Page 68 of A Rake's Redemption
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This place… There was no light or sound where she was. She drifted weightlessly in the darkness, her feet not touching a floor nor her hands a wall. Nothingness surrounded her, void of any sensation. Where was she? Did it really matter? Her mind seemed not to care…it only wanted to sleep.
But something was intruding, disturbing her rest. Shattering her dream state.Jarringher. She waved a hand feebly to combat the nuisance. At least she thought she did, but whatever was attacking her didn’t stop. The pitch-black began to fade to gray as garbled sound pricked her brain like sharp needles. A tiny dot of white light began to grow in the distance. She felt oddly drawn to it.
Do not leave me.
Slowly, Inis struggled through the lethargy. Her limbs began to feel heavy once again and she became aware of her heart beating. She opened her eyes slightly for a moment. Hazy figures wavered over her like ghosts in a cemetery on Samhain. Or perhaps the faeries had come to take her to their Otherworld. But she didn’t want to go. There was something she had to do… She couldn’t remember what…
Hold on, my love.
“Inis. Can you hear me?”
The voice sounded vaguely familiar.
“Inis, open your eyes again.”
She felt them flutter of their own accord. This time, the wobbly figures settled in place as her vision cleared somewhat. Her gaze drifted from one to the other. Alex. The physician. Mrs. Bradley, Mrs. Olsen, and Elsie.
“My…head…hurts.”
“Thank God,” Alex said.
Inis frowned. “Ye are glad my head hurts?”
“No. I mean, yes.” Alex then quickly added, “If it hurts, it means you are alive. I thought…that is…”
“We are glad you are finally awake,” Mrs. Bradley said.
“What…happened? I doona remember…”
“The bump on your head must have been worse than I surmised,” the doctor said. “When you said you didn’t lose consciousness after your fall from the horse yesterday, I thought you would just have a bad bruise” He paused and looked thoughtful. “There is a theory, not proven, that the brain can swell and cause the patient to lose consciousness hours later. That must have been what happened to you.”
“Will Inis be all right now?” Alex asked.
“I hope so,” Dr. Baxter replied. “As I said, we know very little about these things.” The physician reached for his bag and stuffed a few items into it. “Sitting up might help.”
Alex took a look at the one straight-backed chair and grimaced. “Have Evans bring something comfortable in here,” he said to Mrs. Bradley.
Inis started to push herself up, but the room began to spin. Alex moved quickly to lift her. Keeping one arm behind her back, he plumped pillows behind her. “That will do until another chair gets here.”
“Thank ye.”
Alex seemed reluctant to release her, and she didn’t want to let go, but as the room stopped moving, her mind cleared, too. Besides the people in the room, several of the maids hovered in the hallway. She put her hands in her lap, and Alex straightened as though he were suddenly aware of their audience, too.
Alex looked at the group. “Mrs. Olsen, would you please fetch some broth? And I suspect the maids need to get back to work as well?”
“Of course. Right away.”
Inis turned to Dr. Baxter as the room and hallway cleared. “Ye must think I am the most accident-prone person ye ever met. First the spider bite, then falling down the stairs, now this. I doona ken what is wrong with me.”
“Most of my accident-prone patients simply require smelling salts.” The physician smiled at her. “In spite of the incidents, you have a rather hardy constitution, Miss O’Brien.”
“’Tis what my father used to say.” Inis turned to Alex. “I would like to see Goldie later today.”
He frowned. “I do not know—”
“She’ll think I am angry with her if I doona talk to her.”
