She was about to take up her seat again when she heard a groaning sound from the bed. Turning, she saw that Alexander’s eyes were open. She noticed they were very blue and then he spoke, clearly this time. ‘Do I know you?’
Her heart beating so fast that she could scarcely breathe, she approached the bed and looked down at him, hardly daring to hope that she’d heard him.
‘I’m Miss Hamilton, Phipps’s fiancée,’ she said softly. ‘Are you feeling very poorly?’
‘Damnably so,’ he muttered and fell back against the pillows, closing his eyes.
Amanda placed her hand on his brow. He was quite dry now and much cooler. It seemed that the fever had broken and she thanked God for it. Tears had started to her eyes, running down her cheeks. She brushed them away, but they would not stop.
Turning, the tears still upon her cheeks as the door opened and Phipps entered, she was unable to speak at once for the emotion that overcame her. He came to her at once, a look of fear in his eyes, and took her hands.
‘Oh, my poor darling, is he dead?’
‘No, the fever has broken. I think he is sleeping...’ She clasped his hands tightly as she began to tremble. ‘Oh, Phipps, he spoke to me—asked me who I was.’
‘He spoke sensibly to you?’ Phipps stared in wonder. ‘You are certain it was not just something he muttered in a fever?’
‘No, for first he thanked me for the drink I gave him and then he opened his eyes and asked if he knew me. I told him who I was and asked if he felt very poorly and he said—damnably so...’
Phipps stared, unable to speak at first, and then, in a choking voice, ‘That is always his expression. Father does not like it—but I think it is the sweetest thing I ever heard. Thank you so much, my dearest Amanda.’
‘I did nothing,’ she said and smiled as he suddenly grabbed her and held her close to him, just holding on as if in the grip of extreme emotion, as if he would never let her go. ‘I can’t be sure, but I think he must be going to recover, Phipps. Oh, my poor love, do not cry.’
‘Forgive me,’ he said, choking off and laughing. ‘What a poor specimen I am to weep at such news. It’s just that we thought...we thought he was going to die.’
‘Mr Knighton said there was an improvement,’ Amanda said. ‘He believes that Alexander’s body was healing itself while he lay in a coma and said he detected signs of a change when he examined him.’
‘Yes, I know, but just think what might have happened if I had not brought you here. My father, good soul though he is, would probably have let Alex die with dignity rather than have him face life as an imbecile.’
‘Who are you calling an imbecile?’
The voice was still a little wavery, but when they turned to look at Alex he was regarding them both with interest. Phipps gave a snort of laughter and moved towards the bed.
‘It was that fool of a doctor of ours, Alex. He thought you would not recover and advised us to let you die, for he thought if you recovered consciousness your wits would be lost.’
‘Always was a damned fool,’ Alex said. ‘My head aches damnably and I should like to sit up, but I feel so weak. How long have I been in this damned bed?’
‘Almost a month. It was nearly three weeks before Father allowed me to send for Knighton. He said you must be nursed and I fetched Miss Hamilton. It is she who has somehow managed to get both liquids and a thin gruel into you, besides bathing your forehead when the fever raged.’
‘So long? Good grief, no wonder I’m damnably hungry.’ His blue eyes turned to Amanda. ‘How do you do, Miss Hamilton. I fear I was abrupt with you when I first woke. I must thank you for your kindness and say that my brother is a lucky dog to have found such a treasure in his future wife.’
‘I thank you for the compliment,’ Amanda said, feeling unaccountably shy as she dipped a curtsy. ‘May I have some soup brought up to you, sir?’
‘I should much prefer some good rare beef and pickles,’ he replied and laughed as he saw her set her face. ‘No? What a dragon you are, Miss Hamilton.’
‘It is Miss Hamilton, but you may call me Amanda. I think we are to be brother and sister, sir. There is no need to stand on formality. I will have some soup and a little buttered toast sent up for you—and I will consult with Mr Knighton on how soon you may have red meat, pickles and I dare say a glass of wine, but I fear it may not be yet.’
‘Remarkably fine girl you have there,’ Alex remarked as the door closed behind her and Phipps settled him against the pillows. ‘You had been crying—so you didn’t care to step into my shoes, then?’
‘I should damned well think not,’ Phipps said. ‘Besides, Amanda has many properties of her own
. I shall have my work cut out looking after them without the estate, that’s your job.’
