Chapter 20
Thomas kept himself hidden behind the hedges when he heard someone pacing the path on the other side of him.
He knelt in the dirt and tried to keep to himself and be an invisible servant like usual.
He weeded a section of soil and then traced a word in the smooth dirt for Jack to find later on: M-E-A-L.
The steps on the other side of the hedge faltered and then he heard a scream that made his heart stop. He jumped to his feet and ran to see what was happening. It was Lady Lavender, swatting at the air around her blindly until she dropped her fan and began running right toward him.
He caught her mid-flight, panic written across her face.
“A bee,” she gasped. “It stung me!” She started tearing at the bodice of her dress, her hands trembling and unsuccessful in their desperate search. “I need my rose water, Tom!”
“I’m here.” Thomas put his hands under hers and felt for something, anything to let him know where the rose water was hidden.
His knuckle hit on something hard near her side and he finally found the opening of a hidden pocket to pull out a small glass vial.
“Where were you stung?” His heart pumped wildly,
“They won’t leave me alone!” she shrieked, swatting at the air around her face.
Thomas didn’t see any more bees, but she wasn’t settling, and she hadn’t heard his question. She needed to be somewhere she felt safe. He pocketed the rose water, scooped her up in his arms, and jogged to the back door of the house, adrenaline coursing through his body like a rushing river.
Mrs. Bitters jumped at his entrance. “Tom, what is the meaning of this?”
“I need your help.” He set Lady Lavender down on the empty kitchen table.
One look at her collar bone had him starting to shake himself.
The skin was angry red and swelling up visibly.
“She was stung.” He fumbled around in his pocket until he could retrieve the vial.
“She told me she needs this on her sting.”
Mrs. Bitters sent someone to fetch the duchess while she wiped her hands on her apron. “Let’s take a look.” She bustled over to the table where Lady Lavender was breathing in shallow bursts, tears escaping the corners of her pinched eyes. “Oh my.”
Thomas unstopped the vial and Mrs. Bitters tried to hold Lady Lavender still while he poured a few drops over the red area with shaking hands.
He prayed he was doing it correctly, that it wouldn’t be his fault if she—no!
He couldn’t allow himself to think of the worst-case scenario.
But the scene before him was driving him mad.
He tipped the vial and watched as a few drops of the pale liquid splashed across her collar bone where the skin was the most swollen.
He used his forefinger to coax the rosewater toward the sting.
It seemed to soak into her skin before it even got there.
So he poured more, his hands shaking so violently the next drop fell onto the sleeve of her dress.
He refocused his energy into staying stable and kept the opening of the vial right next to her skin.
He rubbed it in again, praying all the while that a miracle would happen.
Miriam burst into the room. “I’ve brought my tweezers.”
Thomas stepped in front of Lady Lavender. “Why do you need tweezers?”
“To remove the stinger. Rose has told me what to do. Step aside, Tom.” She pushed past him.
Why he felt the sudden need to protect Lady Lavender from Miriam was absolute madness on his part.
Lady Lavender was clawing off her gloves and looking at the scars on her arm. “It hurts. It hurts.”
He was helpless, and he’d never be the same.
Not after seeing her like this. He should have been there at her side if she was in the garden.
Why had no one told him she was there? It was his job to protect her, and he’d failed.
He couldn’t feel her pain, but the torment that racked his mind and heart in her behalf was making him lightheaded.
“It’s alright, Lavender,” Miriam cooed. “Your arm is fine. But I need you to remain still so I can locate the stinger.”
Thomas helped Lady Lavender remove her gloves.
He took one of her trembling hands in his own and she squeezed with a strength he would not have supposed she possessed.
Her strength in that moment gave Thomas the anchor he needed to be strong for her in return.
Mrs. Bitters held her other hand, and seconds later, Miriam pulled back with the tweezers.
“She smells like the rose water,” Miriam said. “Who has it and how much did we use?”
Thomas handed over the vial to Miriam. “I used a few drops.”
“Let’s do some more now that the stinger is gone.” She rubbed more of the liquid onto Lady Lavender’s angry skin and then sat on the table beside her.
“I was so afraid no one would find me,” Lady Lavender sobbed into Miriam’s shoulder. “It was just like the last time I . . .”
