The Mistress of Hanover Square (16 page)

‘Oh, darling, yes, she did, soon after you were born. Why do you ask?’

‘How did my mama die? Did it hurt her?’ Lisa’s eyes were dark and a little fearful.

‘No, she wasn’t in pain. She had been ill for a long time—and she just went to sleep. You shouldn’t think about it, Lisa. Your mama loved you and she would want you to be happy.’

‘You won’t die, will you, Melia?’

‘No, my love. Not for a long time.’

Lisa clung to her hand. ‘Promise me you won’t go away and leave me and never come back.’

‘I promise. I may go somewhere for a visit with your papa sometimes, but we shall both come back
to you. We love you very much and we shall all be together as much as possible.’

‘Thank you for telling me.’ Lisa’s eyes fixed on her intently. ‘I love you, Melia.’

‘I love you too, my darling.’ Amelia embraced her, then looked into her face. ‘Who told you that your mama died?’

‘I asked Emily, because
she
said—’ Lisa broke off as Marguerite entered the room. ‘I want to read my book…’ She ran to pick up the picture book, her head bent over the beautiful illustrations.

‘Emily is unwell,’ Marguerite said. ‘She has vomited this morning and I think she has a fever. I believe she may be sickening for something. Perhaps we should ask for the doctor to call?’

‘Yes, perhaps we should,’ Amelia said. ‘I must go, Lisa. I shall come again later.’

Amelia hurried from the room. She felt anxious about Emily. It must be something more than strong perfume on her kerchiefs if she had been vomiting. She would visit her and then make a decision about sending for the doctor.

‘I am sorry to be so much trouble,’ Emily said, looking pale and wan as she lay with her head against a pile of pillows. ‘I do not know what is wrong with me. I was awake most of the night and vomited three times.’

‘I am so sorry you are ill,’ Amelia said. ‘I shall send for the doctor. He will give you something to help with the pain.’

‘I never have headaches. I thought it was the perfume on my kerchiefs, but it throbs so and I feel terrible…’ Emily put a hand to her head. ‘I am sorry to cause all this bother, Amelia.’

‘You are not causing a bother. I shall call the doctor and hope that you are well enough to travel in the morning, Emily. However, if you are still unwell, we shall put off our journey for a few days. I have no intention of leaving you behind, my love.’

Leaving Emily to rest, Amelia went downstairs. She was late entering the dining parlour and apologised to the assembled company.

‘I am sorry to keep you waiting, but Emily is most unwell—and I slept late.’

‘I am so sorry Emily is unwell,’ Helene said. ‘Have you sent for the doctor?’

‘Yes, I spoke to one of your servants, Helene. Emily is too sick to keep food down. I have asked Martha to make her a tisane and I shall go up to her as soon as I have eaten.’

‘I could help nurse her,’ Marguerite offered.

‘It would be better if you stayed away from Miss Barton,’ Gerard said from across the table. ‘If she
is
sickening for something infectious, I would not wish it passed on to Lisa. Your first duty is to the child, Miss Ross.’

Marguerite’s face remained impassive, but, happening to look at her, Amelia noticed that a little nerve flickered at the corner of her eye. She was not sure if Marguerite were angry or distressed.

Amelia frowned. ‘I promised to visit Lisa this afternoon,
Gerard. Perhaps I should not—unless Emily is merely suffering from an excess of nerves?’

Gerard stared at her for a moment in silence, then inclined his head. ‘I shall bow to your good judgement, Amelia. However, it might be best if you left the nursing of Emily to Martha or one of the other maids.’

She gave him a reproving look. ‘Emily is my friend. She needs me.’

‘You are Lisa’s mother now. She should be more important to you. I hope you will not let her down, Amelia.’

Gerard’s expression was hard to read, but she thought that he was angry. Amelia was puzzled and a little hurt. How could Gerard think that she would desert Emily when she was so ill? Lisa had her nurse and Marguerite, and if Gerard was afraid of crossinfection then she would simply have to stay away from the nursery until Emily was better.

She did not like his tone or the way his words seemed to imply that Amelia’s own wishes must come second to the child’s. Of course she would never intentionally let Lisa down, but neither could she abandon Emily when she was so ill.

Gerard had been acting a little oddly recently. Amelia was not certain what some of his remarks were supposed to mean. She would ask him to explain, but for the moment it did not look as if she would have time to speak with him alone.