‘You always were a good brother,’ Alex said. ‘I feel like hell and my mouth tastes of sawdust. Be a good fellow and fetch me a glass of brandy and—’
‘No, not until Knighton says you are able to stomach them. Amanda has given up her wedding for your sake, Alex. You might at least respect her judgement—and that of Knighton.’
‘Oh, well, I suppose I must submit,’ he said. ‘She’s quite a determined little thing, isn’t she? Someone told me she was a dumpling and not attractive, but I thought her quite taking myself. I hope you didn’t propose solely for the money? If you were in trouble you could have come to me.’
‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ Phipps said. ‘I always liked Amanda, but since I’ve come to know her, I... Well, the truth is—’
Phipps was not destined to finish what he had to say, because the door flew open and their mother entered. She looked wild with emotion and, as she saw her eldest son sitting up in bed, apparently talking to Phipps, burst into tears.
‘Is it true what Miss Hamilton said? Have you recovered your senses—not, not an...’
‘Mama, I should prefer not to be called an imbecile, if you do not mind,’ Alex said and threw a look of appeal at his brother, as his mother appeared to consider whether to throw herself on to him or faint. ‘Phipps, old fellow, take Mama away and talk to her. I should like to rest before I eat...’
‘Mama, Alex truly is better,’ Phipps said and took her arm, steering her from the room. ‘Come, control yourself. He may be recovered from the coma, but he is exhausted. We must allow him to rest.’
Closing the door firmly behind them, he took his mother down to her own parlour and settled her in a chair, before pouring her a small glass of brandy and compelling her to sip it because she seemed in danger of hysterics.
‘There is no need to distress yourself,’ he said gently. ‘You may visit when Alex is feeling better, but he doesn’t need an excess of emotion just now. He is still weak and tired, and it will be a while before he is better.’
‘I am not a child, Phipps,’ she said and sniffed into her handkerchief, but then took a sip of the brandy. ‘Go back to your brother. I’m sure he wishes to talk to you.’
‘Well, I am probably going to feed him, because I doubt he can drink his soup from a spoon.’
Smiling at her, he went away, but encountered his father just come in from the stable. Lord Piper had that minute spoken to the footman and started forward.
‘Is it true? Has he recovered his senses?’
‘Yes, he woke up and spoke to Miss Hamilton and then fell asleep for a few minutes, and when he woke he was perfectly sensible, Father—just as Knighton hoped he might be.’
‘Thank God you had the sense to send for him,’ his father said. ‘May I see Alex?’
‘I think and hope he is about to have some soup. I shall see how he feels after that, but he may wish to rest. Perhaps later, when he feels more the thing. I believe Mama may need you more at the moment.’
Leaving his father to consider his words, Phipps returned to his brother’s chamber and discovered that Amanda and the valet had Alex propped against his pillows and he was being encouraged to drink his soup from a small cup, which the valet was holding for him. Amanda had just poured a glass of barley water, which she placed on the chest beside him. She smiled at Phipps and then turned to address his brother.
‘Now, sir, your valet and your father’s servants will care for you in future. It would not be proper for me to do so now that you have recovered and I do not fear a relapse, for Mr Knighton says it is unlikely. I shall visit you when you are up and about again, so if you will forgive me I shall leave you to your excellent man. However, I do beg you to take Mr Knighton’s advice. He says you should stick to broth and bread for two days and then you may eat a little cold chicken.’
‘Oh, are you deserting me?’ Alex gave her his charming smile. ‘I am sorry for it, for I know you have done so much for me. I was aware of you talking to me; you have such a comforting way with you. May I say again that Phipps is a lucky man.’
Amanda blushed prettily, smiled at Phipps, saying softly, ‘I shall walk in the rose gardens. Perhaps you will join me later?’
‘Yes, of course,’ he agreed and opened the door for her, returning to the bed as Alex pushed away the almost empty cup.
‘Had enough? Was it foul stuff?’
‘No, rather good, but I find I can’t stomach too much. Amanda was right about the beef and pickles, much though I should fancy it.’
‘I dare say you will be up and eating whatever you want soon enough.’
‘Is Mama all right?’ Alex said, thanking his valet as the man helped him back against the pillows once more. ‘Thank you, Sorrel, that will be all. I shall ring when I need you.’
After the man had gone out, Alex looked at him for a moment, then, ‘I should like to give your bride a present she would really like, Phipps. Have the goodness to discover what I may give her, if you please.’
‘I’ve been looking for some good horses for her to drive—and you have a splendid pair of chestnuts in your stable that I think just right...’
