Chapter 19
W
“Having Anna near, and not only near but to be engaged to her? For the first time since Garrett moved to London, I’m feeling sorry for myself, and I can’t let anyone see it.
“So I will let them see only how happy I am to be with her again, because that emotion is just as real as my self-pity but much more pleasant.”
When I reached the top of the stairs moments after leaving Julia on the main floor, Maren was standing in the corridor, wringing her hands. I stopped. “What is it?”
“It’s your mother.” She glanced at Mama’s door. “She’s fallen ill. I was on my way to come find you.”
I started toward her bedroom door with a sour taste in my mouth but then stopped. “Does David know?”
She shook her head. “I only just went in to see about helping her dress for dinner. She was in bed, her skin raging with heat.”
“Will you tell him for me, please?” I was going to need him. Ever since Papa passed away, even the slightest illness could make me tremble. And based on Maren’s concern, Mama’s fever wasn’t slight.
Maren nodded and ran down the stairs. I dashed to Mama’s room and pushed open the door to find her in her nightdress, pale and sallow.
She’d eaten breakfast with us, but I hadn’t seen her after that.
I’d been so busy with the orchard and my plans with Julia that I hadn’t even noticed her absence.
She’d been careful to give David and me privacy over the past week and a half, and I’d grown accustomed to not seeing her for long portions of time.
My steps slowed once inside her room. “Mama?” I whispered.
She didn’t move. I quickened my pace, dropping to my knees and placing a hand on her forehead.
Her skin was indeed raging, just as Maren had said. Not only that, but it felt lax and dry too. I glanced at Mama’s bedside table and reached for the glass of water that sat there.
“Mama?” I asked again, this time louder. Her eyelids fluttered open for a moment, but she didn’t speak. “I’m going to give you some water.”
Her head lifted slightly, and even that small movement gave me some comfort. I put the glass to her lips, and she drank a few small sips, spilling almost as much as made it down her throat.
Footsteps sounded behind me, but I didn’t turn. I knew the sound of David’s boots. None of the servants were as noisy when they made their way through the house.
He came up beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve told Maren to send for James.”
Right. The friend David had planned to move in with was the town doctor.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice unsteady. Mama was almost never sick.
Over the past few years, I’d found her in bed, overwhelmed with indecision about what to do with our lives, but rarely with anything like this. “I saw her this morning. How . . . ?”
“Sometimes these things come on quickly. James will be here soon. He is an excellent doctor; he will know what to do.”
Soon was a relative term, especially when worried about a loved one. While we waited, David quietly stood by my side, asking the servants to bring water and fresh bed linens. By the time the doctor arrived, I’d bathed Mama’s head and removed the heavy quilt she’d had over her.
David greeted his friend, who was younger than I would have thought, based on David’s recommendation of him.
I had a vague memory of David saying James’s father had been the town doctor before him, so perhaps James grew up learning by his father’s side.
James shook David’s hand quickly, called him by his Christian name, and came to Mama’s bedside.
James met my eyes. “I’m Dr. Clarke, a good friend of the family.” His brown eyes were full of kindness, but they gave me only a quick glance before he turned to Mama and opened his bag.
“Thank you for coming, Doctor,” I said.
He nodded, removing a stethoscope from his bag. I stood up and stepped back to allow Dr. Clarke to do his work. David took my hand and squeezed it tightly.
Fevers were unforgiving things.
Papa had been hale and hearty one day, then down in his bed the next. He didn’t leave his bed alive. My breathing started coming quicker, and David released my hand and put his arm over my shoulders. I turned my face into his neck and struggled in vain to hold back a sob.
His hand stroked my hair, warm and comforting. “She is going to be well, Anna. James and his father have been treating my family for years. You won’t find a better man, not even in London.”
I nodded into his neck with a sniff, but I couldn’t say anything. I was making a fool of myself. We hadn’t even heard what the doctor had to say. Perhaps the fever would be a quick one. Perhaps even now, she was starting to recover.
But as much as I wanted to gird myself and be strong, I couldn’t. If I lost Mama and David sent me away, I would be alone in the world. Completely alone.
Dr. Clarke cleared his throat softly, and David tugged lightly on my shoulder. I took a deep breath, wiped my eyes, and turned to face the doctor.
