I am with child. I need my rest. All will be well with a little sleep.
Chapter Nine
Oliver was worried.He’d only left Kate’s side for a few minutes the previous evening, and she’d somehow ended up in a corner, looking pale and extremely ill. One minute she’d been laughing and joyful, and the next, he’d found her across the room, shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind. She’d denied anything had happened—no one had accosted or frightened her—she’d merely suffered an attack of nausea. It was a normal part of being with child. He’d taken her home at once and given her a tiny drop of laudanum so that she could rest. And he’d called the doctor in the morning, who’d determined that Kate was suffering from exhaustion. Was he to blame? The constant lovemaking since their marriage, the rush and bustle of choosing a new wardrobe, and the stress of being introduced to society as the new Lady Knox. Why had he pushed her so?
With adequate rest, all will be well. There is no need to fret.The doctor had reassured him. Still, he could not help but worry. The incident had brought up painful memories of the past. And he would not survive another loss. He’d finally opened his heart again, and he couldn’t believe how much his life had changed. He had a beautiful wife, and in a few months, he would be a father. The house would be filled with laughter and joy.But every love came with risk, and now he wondered if the risk had been worth taking. If only Kate’s aunt hadn’t returned to Yorkshire. Perhaps, he should send for her again. Kate needed someone—another woman—to watch over her while he was working.
Oliver sat behind his desk and dropped his head in his hands. He had work that needed his attention, but he could not concentrate. His mind kept wandering back to Kate.
A short rap on Oliver’s office door sounded. “Enter,” Oliver said. Normally, he didn’t like to be disturbed while working, but he’d made himself fully available lest Kate needed him.
The door opened to reveal his butler, Moses, in the doorway. “There’s a young lady here who claims to be your cousin, my lord,” Moses said in his pinched, nasal tone.
“My cousin?” Oliver frowned.
“Yes, my lord. She says her name is Emilia Harrington—the sister of one Mathew James Harrington, your deceased heir.”
Oliver’s frown deepened. How odd. He hadn’t even known that Harrington had had a sister. But of course, it was probable. He wondered what she wanted from him.
“Shall I tell her to wait, my lord?”
“No,” Oliver said, curious now. “Show her to my office.”
The butler withdrew and Oliver rubbed the worry from his face and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Then he cleared his throat and sat up straight, awaiting his guest. Oliver stood as the young woman entered his office dressed in black mourning attire. She was a beautiful woman—tall and slim with white-blond hair and icy blue eyes. Oliver thought she looked oddly familiar. But he could not place her.
“Miss Harrington,” Oliver said. “This is a surprise.”
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, my lord.”
“Of course,” Oliver said, inviting her to sit. “Forgive me for asking this, but have we met before?”
“No, my lord. I would have remembered if I’d been introduced to my own cousin.”
“Yes, of course. Forgive me.” Oliver grinned sheepishly. “Tell me, how can I help you?”
“As you know, my brother, your heir, was killed in a carriage accident two months ago.”
“Yes, I was truly sorry to receive the news of his death.”
“What you may not know is that I was in the carriage with him that day.”
“No. I only received news of your brother’s death. I wasn’t informed about the details of the crash. I hope you didn’t suffer any serious injuries.”
“I was extremely lucky. We were both thrown several feet into the air when the carriage overturned and tumbled down a deep ravine. It was smashed to pieces, destroyed beyond recognition. Mathew”—she cleared her throat—“unfortunately, Mathew was killed instantly. I was knocked unconscious but miraculously survived without any broken bones. I believe it took several hours before anyone discovered our carriage as we were traveling in a rather rural area.”
“Good Lord! How awful.”
“Although I have no recollection of walking away from the accident site and stumbling along a country road, I am told that is what happened,” Miss Harrington continued. “Luckily, a farmer and his wife driving by in their cart spotted me in my confused, bloodied state. They took me home and spent several weeks nursing me back to health. When the wreckage was eventually found, Mathew’s mangled body was barely recognizable. But the constable found some of our belongings. My bloodied shawl lay at the scene, along with some of Mathew’s papers, which contained his details and our Yorkshire address. We’d been renting a house there after returning from several years on the continent.”
“Yes, I was told as much.”
“It was from those papers that they were able to identify Mathew. And based on my bloodied shawl, the constable assumed that his companion, me, had been taken by wild animals. He went to our Yorkshire address and met with the landlord who told him that Mathew had lived with his sister, Miss Emilia Harrington. Based on that information and my bloodied shawl found at the scene, the constable declared me dead alongside my brother.”
“Do you mean to say the farmer and his wife carted you away without alerting anyone that you were still alive?”
Emilia nodded. “The kind individuals who saved my life were elderly and reclusive. I said nothing to them about my brother because, at first, I couldn’t remember anything, not even so much as my name. I think because of the impact on my head. Fortunately, that only lasted a few weeks, and eventually I regained my memory and strength and made my way back to Yorkshire. The landlord had all of our belongings, which I suspect he would have sold had it not been for this.” She pulled a folded letter out of his pocket and handed it to Oliver.
Dear Mr. Harrington,
