“I will do what I can,” he said once more.
His brother held out his hand, and Ash found himself gripping it.
“Thank you for what you are doing,” Gus added. “It is a good thing.”
“You know what Radcliff looks like, Gus?”
His brother nodded.
“He would be a fool to climb Raven Mountain, but in case he does, be alert.”
“I will, and stay safe, brother.”
Ash rolled out of the courtyard with Baron behind him. He saw the house that he knew was Oaks Knoll below as they neared the bottom, the Sinclair family home that had been bequeathed to them along with the title many years ago.
They reached the beginning of the road into the village and stopped at the barricade. Two carts blocked the entrance. Two men stood on them, armed.
“We are here from the castle,” Ash said, holding out the note James had handed him. He hoped someone could read it.
One man took it and flicked his eyes to Baron before looking down at the paper. After reading it he said, “Let them through.”
Compared to the last time they had been in the village, it was eerily quiet. People came out of houses to look at them as they rolled by, but did not step from their doorways. He saw the fear on their faces. Ash raised a hand, and they returned the gesture but there were no smiles accompanying it.
If the fever took hold, it could kill many who lived here. It had once nearly killed him.
Looking at the church, he watched Dorset run out the door and leap off the top step. She sprinted down the street toward him holding her skirts. Pulling his horse to a stop, Ash leapt down and went to meet her.
“What’s happened?” he said as she shrieked for him to stop.
She held out her hands as she stopped before him, with the ugly little black dog with the bulbous eyes on her heels. “What are you doing here? You must leave at once. Did the castle not receive word?” She had her hands on his chest and was pushing him back. Ash held his ground.
“I have had scarlet fever, Dorset. As has Baron. We have supplies from the castle.”
Her face was pale, hair a mess. The fingers she had pressed to his chest curled around the edges of his overcoat as if she wanted him to stay, even though she’d asked him to go.
“You have?”
“We have.” Ash put his hands over hers. He’d meant to lift them from his body, but instead he cupped them.
Her body sagged with relief. “Well then, I am pleased to see you, Ash. So pleased.”
“I know you have had scarlet fever also, Dorset. But if you get exhausted, there is every chance you can contract it again. You must care for yourself also.”
“There are so many sick already.” The words were a whisper.
“And there will be many more. Your family told me that I must make sure you and Essex rest. That you will work yourself to the bone to ensure the village is cared for. But you cannot do this, or you will be of no help.”
“We are not fools, my sister and I, Ash. We know what must be done.” His words had stiffened her backbone.
“And you’ve nursed an entire village with scarlet fever before, have you?”
“The entire village does not have it,” she snapped back.
She slid her hands from beneath his, and he felt the loss of their warmth and called himself every kind of fool for doing so. She then took two steps back and inhaled a deep breath.
They stared at each other. That face, Ash thought. It made him feel uncomfortable. Like he had indigestion.
“Dorrie, it will be all right.” Ash felt the need to comfort her.
