Page 30 of Daisy and the Duke
Daisy entered the dark cottage, not questioning Tabitha’s foreknowledge, only grateful for the warm beverage offered to her on such a frosty morning. She blew over the surface of the tea, saying, “Winter’s on its way.”
“Aye, cold dark times coming,” Tabitha agreed, scowling. “Going to be rough for many.”
“Are you worried about the weather?” Daisy asked. “You can always move to the Grange for the season, you know.”
“The weather? Bah! That’s no concern.” Tabitha bustled around the cottage kitchen, putting various dishes in their place. “Now tell me what’s on your mind, Daisy girl.”
“Well, if you remember that February a few years ago, when I came down with that terrible cough? You had some medicines that helped quite a lot.”
“Medicineis too fancy for what I make,” Tabitha objected. “But I do remember the simples I brewed for you and the others that winter. Why? Someone got that sickness so early in the autumn?”
“Not exactly. The duke’s friend had been suffering from an illness for a few months, and he’s got a cough that seems similar. Those drops and the syrup you made would help him.”
“Surely the duke has a high and mighty doctor at his call.”
“That he does. It’s Dr. Stelton from the village, who is very good. But every time I hear Mr. Kemble coughing, it sounds as if he’s dying!” Daisy hoped that was not the case, since Mr. Kemble was such a nice man.
“I happen to have a bottle of syrup and a batch of the drops on hand,” Tabitha announced, a bit smugly.
Daisy had little doubt of it, for Tabitha always planned ahead, and she’d be ready for the very first of the seasonal maladies that plagued the locals in the colder months. “Wonderful! May I take some today? Tell me what you’d like in return and I’ll see that it’s sent over from the Grange.”
“Well, a bottle of wine would be a treat, for that’s a thing I can’t make on my own. But as for payment, Miss Daisy, what I want from you is your word.”
“My word?” she echoed, puzzled by the cryptic request.
“Yes,” the old woman replied, pulling a small dark green bottle out of a cupboard. “I’ll give you the simples to take to this friend of the duke. But in return, you must promise me that when you flee from the Grange, you’ll come here first.”
“Flee the Grange?” Daisy asked, incredulous at the very idea. “Tabitha, what are you talking about? The Grange is my home! I’ll never leave it.”
Tabitha held the bottle close to her chest. “Promise me.”
“Very well, I promise,” Daisy said, mostly to appease the older woman. Perhaps it wasn’t so good for her to be living all alone in the woods. She was growing eccentric. Well,moreeccentric.
“Promise made is a payment paid!” Tabitha said. She held out the bottle and a small paper sack that contained the sweet throat drops that tasted of mint and honey. “See to it that the poor man gets these. By my word, he’ll feel better within hours.”
“I certainly hope so.” Daisy tucked the medicines away in her bag. She finished her tea, telling Tabitha of the ordinary goings-on of the village and the Grange, scrupulously avoiding mention of the duke, since the very thought of him made her heart flutter. Riding with him had been a pleasure, and with Bella and Mr. Kemble close by, it was entirely proper and even felt…familial, which was a novelty for Daisy.
Then she hurried back to the Grange, knowing that she was late for the morning’s chores. But when she returned, the baroness was already awake, looking alert as a hawk in a very fashionable midnight-blue dressing gown.
“Where have you been, Daisy?” Lady Rutherford asked, as she entered the front foyer of the house.
“Just visiting Tabitha,” Daisy explained, putting her bag on the table as she took off her bonnet. “I wanted to get some syrup for Mr. Kemble to help with his cough.”
Lady Rutherford picked up the green bottle, curious. “Is that what this stuff is?”
“Yes, and the paper sack holds candied drops to soothe the throat.”
“Hmmm.” The baroness put the bottle back. “Interesting. But don’t you have some tasks to attend to, Daisy?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Daisy hurried to the kitchen, thinking of the breakfast to prepare.
Later, when she remembered the medicine, she couldn’t seem to find it, and she nearly tore the house apart in her search. How very vexing, to lose something you intended to give to another person!
“It’ll turn up at some point,” she told herself. “Probably someone just misplaced them.”
The next day, Bella and Daisy were invited for a picnic at Lyondale. The duke sent one of his own carriages to pick them up at Rutherford Grange. Daisy was harried, for once again she’d been looking all over the house for the medicines she got from Tabitha, intending to offer them to Kemble on arrival.
“I am so chicken-brained lately,” she huffed out, looking into a kitchen cabinet for the third time. “I swore I put them near the door so as not to forget them, and now I’ve forgot where I put them!”
