“I’m sorry.” The tears started to come, and the girl’s knuckles were white against the brick. “All of a sudden, my feet went numb.I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t feel anything when I took a step.”
Amelia climbed on top of the desk, and when she risked a look down, her fear doubled. Oh, dear God, if she made a single misstep, she would die.
Don’t think of that, she warned herself. Instead, she focused her attention on Christine’s pale face. The girl was shaking, and Amelia ventured onto the roof, keeping to her hands and knees for balance.
“I’m going to help you get back inside,” she said. Her words were calm, belying her own dread. “I want you to try and sit on the walkway.”
“I’m afraid,” Christine sobbed. “Why can’t I feel my legs?”
Amelia didn’t answer, but kept all her attention on reaching the girl. “Don’t worry about that now. I’m going to help you back inside first.”
Silent prayers rose up inside her when she finally was able to touch Christine’s hand. “Can you crawl forward?”
“I don’t know,” she wept. “I might fall. I don’t want to die.”
“That won’t happen,” she promised. Though inwardly Amelia wanted to join the girl in her tears, she had to be strong. “I’m going to crawl behind you, and I’ll make sure you don’t fall when you move back inside.” Blood pulsed hard within her veins, but she forced back the fear. “Don’t move.”
It was awkward, trying to crawl around Christine on the narrow walkway leading to the roof, but she managed. Only when she was seated behind the girl did she coax her to crawl forward.
One of Amelia’s legs dangled down the side of the roof, and if she leaned too far to the right, she would tumble to her death.
God help us both, she prayed. Once, Christine’s knees swayed, and Amelia grabbed the girl by the waist to steady her. “It’s all right,” she soothed. “We’re almost there.”
The last three minutes seemed to become an hour, and Amelia could hardly breathe until Christine reached the window. Only when they were both safely inside did she allow her own tears to fall.
The girl launched herself into Amelia’s arms and sobbed out her relief. “I’m so, so sorry for what I did. I should never have walked out alone.”
Amelia hugged the girl back, and at the moment, she wasn’t certain if she could take a single step of her own. “I think we both should have a cup of chocolate right now. With the biggest slice of cake Mrs. Larson can find for us.” She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Are your legs any better?” It was then that she realized that Christine was still holding on to her for balance.
Her stepdaughter shook her head. “I can’t feel my feet or my ankles.”
Amelia kept her arm around the girl’s waist. “Can you walk at all?”
“I can. But it feels so strange.” She leaned against Amelia, her feet shuffling along the floor. “I’ve never felt like this before.”
An awful premonition struck Amelia, and though she put on a brave face for the girl, inwardly she was shaking. It wasn’t right for her to be unable to feel anything in her legs, and her stepdaughter needed to see a doctor.
Her sister Juliette’s husband, Dr. Paul Fraser, was a skilled physician as well as the Viscount of Falsham.Hewould know what to do, and she trusted him far more than anyone here. She decided to write to him today and ask him to come and look at Christine. Thankfully, Castledon was only a few days’ journey from Edinburgh. She felt confident that Dr. Fraser would know what to do if something was wrong.
“I’m going to send for the best doctor I know,” Amelia reassured her stepdaughter. “But I don’t want you to worry. It mightbe some lingering problems from your cold. Your body may be overtired.”
Christine gripped her harder around the waist as they went down the attic stairs together. “What if it isn’t? What if I’m going to die, just as my mother did?”
“I don’t think it’s as bad as all that,” Amelia soothed. “And Dr. Fraser is the best physician I know. He’s married to my sister Juliette.”
Her stepdaughter said nothing more as they returned downstairs. True to her word, Amelia ordered Mrs. Larson to fetch them a pot of chocolate, as well as cake for their tea. Although Christine was able to walk, she seemed unsteady on her feet. When they reached the parlor, the girl sank gratefully into a chair.
When Mrs. Larson returned with a tray containing a pot of chocolate, sponge cake, and plum preserves, she fussed over the pair of them. “Now, now, my lamb. Ye look as if ye’ve seen a ghost! Puir child, have some cake to put the roses back in yer cheeks.”
Christine brightened a little. After the housekeeper left the room, she leaned in toward Amelia. “She’s not at all like Mrs. Menford.”
“Thank goodness.” Amelia added a nip of sugar to her cup, then took a sip of the creamy chocolate. “Perhaps she might convince your housekeeper to mend her ways.”
Christine took a spoonful of plum preserves and cake. From the way she was shifting her feet, Amelia knew the numbness hadn’t ceased. “Mrs. Menford has been here for as long as I can remember. Even when my mother was alive.” There was a trace of guilt, as if the girl didn’t want the housekeeper to leave.
“I will allow her to stay,” Amelia said. “But only if she obeys my orders.”
Christine picked at her cake and ventured, “I wasn’t very kind to you when you arrived. I was angry that my father married you when I’d never seen you before.”
