“This is Kenna Dunne.” Very carefully, as if she were as delicate as crystal, Rhys helped Kenna unfold her cramping body. He drew up the blanket from the foot of the bed and covered her and then rubbed her abdomen in slow, soothing circles with the palm of his hand.
Polly’s eyes became even rounder in astonishment. “Good Lord.”
“Exactly. Her hair’s been shorn and the color changed, but this undoubtedly is Kenna. Tell me again how she came to be here.”
Polly told him everything of Kenna’s rescue from Mrs. Miller’s while Rhys listened, giving nothing away of his thoughts.
Kenna’s piteous weeping had stopped and Rhys realized she had fallen asleep. “She didn’t recognize me.”
“It’s to be expected,” Polly assured him. “She’s had only one thing on her mind—her medicine, as she was taught to call it. She doesn’t know what’s happening to her. She leaps at shadows and cowers from things only she can see. She can be quiet or violent by turns. The poor dear can’t help herself. It will take time, Rhys.”
“How much?”
“Weeks, perhaps months. Mrs. Miller used a heavy hand when she applied the drug. It might have killed her.”
“She’s out of danger now, isn’t she?”
“I think so. With proper care and eventually some cooperation on her part, she will be fine.”
Rhys stood up, pacing the floor as he came to a decision. “I’m taking her with me, Polly. To Boston. She’ll have those weeks she needs to recover on board ship.”
“Oh, Rhys, how can you do that? Shouldn’t she go to Dunnelly? What of her family?”
Rhys shook his head quickly. “You don’t understand. She’s safer with me. Someone at Dunnelly has been trying to kill her. There is no one I can trust. No one.”
“Surely her brother…”
“No one,” he repeated. “I can be certain of nothing any longer. Everyone thinks she is dead. If I tell them otherwise there may very well be another attempt on her life. I must go to the United States, Polly, and I can’t protect her with an ocean between us. I couldn’t do it when she was nearly in my pocket. I have to take Kenna out of England.”
“It seems so cruel to her family,” Polly said softly.
“It would be cruel to Kenna if I left her behind.”
Polly nodded. “I understand.”
“You must never mention what I’m going to do to anyone.”
“I wouldn’t,” she said, staring at him, hurt by his lack of trust.
“I’m sorry, but not even your girls can know. They must think Diana died. It is the only way to insure her safety. You will be the only person left in England who knows where she is. It has to be that way.”
“How will we get her out of here? And where will she go until you’re ready to leave? You can’t take her to your townhouse if you want this kept secret.”
“No, you’re right. But the ship I am taking to Boston is one of my father’s…one of mine now, I suppose. I can put her aboard the evening before I sail. The crew will not know who she is.”
“Suppose she tells them?”
Rhys was skeptical. “Do you really think in two more days she’ll be able to tell them anything?”
Polly understood his reasoning. “Probably not.”
“Then it’s settled.” He kissed Polly affectionately on the lips. “Can we go to your room? I’d like you to explain everything I must do to assist her recovery.”
Later that afternoon, armed with Polly’s instructions if not her whole-hearted blessing, Rhys began scouring the London shops for the things Kenna would need on the voyage. Clothing was difficult to find. The modistes were anxious to please and nodded gleefully as Rhys described Kenna’s figure. Yes, they had something that would fit such a svelte woman they said. Then Rhys described her height and they blanched. At the end of a long day he had but three changes of clothes for her. To supplement her wardrobe and help her pass the time when she was well, Rhys purchased yards of material. The modistes smiled happily as he chose bolts of silks and satins, velvets and wools, in colors that would complement Kenna’s fair complexion and her red-gold hair when the dye had faded. He picked out a book that pictured the latest fashions and added ribbons, lace, needles, and threads of every conceivable color. He chose stockings and chemises, beautifully fashioned kid slippers and walking shoes, riding boots, shawls, nightgowns and a redingote trimmed with sable, perfect for the cold ocean voyage.
He bought books he thought she would enjoy in the event she wanted nothing to do with him and a chess set in the event she did. He had everything placed in trunks and sent to theCarasea.Exhausted from his tour of London shops, Rhys returned to his townhouse and slept better that night than he had in months.
He visited the Flower House the following day and stayed with Kenna until after midnight. He bathed and fed her, read to her from theGazette,and told her stories from his own imagination. He fought with her, swore at her, and cried when she did. He held her in his arms and stroked her back, teased her curls, and paced the floor when she slept. He thought he had been through everything with her but when he returned in the morning he discovered he had underestimated Kenna Dunne.
