“I will come back tomorrow,” I said as I rose from the bed. “But you can send for me before that.”
Now it was her turn to pretend. “I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry.”
I looked back at her and forced a smile. “I won’t.”
Hopefully, we could both be more truthful tomorrow.
My mind was so preoccupied, as I stepped into the hall, that it was several moments before I glanced over and noticed Mr. Dorian sitting in a chair opposite the bedroom.
I blinked in shock. “You’re still here.”
He immediately came to my feet. “Have you sent for the doctor yet?”
“Mrs. Reynolds says there is no need,” I explained. “And I trust her judgement.”
Mr. Dorian watched me with that inscrutable gaze I had never quite been able to decipher. “Your sister was with child then?”
I glanced away with a nod. “It was very early, but yes. Mrs. Reynolds says she can care for her.”
Mr. Dorian was silent for a long moment. “I am sorry. How is she?”
“As well as can be expected under the circumstances.”
“And you?”
I turned to him then, surprised. “I’m relieved she is well.”He continued to watch me expectantly, but there was nothing more to say. I raised an eyebrow.
“I just thought … you seemed …”
“What?” I said sharply. This dithering wasn’t like him.
He pursed his lips and gave me a pained look. “You seemed greatly disturbed.”
I could only stare back at him. “Well, of course. She is my sister.”
He took a step closer to me. “I know,” he said gently, lowering his voice. “But it was more than that. The look in your eyes, Minnie.” I sucked in a breath as he said my name again. “It was like you were haunted.”
I turned away again. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s fine,” he said quickly, and an absurd feeling of disappointment fluttered my chest. “I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Yes,” I said with a firm nod. “I am. It happened a long time ago,” I added before I could think better of it. “And it isn’t exactly an uncommon experience.”
“That doesn’t make it easier to deal with,” he said after a moment. There was a note of sorrow in his voice I hadn’t noticed before, and I faced him as understanding dawned.
“You’ve dealt with this before, haven’t you?” He gave a stiff nod. “Your wife?”
Mr. Dorian’s eyes widened in surprise. “God, no.” Then he immediately sobered. “My mother. She began bleeding one afternoon. It couldn’t be stopped. Death took them both.”
My heart broke for him in that moment. “I’m very sorry. How terrible that must have been for you. And your family.”
He gave a halfhearted nod. “My father never recovered.”
And you?
But I didn’t have the chance to ask the question as we were both distracted by the sound of someone shuffling down the hall towards us.
I looked past Mr. Dorian to see my father in his dressing gown, white hair askew. I had never seen him in such a state.
