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Asher appeared to ponder that for a moment. “Where’s Mrs. Hunt?”

Before Jane could reply, there was a soft knock on the door, and it opened a crack. The maid, Louisa, popped her head around the door, and when she saw that they were awake, she pushed it open more fully and stepped inside.

“Good morning, Miss Hadford.” She bobbed a brief curtsy. “Mrs. Hunt asked me to check on you, to see if you’d like some breakfast brought up.”

“That would be lovely,” Jane said.

“Very good, miss. I’ll have it here in a jiffy.”

“When you see her, would you ask Mrs. Hunt about her salve for Asher’s head?” Jane said. “He’s ready for some more of her magic potion.”

“Of course, miss.”

“Thank you, Louisa.”

The maid disappeared, and Asher studied the closed door with a puzzled expression. “Where did she go?”

“To bring us some breakfast,” Jane said. “Would you like that?”

Asher’s face lit up. “Spiced buns?”

She ran her hand softly around his cheek. “It may not be spiced buns today, but I am sure Lord Bloxley’s cook will send up something very tasty.”

“Tasty,” Asher said, sitting up straight and studying the door with more intensity. “Is tasty good?”

“Yes.” Jane laughed. “Tasty is very good.”

Jane was proven right less than ten minutes later, when Louisa and another maid, whom Jane had not seen before, arrived with two trays full of eggs and bacon and freshly made muffins dripping with butter. Asher dug in with alacrity.

“I like tasty,” he announced after only three bites of his muffin.

Jane smiled, grateful that his fall had not seemed to have adversely affected his appetite. “I do too,” she said.

Not long after the breakfast trays had disappeared, and about the time that Jane was beginning to wonder how she could possibly entertain Asher any longer, the sounds of voices and footsteps reached her from the passageway. Asher’s ears perked up at the unusual ruckus, and he hurriedly crawled back from the corner of the bed, where he’d been counting knots on the bedpost, to curl up beside Jane.

A knock sounded on the door, and Mrs. Hunt entered carrying a bowl of her salve. “Good morning, Miss Hadford,” she said. “I’ve brought some more sal—” She caught herself and glanced at Asher. “Some magic potion for young Asher. And your family has arrived to see you.”

Knowing that Asher would feel overwhelmed by a large crowd, Jane thought it prudent to have the housekeeper apply the salve before everyone entered. “Would you apply it right away, Mrs. Hunt?”

“Of course, miss.” She approached the bed, and Asher eyed her guardedly.

“Lie down right next to me, Asher,” Jane said. “It will take only a moment for Mrs. Hunt to put more magic potion on your head.”

Warily, the little boy did as she asked, his eyes following Mrs. Hunt’s every move as she dipped her hand in the bowl and leaned over him with the white paste on her fingertips.

“That’s the way,” Mrs. Hunt said as she applied a liberal amount to his wound. “A few more days, young man, and you’ll be feeling grand again.”

Asher remained mute, but he pressed his small body a little closer to Jane’s.

Jane took his hand. “Thank you, Mrs. Hunt.”

“I’m glad it seems to be doing the trick, miss. Shall I send your family in now?”

“If you would,” Jane said.

Mrs. Hunt walked across the room and opened the door wide. “Miss Hadford is ready to see you now,” she said, standing aside as first Jane’s mother, then Phoebe and Aunt Millward entered the room.

“Jane!” Her mother hurried across the room to Jane’s bedside. “We have all been so worried. How are you feeling?”