Page 38 of A Governess' Unbridled Passion
“Typical of you, Miss Alice,” Clara said, determined to get her into the bed and warmed up. “Here you are, shivering so hard that your teeth rattle, and all you can think of is the child.”
Alice allowed Clara to help her put a nightdress on. It felt soft and warm, and as the housekeeper laid her back on the bed, she wrapped the cosy blankets around her body.
“Stop worrying over the child. The sooner you’re better, then you can go and see to her for yourself,” Clara said, smiling down at Alice as she lay on her pillow. “Get yourself some sleep now. The child’s in good hands, thanks to you.”
Alice didn’t have the strength to argue with her friend as she closed her eyes and drifted into a welcoming sleep.
Chapter 20
Alice could feel someone shaking her shoulder, pulling her out of a wonderful dream. She’d wanted to stay in her dreamworld where Phillip was kissing her naked legs ... and his lips felt soft and …
“Miss Alice, wake up my dear,” the voice called in her head. “I have some hearty hot soup for you. It’s what you need to get back on your feet.”
Alice opened one eye and could see Clara lighting a candle lamp.
“What time of day is it?” Alice asked, her voice grating with the strain of using her vocal cords. “Oh, my goodness! Lady Beatrice?” Alice blurted out as she shot upright in her bed. “How is she? I must go to her,” she said with panic, moving the blanket away.
“No, you will do no such thing,” Clara said firmly. “Get yourself back under those blankets and eat something. That’s what the doctor’s ordered for you, my girl.”
“Please, Clara, tell me what ails Lady Beatrice. I must know?” Alice questioned, wanting desperately to get to see her charge.
“I can tell you that her fever’s down,” the housekeeper shared the good news. “Mr Lewis is to stay in the manor house overnight to be on hand should we need him. The storm hasn’t quite left us yet, so it was agreed. That means, as a governess, you will not be required yet.”
Alice sighed, collapsing back on her pillow. “But I am quite well; I should be with her.”
“Lord Phillip hasn’t left her side, and Betsy is seeing to Lord Jacob, so you can take a step back for a short while,” Clara insisted as she took to a chair.
“Now eat up. The doctor came in to see you. He instructed me that you need to be drinking plenty and eating something warm. You will do as he’s advised. If you don’t, it will only delay getting out of bed.”
Alice took a sip of the hot chicken soup, realising that she was hungry. “This is delicious,” she said, going to break off a piece of bread.
“Good. There’ll be no reason for leaving any then,” Clara insisted, staring at Alice to make sure she ate up every drop of soup and every crumb of bread.
“You say that Lord Phillip is by her side?” Alice asked, finishing off the last drop of soup.
“Aye, he was until around dinner time,” Clara explained. “Mr Lewis is dining with him, and it’s a great relief that the physician will be on hand overnight if you ask me.”
“Why do you say that?” Alice asked, holding her piece of bread in the air as she panicked again. “Does he suspect typhoid?”
“He hasn’t mentioned that, but who knows? If the girl takes a turn for the worse, or you for that matter, he’ll be around,” Clara said.
“As it happens, Clara, I am already feeling much better from my sleep and the food,” Alice said, managing a half smile.
Clara stood up to take the tray from her lap, “Good, then it won’t harm you to get some more sleep,” she ordered. “Back into your blankets with you, Miss Alice. I don’t want to see those teeth rattling like they did ever again. You had me in such a panic.”
Alice didn’t mind laying back down under the blankets; the warmth was most welcome after what she’d experienced in the storm.
“Thank you so much for looking after me, Clara,” she said. “You are a good friend. But promise me that if Lady Beatrice takes a turn for the worse, you will wake me?”
Clara smiled down at Alice, stroking the loose blonde hair from her face.
“I know a kind person when I meet one, my dear, and you deserve to be taken care of for a change,” Clara said, blowing out the lamp. “You will be the first to know should there be any changes in the girl.”
Alice snuggled into her soft blankets, not minding being left in the dark. It soothed her mind, helping her to put all thoughts of the storm aside. She still worried for Lady Beatrice but knew that while the girl slept, she would not notice the absence of her governess.
* * *
Alice dreamed that she was lying underneath a willow tree. She felt annoyed, though because the branches kept tickling her cheeks. No matter how hard she pushed them away, they came back again.
