Page 34 of A Masked Lady for Mr. Kenworthy
Darwin remained thoughtfully silent, mulling over everything Rupert had just told them. Thomas, however, frowned at Rupert.
“I don’t know, Rupert,” he said, sighing. “There is something about this whole thing that does not make sense.”
Rupert nodded in agreement and took up the seat between the other two men once again.
“I agree,” he said. “Which is why I have written to two of my other sources with the information I have. I am waiting to hear a word about what they might know or what they can find out for me.”
Thomas nodded slowly, letting his mind wander, while Darwin began questioning Rupert on something to which Thomas paid little attention. His mind was working, trying to put together the pieces of information his partner had just given him. It was not uncommon for business partners to part ways, even with animosity in some cases. But for it to happen in a single day?
Thomas could not fathom what could have made such a thing happen. It truly did not make sense to him, and it was driving him mad. And, all the while, as he thought over these things, images of the boy who he felt certain had been watching them floated in the back of his mind. Whatever was going on, Thomas knew they needed to get to the bottom of things, and soon.
Chapter Twenty-two
For the next few days, Faye adhered strictly to the physician’s instructions for her mother’s two daily doses of the medicine he had left for her. The medicine made her mother incredibly sleepy, and Faye prayed that meant it would do her some good. She rarely disturbed her mother while she was resting, but she did steal into her room a few times a day to ensure the medicine was still hidden in the bottom drawer of her bedside table, where Faye left it after each dose she gave to her mother. She doubted that Mayson would trouble himself with coming into her mother’s room, but she could not be sure. And it would not do for him to see the medicine sitting out. Faye did not need to guess what he would do if he did.
Early one morning, Faye slipped into her mother’s room for her morning dose of medicine, and she gasped aloud. There was color in her mother’s cheeks, and her face seemed to be a little less gaunt than it had been even just the day before. She listened carefully to the dowager countess’s breathing, nearly crying for joy when she heard no coughing or raspy, labored breathing.The medicine is working,she thought, brushing away happy tears.Thank heavens, it is working!
The dowager countess stirred almost immediately upon Faye entering the room. Faye was further pleased to see that the previous feverish glisten and apparent fatigue had vanished from her mother’s eyes and was being replaced with bright, happy alertness.
“Good morning, darling,” the dowager countess said, pushing herself up in her bed with little difficulty.
Faye rushed to her mother’s bedside, throwing her arms around the frail woman and sobbing with joy.
“Good morning, Mother,” she said, laughing as more tears fell down her cheeks. “My, you look wonderful this morning.”
Lady Welborn squeezed her daughter with more strength than she had shown since falling ill. Then, she gently pulled away, looking at Faye with both happiness and bewilderment.
“It is the strangest thing,” she said. “I just suddenly started feeling better, as though the fever simply gave up on trying to take me.”
Faye laughed, relieved her mother did not seem to remember the visit from the physician. She was glad her mother was no longer slipping in and out of consciousness as she had been, but it was safer for her if that memory remained a blank in her mind. If Mayson did pay her a visit, she would have nothing to tell him regarding that matter. And Faye needed that to be the case, especially with the news she was about to give her mother. Besides, where in the world would she ever begin explaining to her mother how she had ended up working for agents of the Crown? She would tell her mother everything one day. For now, the important thing was Faye finishing her work with the agents and getting her mother well.
She retrieved the medicine from its hiding place, earning a strange look from her mother.
“What is that, darling?” she asked. “And wherever did you get it?”
Faye shook her head, smiling fondly at the bottle.
“Never mind that, Mother,” she said. “Just know that it has done wonders to help you. And it will continue to do so, as long as you do not forget to take it.”
The dowager countess dutifully took the medicine her daughter offered her. Then, she frowned.
“Of course, I will take it just as you tell me to,” she said. “But will you not be coming to check on me, as you have been?”
Faye returned the medicine to the bottom drawer. Then, she sat down on the bed and squeezed her mother’s hand.
“I am going to a very important party, Mother,” she said, telling only as much of the truth as she felt she could without slipping up and saying too much. “It is in the countryside, so that I will be gone for a few days.”
The dowager countess’s eyes lit up, and she smiled brightly at her daughter.
“Oh, darling, does this mean you have met a gentleman?” she asked.
Faye’s heart squeezed. She could neither lie to her mother nor tell her the truth. She thought quickly and smiled at the fragile woman once again.
“Perhaps,” she said, allowing herself to think of Mr. Kenworthy as she spoke. “For now, it is only a party. But who knows?”
Vague though it was, her answer seemed to please her mother. The dowager countess took both of her daughter’s hands and kissed them. Faye was further encouraged as she noticed how the moisture was returning to her mother’s lips, as was some of the color.
“Well, I am so very proud of you, my dear,” she said. “And I wish you the best of luck.” She glanced at where Faye had placed the medicine she had just taken. “And do not worry, my dear. I shall not forget to take that stuff. Though, I must confess that it tastes absolutely dreadful.”
