“I appreciate the prayers.” He gave a wave as Knickerbacker put his horse in motion and left the Ashton estate.
Turning, Roman stared up at the massive house. His father’s losses no doubt helped to build the place. Anger caused him to tense. In the past, Roman would have accepted it and let it take him into dark brooding, but not this time. The reverend was right. It was time to put such things aside.
“Set me free, Lord,” he whispered. “I give it to You.”
Roman squared his shoulders and went to knock on the door. To his surprise, it opened quickly, and Judith Stanford greeted him.
She smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Dr. Turner. I was wondering how I might get you here, but I wasn’t supposed to say anything.” She paused and laughed. “Here I am rambling. Do come in.”
It was the first time Roman had ever been inside the Ashton house. And even though his aunt Mary had described the wealthy furnishings, Roman was momentarily taken aback.
“It is a bit much,” Judith commented as she followed his gaze.
“Indeed.” Roman looked at her. “I don’t mean to intrude and frankly wouldn’t have come if the Reverend Knickerbacker hadn’t assured me your grandfather is bedbound.”
“Yes, he is. The doctor says his heart is failing him fast.”
“He also told me my aunt is ill. She’s the reason I’ve come. I’d like to see her.”
“Of course. Mary didn’t want me to say anything to you, but she’s suffering with gallbladder difficulties. Apparently, it’s been ongoing for some time now. She said the doctor implied there was nothing to be done, but I thought perhaps you would have a different opinion.”
“I very well may. I’ll have to speak to her first, however.”
Judith smiled. It was such a pretty smile. Her entire face seemed to light up. Why did she have to be an Ashton? He drew in a deep breath and pushed aside the negative thought. He was truly determined to rid himself of this hatred.
“Come along, I’ll take you to her. I commanded her to stay in bed today and tomorrow. I don’t even think she should exert herself to attend church. I have the cook making her chicken broth and milk toast. It seemed the right thing to do, but if you have other suggestions, I can definitely instruct Mrs. Markle to do otherwise.”
“It sounds as though you made good choices.”
Judith headed up the stairs. “She’s on the third floor, so just follow me.”
Roman did exactly that, watching her trim figure move quickly up the stairs. She waited until they were on the third floor to speak again.
“It’s considerably warmer up here. I’ve opened some of the windows to let in the breeze. I hope that wasn’t the wrong thing to do. I was told my grandfather worried about the river air causing the ague.”
“Airing out the place is a good idea. How are you managing the heat?”
“I’m dressing in lighter-weight clothes,” she said, holding her arms out. “As you can see.”
“I haven’t yet been able to find much information on conditions that cause a person to be unable to sweat. Make certainyou drink plenty of fluids and keep a cloth and water available. You should be able to lower your temperature in such a manner. And tepid baths are also quite good.”
“Thank you, I will keep all of that in mind. For now, I’ve also enjoyed sitting beneath the shade trees in the garden. The air there always seems cooler.” She smiled, and Roman momentarily forgot about why he’d come.
“I’ll leave you to visit Mary. I do hope you can help her to feel better,” Judith said, stopping in front of one of the many doors. Roman had to force himself to keep from reaching out to push back an errant strand of her hair.
“She’s just inside. Would you like me to announce you?”
He regained his senses and cleared his throat. “No, that’s all right. Thank you for taking care of her.”
Their gazes locked for a long moment. Roman couldn’t help but remember the feel of her in his arms when she’d fainted. He wanted very much to hold her again. Why couldn’t he just talk to her about his feelings? Did it really have to matter that she was related to James Ashton? It wasn’t as if she had done the harm.
“There’s something I want to say.”
Judith cocked her head slightly to the right. “What is it?”
She sounded just as caught up in the moment as he felt. He started to reach for her, then stopped. This really wasn’t the time or place. Yet how could he let even another moment go by without telling her how he felt?
“I—well, that is—you are—” He stopped and shook his head. “I think the heat is getting to me. I just want to tell you that I have great admiration ... for you.”