The doctor visited Emily. After examining her, he shook his head and looked grave, but said
nothing until Amelia followed him into the small sitting room.

‘She has no physical signs of illness other than the vomiting and the headache. There is no fever and I cannot see any sign of a rash—nor does she have any lumps in her stomach that might indicate an internal problem.’ He polished his little round spectacles on a white kerchief. ‘Could she be suffering from an excess of feeling, perhaps? Has she suffered a disappointment?’

‘Yes, I believe she may have.’ Amelia frowned. ‘That happened some days ago and she was well enough then, distressed but not unwell. Are you sure there is nothing wrong with her?’

‘It is my opinion that she is of a delicate constitution and, as you may know, some ladies go into a decline after suffering a severe setback.’

‘I would not have thought that Emily had a delicate constitution.’ Amelia wanted to say more, but held the words back. ‘Thank you for your time, sir. You may send me the bill.’

‘I shall send something that may help with the headache—but I believe she needs a tonic to lift her spirits. Perhaps she should go to Bath and take the waters there.’

‘Yes, perhaps. I shall suggest it to her.’

Amelia returned to Emily’s bedchamber after he left.

‘He will send something for the headache, but I believe one of Martha’s tisanes would do as well, Emily.’

‘I am not sure, but I think it was the tisane that made me sick,’ Emily said. ‘Martha brought it to me and I left it beside my bed. I was sleepy and did not drink it then, but later…something woke me. I got up to relieve myself and then drank the tisane. Some minutes later I started to vomit.’

‘Martha’s tisane could not have caused you to be sick,’ Amelia said. ‘She has made them for me many times when I have felt a little unwell and they always do me good. It is very strange.’

‘Well, perhaps it was not the tisane,’ Emily said. ‘I feel a little better now, but I shall not get up. I want to be well enough to come with you tomorrow, Amelia.’

‘If you are not, we shall delay our departure. I shall not leave you behind, dearest. If you are not completely better once we are at Ravenshead, I shall call another doctor. I would send you to my own doctor in Bath, whom you know and like, but I cannot come with you.’ Amelia was thoughtful. ‘Unless you would like to go alone?’

‘No, I should not. I do not want to leave you. Especially at the moment…while you may be in danger.’ Emily’s fingers moved nervously on the covers. ‘I have not forgotten that it was you those rogues meant to snatch when I was kidnapped—the things they said…’ She gave a little shiver. ‘You must be careful, Amelia—even when you think there is no reason.’

‘I know you care for me, Emily. We must just hope that you are soon feeling well again, my love.’

Amelia came upon Gerard as she was on her way back from the nursery. She had spent a pleasant hour reading to Lisa. The child seemed much happier than she had at Christmas, though she had clung to Amelia and was clearly reluctant to see her leave.

‘You have been to visit Lisa?’

She met Gerard’s questioning gaze, looking directly into his eyes.

‘The doctor says that Emily may be suffering an excess of the nerves. I am not sure that he is correct, but he says there is no fever. She is not infectious. I have visited Lisa as I promised her. Had Emily been infectious, I should not have visited the nursery until it was safe.’

‘Are you annoyed with me for suggesting it?’

‘You have every right to protect your child. I know she is important to you.’

‘It was not simply that…’ Gerard frowned. ‘Something odd is going on, Amelia. I am not sure what it is, but I have sensed it for a while.’

‘I am not sure that I understand you, Gerard. I know Emily was abducted at Pendleton, but nothing else has happened since then. Unless you know something I do not?’

‘There was the matter of the intruder in your bed-chamber.’ Gerard hesitated. ‘A footman saw a woman leaving the back stairs that evening. She went into the hall and up the main staircase. He did not see her face clearly for it was dark and she had no candle, but he thought she wore a grey gown. He
thought it odd that she did not carry a candle and reported it to Max.’

‘Perhaps there was sufficient light from the stars.’

‘But why not take a candle—unless she did not wish to be seen?’

‘You think a woman came to my room—a woman who was not a servant?’

‘I think perhaps she might have been your intruder.’

‘I was not harmed and nothing was taken.’

‘But someone was there and must have had a reason.’ He frowned. ‘The footman thought it might have been your companion.’

‘You cannot think it was Emily?’

