Nathaniel watched Margaret approach. “But a gentleman could feel his honor offended should a friend seduce the woman he loves.” Nathaniel thought back to how Lewis had suddenly begun showering Miss Macy with attention afterhehad begun courting her. Lewis seemed to find other men’s ladies irresistible.
Margaret set down the tea tray and quietly departed.
“Lewis would nev—” Helen stopped abruptly, chuckling without mirth. “I was about to say Lewis would never do such a thing, but of course I know better. Still it shames me to say so while he lies so near death.” She choked back a sob. “How I love him.”
“Of course you do. And so do I. That needn’t mean we are blind to his faults, nor take no recourse against his assailant.”
“But if it was a duel, fought honorably, a jury isn’t likely to convict the gentleman.”
“Duels are illegal, and more than one man has hanged for killing another, duel or no.” Nathaniel added, “There’s something else. I spoke with the groom. He mentioned that Saxby called for his horse just after Lewis left that morning.”
Helen stared at him. “Are you saying you think Mr. Saxby shot Lewis?”
“No... I don’t know. He said he tried to follow Lewis but couldn’t find him so instead rode to Hunton.”
Nathaniel ran a hand over his face. “The valet says the man wore a mask, dressed like a gentleman, and spoke in a pompous accent. So I suppose itmighthave been Saxby, but I find myself wondering whether the man who robbed theEcclesiamight have shot Lewis.”
Helen’s eyes widened. “No.”
Nathaniel shrugged. “He did threaten to come here and ‘rend the place asunder.’ ”
“The duel was held only a few hours after our masquerade ball, remember,” Helen said. “Any number of gentlemen might have worn a mask.”
“I know.”
“Why would that Preston fellow shoot Lewis? And if he did, why bother with a mask?”
“I don’t know,” Nathaniel repeated, exasperated. He expelled a deep breath. “I don’t know what to think.”
Helen said gently, “Until we know more, please don’t report Lewis’s part in this. I don’t want him to face prosecution if...” Her voice broke. “Oh, God, I pray he lives.”
Nathaniel squeezed her hand. “Eventually I shall have to report this to someone in authority, as will Dr. Drummond, most likely. But I shall be careful.”
If only Lewis would wake up. He could name the man and save them all the trouble. If only Lewis would live, this suffocating dread might lift and Nathaniel could breathe easily again.Dear Lord, please let him live.
Mrs. Budgeon had assigned Nora the added duty of attending the sickroom, keeping it tidy, serving meals to the chamber nurse, and delivering trays to the family, who now spent so much time there.
That night, Margaret reached her bedchamber in the attic before she realized she had forgotten to collect the tea things she had delivered to the sickroom a few hours before. She sighed wearily and made her way back downstairs.
On the ground floor, she quietly tiptoed from the stairwell. When she reached the hall, she glanced across it to the library-turned-sickroom. The door was closed. She wondered if Helen and Nathaniel still kept their vigil or if the chamber nurse, Mrs. Welch, had arrived to relieve them. The door opened, and Margaret paused, stepping back into the shadows behind the grand staircase to let the family pass.
A man stepped out and closed the door quietly behind him. In a shaft of moonlight, Margaret saw that it was only Connor, Lewis’s valet, toilet case in hand. Her heart squeezed to see the young man tending his master.
When she stepped into the hall, Connor flinched. “Nora. You startledme.”
“Sorry.” She smiled apologetically, then whispered, “How is he?”
He shook his head. “Still hasn’t woken.”
She pressed his forearm. “You are kind to check on him.”
“That nurse is in there as well. You needn’t bother.”
“I forgot to collect the tea things earlier.”
“Oh.” He nodded his understanding. “I should have done that for you.”
“Isn’t your job. Now get some sleep.”
