Chapter Twenty-Three
Her head ached.Jenny opened her eyes. She’d never been in this bedchamber before. Gold silk tented above her, the damask bed hangings drawn back from the ornately carved four poster. The walls were an intricate pattern of gold and blue, the carpet like thick cream, a swathe of gold silk dressed the windows.
Confused, she closed her eyes again. The image of a rider falling from his horse brought her up on her elbows with a gasp, before she sank down again, trembling. Wisps of recollection jostled in her brain. Was it the duke? Had Von Bremen shot him? That His Grace might have been hurt, or worse, brought tears to her eyes. She had the strangest dream. The duke had spoken to her. “Jenny, sweetheart, don’t die, I couldn’t bear it.” His urgent voice came out of a fog which hid his face from her, yet she knew he was close, because she was held snug and safe in his arms. She frowned. Was it a dream?
The door opened, and a woman entered, dressed in unadorned gray linen, her brown hair pulled severely back from her face. She crossed to the bed with a look of inquiry. “You’re awake, then, Miss Harrismith. You gave everyone quite a turn.” She stood before the bed, hands clasped at her waist, her brown eyes stern. “I am the nurse, Miss Green.”
“How do you do, Miss Green.” Jenny wanted to ask about the duke, but feared it would come out wrong somehow. That this stringently observant woman might suspect she cared too much. “How are the children?” Jenny attempted to sit up again, but her head still spun, and she lay down, grateful for the soft pillows.
“Perfectly well, but demanding to see you. When you’ve recovered, I shall permit it.”
“I’m quite recovered and should like to see them now,” Jenny said. “Do you know who brought me here?”
“I’m told it was the duke. But servants are inclined to speculate. They say His Grace entered the house with you in his arms.” She looked faintly disapproving, whether of the servants, or her, or indeed, her employer, Jenny wasn’t sure. And neither did she care. The duke was alive! Was it as she remembered? His strong arms around her, his clean manly smell, being carried light as a feather, her fears falling away. But the rest of it, his passionate words, were they real, too? Dare she hope he cared for her? Or should she protect her heart from a foolish dream? Who knew what tricks the mind could play on one?
At the fireplace, Miss Green pulled the bell sash. “You will wish for tea, and something to eat.”
“Thank you, I would appreciate a hot drink. How long have I been here?”
“I arrived two days ago when everyone was in a fluster over the accident. The housekeeper took me straight to the nursery. My time has been taken up with the children, who want for discipline, and the nursery, which has required my attention to set it in order.”
“They are beautifully behaved children, and have suffered a shock,” Jenny said, frowning at the woman. She ignored Miss Green’s suggestion that the nursery required ordering. It hardly mattered. “His Grace wasn’t hurt was he?” She needed to be sure.
“I don’t believe so. Why would he be?”
“I’m a little confused.”Who had been shot and fell from his horse if it wasn’t His Grace?She wondered just how much the staff had been told. Fortunately, Miss Green displayed little interest in probing her for information about her apparent accident.
She must eat to gain her strength and assume her duties. Jenny cautiously pushed herself up on the pillows. Her head no longer spun, but still ached, and her chin hurt most dreadfully. She touched it gingerly and then discovered another sore spot on the back of her head. How did that happen? She must have fallen onto the rocks. “Some bread and cheese would be welcome, thank you.”
Miss Green shook her head as if Jenny was one of her charges. “Something more substantial than that, I should think. You’ve barely eaten a mouthful since the day before yesterday.”
Jenny seemed to remember someone assisting her to drink a little broth, but had no idea who it was.
George answered the bell. “The servants have been worried about you, Miss Harrismith. I trust you’re well now?”
It surprised her, did the staff really care? “I am rallying, thank you, George, but there are gaps in my memory.”
“The house is abuzz, but no one knows for sure what happened. I imagine His Grace will tell you more although he is about to depart for London with Baroness Eisenberg. His Grace asked to be advised when you had awakened.”
The baroness! How foolish to have forgotten. She would be greatly distressed by her brother’s wicked behavior. And naturally, His Grace would be there to comfort her. So very foolish of her to forget the elegant, beautiful, woman. “Oh wait, George. I must tell him…” She put a hand to her head finding it hard to think through the pounding of her temples. “I’m sure there’s something I must tell him.”
“Best give yourself time, Miss Harrismith. The body has to heal.” The Nurse turned briskly to address George. “Miss Harrismith requires hot water, tea, and a light meal, I recommend coddled eggs.”
After George left them, Miss Green smoothed the bedcover and arranged Jenny’s pillows. Then she brought Jenny a mirror and comb from the bureau. “Now I must return to my charges.”
How efficient she was. Jenny hoped she would become more congenial on further acquaintance. It was important for the children to warm to her. “Of course, please tell them I miss them and bring them to see me soon,” she said faintly, resisting the urge to leave the bed and dress. Her limbs seemed to have turned to lead.
With a brisk nod, Miss Green left the room. If she’d been surprised to find Jenny in one of the guest bedchambers, she hadn’t revealed it.
The cozy bedchamber in the nursery was now Miss Green’s. Jenny would no doubt return to her old attic room. She should not be here in this luxurious bedchamber as if a guest of the family. She held up the mirror, and gazed at the unsightly purple bruise on her chin, where Von Bremen hit her. Grimacing, she ran the comb gently through her tangled tresses, trying to avoid the sore spot on her scalp. Her hairpins had vanished, and as she braided her hair what Von Bremen had told her came back in a rush. The duke must learn of it! Had the German escaped? Or was he captured? Could the duke already have learned about the men hiding in the tavern in Seven Dials? Von Bremen confessed it all to her because he intended to kill her when she was no longer useful to him. She shuddered remembering his mad eyes.
An hour later, after a good wash and a hearty meal of eggs, ham, and bread, washed down with hot tea, she felt considerably better. She was about to throw back the covers and leave the bed when a light tap on the door made her start. “Yes?” She pulled the covers up over her chest, hoping it would be the duke.
Miss Green popped her head around the door. “Shall I send in the children, Miss Harrismith?”
“Please do, Miss Green!”
After the nurse left them, William, and Barbara ran across the carpet. When Jenny patted the bed, they climbed the step and settled beside her. “Are you better now, Jenny?” William asked. “Father said you’d had a fall.”