‘Then present them to her with my compliment, and I wish it were a hundred times more, Phipps. I did not at first realise it, but it was her voice that guided me back... I was in a far place, you see, and I could not find my way towards the light, but then she kept talking and she would not let me rest, so I followed the sound and...then I woke up and saw her.’
‘And we thank God for it. Will you see Father yet?’
‘No, not just yet. I should like to sleep if you do not mind. You must go down to find...’ Alex frowned. ‘Did you tell me she had given up her wedding for me?’
‘Yes, her father was to have given her a splendid affair, but it had to be postponed and we meant to marry here by special licence—just a quiet affair.’
‘No, that will not do,’ Alex said firmly. ‘You must set in train all that her father had planned, Phipps. If I am able I shall come to it—but if not, then it must still go ahead. Every bride should have her special day and she is rather lovely. She must be allowed to shine.’
‘Lovely?’ Phipps smiled fondly. ‘Yes, she is—but do you see, I hardly know whether she is slim or plump or even pretty; to me she is the sweetest darling I have ever met and...in plain truth I adore her.’
‘In that case, I should waste no time in going after her to tell her,’ Alex said, ‘and now I am going to sleep off that chicken soup.’
Chapter Fourteen
Amanda was sitting on a bench in the rose garden when she saw Phipps walking towards her. She had been enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face, for she had taken off her straw bonnet and it lay on the grass at her feet. The only sound to be heard was the buzzing of honey bees and she had been quite at peace, feeling that she could not ask more of life than to know that she had played some small part in bringing Phipps’s brother through his fever. She looked up and smiled at Phipps as he came up to her, unaware that all the love she felt for him was in her face or that he felt himself bathed in its warmth.
‘Is he sleeping?’ Phipps nodded and sat down beside her. ‘I thought he would. He is very tired, but Knighton says that is to be expected, and with rest and care, which his valet will give him, he will be perfectly well soon.’
‘Yes, I know. I spoke to Knighton. He says he will stay one more night and then return to London, but he does not expect a relapse.’
‘It is a miracle,’ Amanda said. ‘We must thank God for it.’
‘No doubt God played His part,’ he murmured, taking her hand in his and beginning to play with the fingers. ‘But I thank you and Mr Knighton; he for having the good sense to say what was needed was a good nurse—and you for your devotion. Alex says you guided him back; I do not perfectly know what he means, but he does and that is all that matters.’
‘I am glad he is restored to you, Phipp
s.’
‘Yes, for now your father may set all in train again for the wedding.’
‘That would please Papa,’ Amanda replied, a little frown on her brow. ‘But are you sure? Will you not wish to stay with Alexander for a time?’
‘He insists on it, my love.’ Phipps lifted her hand to his lips and kissed each of her fingers in turn, noticing that her ring was a little loose. ‘I must get you the ring I promised—and have this made smaller. I thought it was a good fit.’
‘Yes, it was, but my finger has got smaller.’ She did not wish to tell him that she had lost a lot of weight in case he had not noticed.
‘Well, it can soon be altered,’ Phipps said. ‘Alex has asked me to give you a pair of his thoroughbreds as a wedding gift from him—and I have had a light phaeton made for you. We shall be able to begin your lessons as soon as we return from Paris.’
‘Are we going to Paris?’
‘Yes, for a few days, though we may travel on to the coast for it is very beautiful there—but every bride should buy a few gowns in Paris. I have thought that your dressmaker does not always do you justice, my love.’
‘Jane says the same. She has been fashioning me a new wedding gown... It may be a little plain, Phipps, for I thought it to be a quiet wedding.’
‘I care not for gowns, only to please you—because I owe you a debt I can never repay...’
‘Oh, please, do not. I did so very little...’
‘You will have it your way,’ Phipps said and drew her up. He looked long and hard into her eyes and then pulled her against him, bending his head to kiss her lips. His kiss was sweet but intense and deep, shaking her with the force of his passion. Looking up into his eyes, Amanda saw that they were dark with emotion. ‘I can only tell you that I adore you, Amanda. When I asked you to be my wife, you knew that I admired you and thought we should deal well together—but I had no idea of the woman you were inside. There is no way for me to put into words what I feel now.’
‘You are grateful, I know...’ she began, but was seized ruthlessly, her lips crushed beneath a kiss of such force and heat that she could not speak when he let her go, the look in his eyes such that she was surprised into speech. ‘You really care for me...do you not?’