Absolute silence followed that. It probably wasn’t the best time for Raston to wander in and hop onto Alfreda’s lap. Or maybe it was. “Witch” was whispered from more than one direction, but the cook filled two new plates in a hurry and set them on the table. Were all the servants here superstitious? Possibly. But Brooke didn’t want herself and Alfreda to be treated as pariahsifthey were going to be living in this house, so she needed to put the staff at ease.
She tried a simple common courtesy first. “I was very sorry to hear about Lord Wolfe’s sister. When did she die?”
“It was nigh two years ago when it happened and, and—” The girl, named Janie, wiped a tear from her eye before insisting almost angrily, “We don’t speak of Lady Eloise’s death. You’ll need to ask his lordship about that sad matter.”
Brooke wondered why no one would talk about Eloise’s death, but she didn’t press. Maybe the servants didn’t even know the circumstances. But she did wonder why the wolf had waited so long to challenge her brother if his sister died almost two years ago.
Alfreda was quite pleased with the new meal and seemed more relaxed. Perhaps to convince the kitchen staff that she wasn’t a witch she complimented them on the meal and got them talking in a more natural manner after she told a few amusing stories about Leicestershire.
Marsha took to Brooke first, or at least she stopped being so stiff and formal. More comfortable with members of the nobility than the other servants due to her elevated position in the household, she seemed pleased by Brooke’s praise for the cottage pie she’d served them and even laughed when Brooke told a story of her own about her midnight foray to try to get her mare bred when she was only fourteen and how she’d chickened out.
Marsha was Gabriel’s mother and aunt to the young woman Janie. Once Marsha let down her guard, Brooke understood where Gabriel had gotten his chipper, good-humored nature.
Before Brooke and Alfreda left the kitchen, Marsha told her niece, “Go and inform his lordship that I’m feeding his children.”
Confused, Janie pointed out, “But he doesn’t have any.”
“He will one day and he’ll understand. Just tell him.”
Brooke hid a grin. The woman could have just kept it a secret that she’d be feeding them proper meals, but Marsha obviously didn’t fear the wolf. She didn’t appear to fear Alfreda now, either, so Brooke had accomplished at least one goal today.
When they returned upstairs after lunch, they found Gabriel still waiting outside Lord Wolfe’s room. He grumbled to them, “He’s annoyed with me. He won’t let me back in. But now that you’re here, you can help by distracting him so he won’t kick me out again.”
“So he’s sleeping?” Alfreda guessed.
“I doubt it. He’s too stubborn to actually rest. It’s been hell keeping him in that bed, er, beg pardon, ladies, but ithasbeen difficult.”
Since neither Gabriel nor Alfreda appeared to want to open the door to find out if Dominic was awake, Brooke did and entered the room. “Brave, ain’t she?” she heard Gabriel whisper behind her.
It was unnerving to know that even Dominic’s friend could be wary of him. When she peeked into the room’s alcove, she saw that the wolf wasn’t sleeping. His eyes had latched on to her immediately. And narrowed. She still led her little group forward to the bed.
“Mycompanion,” Brooke stressed in the introduction, “Alfreda Wichway.”
“It took youthislong to convince her?” Dominic said to Brooke.
She hadn’t realized that having given her permission to bring Alfreda here, he’d expected them to come back immediately. She took the blame, saying, “No, I wanted to have lunch.”
“So you kept me waiting over a trifle?” Dominic demanded surly.
Alfreda tsked, her own tone not the least bit conciliatory when she said, “She did nothing of the sort. Itdidtake this long for her to convince me. And I am still not convinced. I will look at your wound, though, with your permission.”
He’d just been hit with two salvos, both pointing out that they didn’t like him much. He didn’t say another word, just nodded his head slightly. Brooke suspected he found it galling to be at the mercy of his enemies. He must feel as bad as he looked to agree to this. He probably did think he might be in danger of losing his leg, and thus their help was better than none.
Alfreda only had to glance at the wound to say, “That’s quite a serious inflammation, Lord Wolfe. Your body fights it vigorously, which is why you are feverish and likely feel like hell warmed over.”
He didn’t confirm how he felt and instead asked, “So youarea healer?”
“I’ve never called myself that. I am merely familiar with remedies that have been commonly known since olden days, as are most women who grow up in rural villages. You can continue with the course of treatment your doctor recommended, or I can find an herb that will do the same thing, only quicker.”
Brooke knew that Alfreda didn’t want the people at Rothdale to know they were both prepared for medical emergencies such as this one. That was why Alfreda hadn’t brought her satchel of potions, salves, tools, herbs, and plant cuttings. The less others knew of her healing abilities, the better.
“There’s actually such an herb that grows here?” Dominic asked.
When Alfreda didn’t answer him, Brooke quickly interjected, “I brought some common herbs with me from Leicestershire. One of those may be what she refers to.”
“These will need to be removed,” Alfreda added matter-of-factly, placing a finger near the leeches. “Or we can wait until they fall off. If you’ve been treated with leeches before, you know they will leave tiny wounds that will bleed. They will itch before your bullet wound does. But do not scratch them. Scratching could worsen the inflammation.”
“Stop treating me like a child.” He swiped a hand over his thigh to remove the leeches himself.