Amelia had said nothing to Gerard of the letters taken from her desk or the pot of lilies in her room, because the incidents were merely annoying and not of consequence.

‘We only have Miss Barton’s word—and Northaven’s, of course—that she was abducted.’

‘Gerard! How could you?’ Amelia raised her brows. ‘What are you implying? You do not think that Emily would lie about a thing like that? Why would she pretend to be abducted?’

‘At the moment I hardly know what I think. Yet something is nagging at the back of my mind.’

‘You must tell me later.’ Amelia smiled. ‘Here comes Marguerite.’ She went forwards to meet her. ‘Are you on your way to the nursery? We have good news, Marguerite. Emily is not infectious, but she is far from well. I have told her that we shall not travel
to Ravenshead until she is better. Indeed, if she does not recover I may have to take her to Bath to visit my own doctor. However, in that event, you would accompany Lisa to Ravenshead—she needs the comforts of her home about her.’

‘I am sad to hear that Emily is ill. Is there anything I can do for her, as she is not infectious?’ Mar-guerite’s gaze flicked towards Gerard and for a moment her eyes seemed to spark with an emotion that might have been resentment.

‘She would rather be left to rest. The vomiting has passed, but she still has a headache. Besides, as Gerard said, you came to us to help with Lisa, did you not?’

‘Yes, of course. I just wish to be of as much help to you as I can, Amelia.’ Marguerite glanced at Gerard and for a moment her eyes were hard with dislike. ‘I shall not hurt or abandon you.’

‘I am sure you would not.’ Amelia smiled and kissed her cheek. ‘I do not know when Emily will be able to resume her duties. In the meantime, I shall need your help, Marguerite.’

‘You know that I am always willing to be of service to you, Amelia.’

Amelia glanced at Gerard. ‘I shall see you later, sir. I have a little errand for Marguerite and I must explain what I need.’ She turned to the other woman. ‘Emily usually helps Martha to pack my clothes, but she is not well enough. Indeed, I believe she may need help herself if we are to leave in the morning as planned.’

She took Marguerite’s arm and walked away with her, leaving Gerard to stare after them, a puzzled look in his eyes.

Amelia left Marguerite after giving her the task of helping Martha with their packing. She went to visit Emily, but found her sleeping and, after some thought, made her way downstairs to the parlour where she found some of the ladies sitting taking tea. When the ladies began to disperse, going to their rooms to change for the evening, Amelia had a few minutes alone with Helene.

It was almost six when she went up to change for dinner. Meeting Gerard on the stairs, she begged him not to delay her.

‘Martha has had all the packing to do. I asked Marguerite to help her, but I must make sure every-thing has been done that needs to be done—and if I do not hurry I shall be late for dinner.’

‘What are you playing at, Amelia?’ Gerard’s dark eyes narrowed, intent on her face.

‘I do not know what you mean, sir.’

‘When did I become sir again? I thought every-thing was settled between us?’

‘Of course it is, Gerard,’ Amelia said. ‘It is true that I have something on my mind, but…’ She shook her head. ‘Tell me—have you made any discoveries about this Lieutenant Gordon? Has the marquis been in touch since we left Pendleton?’

‘Unfortunately I am no nearer solving the mystery
than I was then.’ He frowned. ‘As you said, nothing of significance has happened and yet my instincts tell me that the danger is very close.’

‘We must all continue to be on our guard,’ Amelia said. ‘I admit that I should feel more comfortable if this horrid business was over, but until we know who wishes to prevent our marriage, there is nothing we can do—is there?’

‘Very little except be alert. If anything puzzles you…any little incident seems odd—you must tell me, Amelia.’

‘Yes…’ Amelia was thoughtful. ‘Tomorrow we shall be at Ravenshead if Emily is feeling well enough to travel. Things may be easier to control then, Gerard. For a while, at least, there will be only the four of us, the servants—and Lisa, of course.’

‘What are you thinking?’ Gerard tipped her chin with his finger, looking into her face. ‘Is there anything I should know?’

‘Like you, I have an odd feeling…’ Amelia shook her head. ‘There is nothing I can put into words. Believe me, I would tell you if I knew what to say. Tell me, if you had an enemy, Gerard, would you wish him to be in the shadows where you could not see him, or under your nose?’

‘I suppose it would be best to keep him close. You cannot fight an enemy you cannot see.’