Page 34 of The Baroness of Sin
“My family lives in Slough,” she explained, eager to start as soon as she could. They were lucky they got her to wait long enough to finish half the cup. “And My Lady had given me time off while she was going to visit her family, so I was thinking it’d be a good time to see mine and all that.”
She took a breath and continued hurriedly. “So, I was sitting in the Red Dog, an inn that my cousin works in, and a man in leathers burst in and was looking for a doctor, shouting and scared and all. Worrying everybody in the place, and my cousin went to fetch the nearby doctor. Then the man recognized me, only I didn’t recognize him in the leathers. He was one of the stable hands, Leo. He told me that it had been My Lady’s carriage. Lady Carrington’s carriage had been in an accident and turned over, and that she was hurt.”
Both James and Mr. Bradford were stunned into a scared silence as they waited for any more information from the lady maid.
“Leo got the doctor to the house where they had laid her up, some family by the road. She isn’t bleeding or anything anymore, but she is in pretty bad shape, and the doctor said she would need constant care, so that's when I came here as fast as I could. I knew we would have to make arrangements, and I knew the household would want to know what was going on. That's why we should try and get back to her as soon as possible.” Letty shuddered again.
“But…” James hesitated, “but is she okay?”
“I am not a doctor, My Lord, but from what I could figure, she seemed like she was hurt but not doing worse for wear,” Letty explained hesitantly.
“Damn,” Benjamin bit his knuckle. “That carriage was the family’s. I’m not sure how we will move her.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mr. Bradford, of course you have full use of my stables as well as staff. Anything that I can do to get her the help she needs. Anything I can do to get her home sooner,” James insisted.
Benjamin felt a sudden and strong admiration for the Earl, but they didn’t have time to dwell. “Thank you. Please hurry and have the proper preparations made.”
James did not waste the time of affirming the request; he simply headed out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Amanda found her home to be a turbulent place when she finally glanced away from her studies. The first sign that something was wrong was Miss Blake’s absence. Miss Blake had excused herself when they both heard the ruckus. Amanda paid it little mind as she was deeply involved with her paints, and it wasn’t unusual for Miss Blake to step out for a minute or two. But when her governess didn’t return for a good while, the young lady became suspicious that something more intriguing was afoot. And it must have been quite intriguing as Miss Blake had been very cross with her since she had snuck out of her piano lesson.
Amanda, too intrigued to be content with painting, followed after Miss Blake but found no sign of her. Instead, she found her father’s maids and footmen running to and fro’, obtaining various things from closets, pantries, and spare rooms.
From the upper floor of the great hall, she could see various people running in and out of rain and the kitchen, where she assumed they were heading towards the stables. She tried to ask several people what was going on or the location of her father, but no one had much mind to give her answers or attention. She was far more used to being the center of the household’s attention. If things were this hectic, then something dire must have happened.
Despite it being the direction where the chaos grew, Amanda pushed towards the kitchen. There was one person who would be both willing and able to answer all of her questions, and she happened to be in the kitchen.
Despite the almost dozen people moving in multiple directions in the kitchen, Old Nann was given a wide berth. This was done out of respect for her personage as well as her infliction. Old Nann was, as her name described, was very old. She was also blind. They set up a small section of the kitchen to keep her comfortable where people knew not to set hot or sharp kitchen things.
While she couldn’t physically cook as well as she used to, she was still employed in the kitchen for her knowledge of cooking. Many of the staff became so accustomed to the quiet, unobtrusive old woman’s presence that they would often discuss matters as if she wasn’t there. Much more importantly, the old woman had wisdom about other things besides cooking. According to her, she had been around more than a hundred years, though Amanda was skeptical that anyone was ever that old, and “had accumulated more brains than most people expect.”
“Old Nann,” Amanda greeted the old woman, “everyone is rushing around and excited about something.”
“No need to tell me,” the woman tutted. “One of them footmen almost walked straight into me with a knife. I swear, who are they lettin’ into my kitchen.”
“That was why I came here. No one will talk to me or tell me what's going on. I was hoping you could tell me?” Amanda asked.
Old Nann clucked her tongue again as she thought the matter over. “Everyone is rushing around as they talk, so I have only been able to pick up bits and pieces. Your father is awfully worked up about something. Someone got hurt, and they need all the carriages ready as fast as possible. The who or why of it, I haven’t been able to gather.”
“Someone’s hurt? Oh my!” Amanda gasped and looked around. “I hope my Papa is okay. I don’t suppose you know where he is?”
“Last I heard he had rushed into the stable and hasn’t come out since,” Old Nann said, gesturing in the general direction.
“Thank you!” the young lady shouted while scampering off between people still hurriedly hauling essentials for the journey that lay ahead. Linens, herbal medicine, anything that one could possibly think of for an emergency.
Amanda had never seen all three of the carriages ready to move at the same time. She didn’t even think they had enough horses stabled to do that, which must have been the case since she noticed several horses she couldn’t name on one of the carriages. They were arranged in one line, the two behind the lead being loaded with food, blankets, and all sorts of other goods.
She saw her father through the large pair of double doors that lead out of the stable, standing and slowly dampening in the light drizzle that had maintained through the course of the day. He was occasionally shouting at one person or another from across the way, not sounding angry, mostly just authoritative. Most of his attention was given to a younger-looking man next to him, who Amanda thought seemed a tad familiar.
* * *
“I say this with the utmost concern for my sister and respect for you, My Lord, but perhaps this may be a bit much?” Benjamin said, the concern on his face made him bear a surprisingly strong resemblance to his sister.
This, oddly enough, only bolstered James’ determination to send as much help as he could. “We, through no fault other than circumstances, know very little about the situation. Transporting someone who has been injured can be very risky, and I want to make sure we have everything that might be necessary.
Benjamin nodded wordlessly, going back to worriedly looking at all the energy that was being generated on his sister’s account, before he felt the Earl’s strong hand on his shoulder. “Go and sit in the front carriage. I will join you shortly, and Slough is not long from here. You will be reunited with your sister soon.”