His eyes were fixed on David. Even when I turned to fully face him, he didn’t glance at me.
After a moment, he did look back down at Mama though.
“As you have most likely already discovered, your guest has a fever. Her pulse is strong, and the water and bathing should help bring the fever down. I assume Mrs. Ward still has my father’s mustard plaster recipe?
” David nodded. “Her lungs are clear now, but if she starts having any trouble breathing, have Mrs. Ward make the salve and apply it to her chest.”
“Is there anything else we can do?” I asked.
His eyes flicked to mine, then quickly to David’s arm draped over me.
He shook his head but gave me a kind smile.
“Her fever is high, but most fevers pass within a few days. As long as she is able to eat and drink and her breathing remains stable, she should recover. The lady is your mother, I presume?”
David stiffened, and the doctor’s reticence to look me in the eye suddenly became clear.
In the rush to have Mama examined, no one had introduced us.
David had wanted our marriage to remain a secret, and apparently, it had, even from the man he was planning on living with before we’d decided to marry.
“James,” David started. “I’m sorry. I’ve been remiss. The woman you have just treated is Mrs. Atwood. And her daughter”—he tightened his hold upon me— “is my wife, Mrs. Anna Tate.”
Dr. Clarke’s eyes widened, and his mouth broadened into a smile.
He strode forward and clapped David on his shoulder.
“I’m happy to hear it.” He turned to me, his eyes no longer guarded but shining.
“I wish we had met under better circumstances, Mrs. Tate. But I assure you, your mother, though very sick, should come out on the other side of this with no complications.”
I forced my lips into a smile. His words were a comfort to me, and his instant joy for David made me like him even more. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“Call me James. David always does.”
It was a strange thing, to call this man, who was probably only a few years my senior, by either Doctor or James. But I nodded. “Thank you, James.”
Dr. Clarke left a few more instructions for the staff, then David pulled him aside, no doubt to ask him not to mention our marriage to anyone in town.
Dr. Clarke’s eyes flashed to mine just once, but then he nodded in understanding.
If he thought it was strange that David would want to keep our marriage a secret, he didn’t show it.
David left with the doctor, and I spent the next few hours at Mama’s side, listening to her breathing and rewetting the towel on her head. David checked in on us several times, but each time, I quickly sent him away with a task. I wanted to care for Mama as much as I could on my own.
The sun was down, and the room dark, save for one solitary candle, when David returned again. “How is she doing?” he asked, taking in my position, curled up on the floor at the side of her bed.
“Much the same.”
“James seemed to think she would be like this for at least few days. Before he left, he made me promise to make certain you slept.”
I sighed, not ready to stand. I must look a disaster. My dress was crumpled, and my hair had several pins loose. I felt like I needed to sleep for a week. My knees ached, and I had a dull pain in my skull. “I’ll try. I’m sorry Dr. Clarke learned of me.”
A cloud covered David’s face. “I’m not.”
“But . . .”
“James is a close friend. I should have invited him over sooner to meet you. He won’t spread any rumors.”
“Our marriage isn’t a rumor.” My headache along with the hours of worrying after Dr. Clarke left made me less careful with my words. I needed sleep and a warm, thick blanket.
David strode to Mama’s bedside and knelt. “I know it isn’t, but—” His hand settled on mine, and he paused. His eyebrows furrowed, and he took my hand in both of his. “Anna, your skin.”
I closed my eyes, letting the pain in my head settle in. “I think I’d better go to bed.”
David’s arm was immediately around my waist. I tried to push him away.
I was definitely going to be ill, but I could walk to my room.
His arm only tightened around me while his other arm slid under my legs.
He lifted me to his chest as if it took no effort.
He was so warm, and I was chilled to the bone from lying on the floor.
This was an easy fight to lose. I grabbed the collar of his shirt, and with a deep sigh, I rested my head in the crook of his neck. He strode out of the room.
“Will you make certain Mama is cared for?” I asked.
“Of course.” His voice was the most reassuring sound. I hadn’t wanted to admit I was starting to feel ill. For so many years, if I’d gotten sick, I wouldn’t have had anyone to care for Mama. But once again, David was proving my life was better with him in it.