Page 97 of Foolish Bride
“Go to Everett, Michael. I am fine. I shall bathe and change before I come to see him.”
He nodded and bolted up the stairs two at a time.
Elinor put her arm around her mother’s shoulder and moved into the house.
Sophia and Dory waited to see her, but after giving them each a heartfelt hug, she asked to be allowed to go upstairs alone and wash.
The rain had chilled her to the bone, and she needed to scrub away the filth of everything she had done and seen. She indulged in a lengthy bath, but the memories haunted her.
Once dressed, she went to see Everett.
Tabitha sat in a chair near the bed. She looked small and worn next to the large bed Everett was tucked into.
Closing the door behind her, Elinor entered the room unnoticed.
She walked to the bed and touched Tabitha’s shoulder. “You should get some sleep, my lady. You will make yourself ill, then who will care for him?”
Tabitha rose, and a smile touched her brown eyes. She took Elinor’s hand. “I am so relieved you are safe, my dear. Everett will be relieved as well. He frets over you in his sleep.”
Elinor’s heart broke looking down at Everett’s pale face. “Where is the doctor?”
“Gone to get more laudanum. He will return shortly. An infection of the blood, he says. All we can do is wait and pray.”
Tabitha looked like she hadn’t slept in days. The dark rings framing her eyes and her pallor were a testament to her vigilance over her son.
Elinor hadn’t had much rest either, but she squeezed her hand. “I will sit with him until the doctor returns. Go and rest.”
Tabitha hesitated, but then took a breath, nodded and left. Michael’s mother had always been kind to her, but some invisible barrier had broken between them. She trusted her with one of her most precious things.
Everett lay still in the bed. Seventeen, he was a man, but his illness made him look small and helpless.
She sat by his side, and took his hand. “Oh, Everett, I am so sorry. Please live. You really must get better. It would be terrible otherwise. I will make you a list of reasons to get better. First, your mother would not recover from your loss. Sheldon would be lost without you. You have your school work that you love and must complete. There is an entire world for you to explore when you are older, but you must get older to see it. Think of all the exotic places you will see. One day you will fall in love. You do not want to miss that. I do not know what Michael will do if he loses you. He was just telling me how he wishes to spend more time getting to know you and Sheldon. He plans for you to stay with us during your school breaks after we’re married. Oh, and you will miss the wedding if you do not get better.” She stopped her list to catch her breath.
“You could be a duke one day, you know. Michael and I shall adopt children, and you or your son will one day be the Duke of Kerburghe. Won’t that be something? I shall have to call you, ‘your grace.’ Of course by then I will be an old woman with grown children and a dozen grandchildren running about. Perhaps you will be kind to me and allow me to call you by your Christian name. What do you think? Shall I be allowed to be familiar with the great duke?”
“You may call me, ‘Kerburghe,’” Everett grumbled. She looked up, and his eyes were open. The hint of a smile touched his lips.
“Everett, you’re awake. How long have you been listening to me babble?” It eased her worry that he still had his sense of humor.
He tried to shrug, but it was more of a twitching of his thin shoulders. “I do not know, but it was a good list. I will do my best to see it through.”
“Good.” She wiped the tears from her face. “How do you feel?”
“Hungry.” He grimaced.
Joy spread through her. “I’ll ring for something.” She pulled the cord near the bed. A few moments later, the door opened, and the maid rushed in followed by half the household.
Michael was first in. He’d washed and changed. He stared from Elinor to Everett and back again.
She couldn’t contain her tears. She squared her shoulders. “Everett would like something to eat.”
The doctor, a bald burly man with an overgrown beard, pushed through the lords, ladies, and servants crowding the doorway. He put his hand on the boy’s head, then took his wrist between his fingers. He smiled, and the strain on his face eased. “The infection seems to have abated. He is out of danger.”
The crowd cheered.
Tabitha pushed through and hugged Everett.
The doctor turned to the maid. “Get him some broth and nothing too strong for a few days. See he’s fed a small amount every couple of hours.” Narrowing his eyes, he turned to Everett. “No jumping about, boy. Go slowly for a while until you get your strength back. The wound will need time to heal.”
