Her mother hurried back with the cloth and pillow, and gasped at the sight of her husband. “We need the doctor!” she cried in a tone approaching hysteria. “Send one of the boys—tell them to run to town!”
Caroline shared a pointed look with Walsh. “They’re fishing. Remember? They’re not here.”
Walsh stood and brushed the glass shards from his trousers. “I’ll go.”
“My brothers are at the lake on Mitchell Tooley’s property,” Caroline said as she took the small down-filled bolster from her mother and slid under her father’s head. “Find someone to ride out and tell them they’re needed at home.”
“I will.”
Caroline’s mother sank to her knees beside her husband, toweling the sweat from his face and stroking his hair. The color of his skin had turned from pale to ashen. “Don’t leave me, Nelson.”
Oh, Papa.Caroline swallowed against the rising lump in her throat.Please don’t die.
Walsh crouched down and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Just stay with him and keep talking to him. I’ll fetch the doctor and return as soon as I can.”
Caroline watched her father’s chest, marking the rise and fall of his breath, while her mother clutched his hand as if sheer will could tether him to the life they’d built.
“Nelson, please,” her mother begged in a harsh, broken whisper. “Fight. We’ve sent for the doctor. You must hold on till he arrives.”
The weight of her mother’s sorrow threatened to pull Caroline under too, but she couldn’t let it. Someone had to keep a clear head and organize the many tasks that would need doing.
“Mama,” she said softly but firmly, “we must stay calm, both for Father’s sake and our own.”
The yard surrounding them remained perversely pleasant, so achingly beautiful. The floral-scented wind stirred the grass, and birds flitted through the trees, their songs bright and carefree, as if the world hadn’t just come crashing down. It felt wrong—how could the land remain so peaceful when such a hale man lay stricken on the ground?
Minutes passed like hours, dragging so unbearably slow that Caroline expected to see the shadows stretch. She focused on the cadence of her father’s breath, forcing herself to count each one, as if keeping track would keep him from slipping away.
Then, finally—hoofbeats.
She lifted her head as Dr. Hewitt’s carriage barreled up the road, kicking up a cloud of dust. The sense of relief left her boneless, but she fought the temptation to crumple. She couldn’t afford to break, not yet.
The doctor hopped down, black bag in hand. “Mrs. Bennet... Miss Bennet,” he greeted with a quick nod to each. “Mr. Duffy said your husband collapsed. Is that what happened?”
“Yes. Nelson was perfectly fine, sitting here talking with me, and the very next moment, he was stricken. We laid him on the ground and bathed his face with a cloth,” she went on in a tone of frightened desperation, “but it didn’t do any good.”
“You did fine, just fine,” the doctor soothed as he knelt beside them. “I’m here now.”
Her mother frantically glanced around. “Where are my boys?”
“They’ll be here soon. Mr. Duffy rode on to fetch them.”
“Oh, bless him!”
The doctor worked calmly, his hands moving with rote precision, as he checked her father for signs of health and ability. He pulled a stick of polished wood from his bag then placed the flared end against her father’s chest and listened through the other.
A cacophony of hooves sounded in the distance as he put the instrument away, thundering closer and closer until they vibrated the ground.
Her brothers came racing up the drive, their faces tense, and their horses lathered. They swung down and ran to their father.
Caroline gave a brief recount of what had happened, then reached up and took hold of Landon’s hand. “Go stable the horses.” Not only was he the equine expert of the three, he was the most sensitive and the one who would take his father’s infirmity the hardest.
Landon turned a moist gaze on her then walked away and began gathering reins.
Not long after he’d led the last horse away, Walsh arrived in his carriage, worry etched on his face.
The doctor sat back on his heels as Walsh approached. “I need to do a more thorough examination. Bring a sturdy sheet so we can get him inside.”
“I’ll get one,” Knox said.