“Shhhh.” Miriam hugged Lavender close and then helped her to stand. “I’m going to take you to your bed.” She turned to Thomas. “You’ll need to let her go.”
Thomas didn’t even realize he hadn’t released her hand, and he didn’t want to. He ached to be the one to carry her up the stairs.
“Bring up a bowl of ice, please,” Miriam added as she pulled Thomas’s hand from Lavender’s.
He did as he was bid, his heart thudding wildly all the while. He feared for her life, and he did not know how to find peace if he weren’t with her.
What was worse, Miriam asked him to leave after he delivered the ice, so he stood there outside her bedchamber door, listening to her sob and wishing for nothing more than to be let inside.
He wanted to hold her, to whisper into her hair, to rub his affection for her into the scars on her arm, but he wasn’t allowed to do any of that, especially as Tom Smith.
He ground his foot into the carpet as he turned to leave.
The entire household was communicating her recovery throughout the course of the day.
The duchess proclaimed that she would be fine, thanks to the quick administration of the rose water and the steady actions of everyone involved.
If only Thomas had felt steady while caring for her.
He’d felt like a boat tossed in a storm, holding tight to the things he cared for most and not caring for what he lost in the meantime.
By the time he was allowed to go to bed, the rush of anxiety had passed.
Lady Lavender was sleeping soundly, and the swelling was already going down.
Miriam could not recall hearing of a bee sting being healed so quickly in Lady Lavender’s past. A tiredness seeped into Thomas’s bones, even though his mind would not rest. He could not forget her sheer panic.
Jack sat on the edge of Thomas’s bed with the book they’d been reading and a candle burning between them.
Already, the young man had made substantial progress in his reading.
If only the spelling of the words made more sense, it would be easier to teach.
Thomas wasn’t equipped with the tools to be a sufficient teacher.
Still, Lady Lavender would be proud of Jack the next time she sat down to read The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes.
Thomas rubbed his eyes. “Are you needing a distraction tonight as well? You’re reading so well, you ought to read to me as I fall asleep. ”
“It’s not nearly as fun if I don’t feel like I’m winning a battle with Daniel. But yes, I need to think of something better than watching our lady suffer,” Jack said with a solemn dip of his head.
The walls between the servants’ rooms were thin, so as they took turns reading, they did their best to keep their voices low in order to allow the others their rest. Thomas gave Jack’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’m proud of you. Your reading is coming along quite well.”
Jack’s freckled-faced smile was brighter than the light from the candle. “I’m as pleased as a covey in February.”
Thomas laughed. “What does that mean?”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just what comes out of this untamed mouth of mine.”
“You must be tired.” Thomas eventually closed the book and blew out the candle. They both settled onto their thin mattresses in the dark.
“You didn’t go out to the garden tonight,” Jack whispered.
“No, Lady Lavender wasn’t there.” It was better for both of them right now anyway.
“She wasn’t happy today. While you were pruning the hedges, she came and put the oil on my hands. But something wasn’t right. Usually she feels like the sunny spot that comes through a large window, but today she felt like a gust of icy wind. You should talk to her. She likes you.”
Jack’s words were likely meant to be informative and encouraging, but they had the opposite effect. Guilt sliced through Thomas. He didn’t want to be the source of her unhappiness, and yet, he’d done just that. “She likes you, too, Jack.”
“Of course she does. Why wouldn’t she?” his voice was jovial. “But it’s different with you.”
At least it had been before he went and ruined everything. “When she goes back out to the garden, I’ll be there for her.”
“I know you will.” Jack let out a long yawn. “You’re a good one, Tom.”
“Thanks, Jack. Everything I know I learned from you.”
Thomas was helping muck out the stables when there was a disturbance out in the street, whooping and hollering just beyond the gate, making his heart sink.
It sounded like a riot outside of Samuel’s home.
As he’d sworn to help protect Samuel’s family, Thomas ran, leading a small army of servants to the gate and onto the street.
A young maid was in the middle of the cobbled path on her knees, crying.
A pompous looking gentleman atop a horse was looking down at her. “You are excused, and you will receive no references from me.” He spat at her.
The men who had gathered around followed suit, spitting and jeering at her.
Thomas tugged on the sleeve of the man closest to him. “What did she do?”