The Ragged Heiress (43 page)

Lucetta eyed him warily. This angry, bitter man was not the Sam she had known and loved. She believed him, of course, but nagging doubts lingered at the back of her mind. ‘I must go home,’ she said slowly. ‘Lennie needs me.’

‘I’ll come too. We can talk this over calmly, Lucetta.’

‘No. Not now, Sam. I’d rather be alone.’

‘Alone with him, you mean. Are you sure that there’s nothing between you and that villain Guthrie?’

‘That’s a dreadful thing to say. There’s never been anything like that. Lennie has been like a father to me since he escaped from Stranks. Go back to your ship and sort your own business out. I’m going home.’

‘I’ll come round this evening then, and take you out to supper. Would that suit you?’

His tone had changed suddenly and his penitent smile made him look like the Sam she remembered so well. She felt herself weakening. ‘Yes, all right.’ It seemed easier to agree than to stand about in the snow arguing and her nerves were drawn tight as the strings on a fiddle. She felt that any moment something inside her was going to snap. She trudged along the slushy pavement, uncomfortably aware that the icy snow melt was seeping through the cracks in her boots. Even if
she begged him on bended knees, Lucetta could not imagine that Jeremiah would take her back in his employ: Sam had seen to that by declaring her true identity and she could not help wondering if he had deliberately manoeuvred her into this position, making it almost impossible for her to refuse his offer of marriage. She paused as she reached her front door. Three years ago she would have fallen willingly into Sam’s arms and followed him blindly anywhere he led, but not now. She was no longer that naïve girl with her head stuffed with dreams; she was a woman with a mind of her own and a newly discovered independent spirit. She had suffered but she had overcome the obstacles that fate had thrown in her path. She unlocked the door and went inside.

She found Guthrie lying in the same position as he had been when she left earlier that morning. His skin was grey-tinged and beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. His eyes were closed but he was muttering unintelligibly.

‘Lennie. It’s me, Lucetta. I’ve come home.’ She leaned over him, laying her hand on his forehead. The heat from his body burned into her chilled fingers. She knelt down to examine his leg, and as she lifted the thin blanket she covered her nose, stifling an exclamation of disgust at the putrid smell emanating from the wound. The bandages were bloodstained and even more disturbing there was a yellowish tinge to them.

She scrambled to her feet and moved swiftly to the table where Giles had left a small supply of dressings and a bottle containing a solution of carbolic acid. Her
stomach heaved at the thought of what she might discover beneath the bandages, but Giles had left her with clear instructions on how to clean the wound and replace the soiled dressings. She took off her bonnet and shawl, and having washed her hands using what was left of the water in the kettle, she set to work peeling the soiled bandages off Guthrie’s injured limb. There were livid red and black streaks surrounding the wound and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick, but she steeled herself to follow Giles’ instructions. She had watched him carefully the previous evening when he had treated the leg and she did her best to emulate his actions. Guthrie moaned but the fever had him in its grip and he did not seem to be aware of her ministrations.

Lucetta worked as quickly as she could and heaved a sigh of relief when she tied the bandages in place. She diluted the last few drops of laudanum left in the bottle with dregs of water from the kettle and she held Guthrie’s head, allowing him small sips of the soothing potion. She stroked his forehead until he lapsed into a deep sleep. The skin on his face was drawn taut across the bones of his skull and his deathly pallor scared her. She stood up, holding the empty medicine bottle in her hand as she gazed at the dying embers of the fire. She had a stark choice to make. She would either spend her last three pennies on food or laudanum. It was not a difficult decision.

She was about to leave the house when a hansom cab drew up outside the door and Giles climbed out carrying a large wicker basket covered with a white
cloth. He paid the cabby and turned to her with a question in his dark eyes. ‘Have I come at a bad time?’

She stepped back inside the room. ‘No. Why do you say that?’

‘I hoped that I might catch you before you went back to work, but you were obviously on your way out.’

His twinkling smile cheered her more than she could have thought possible. ‘I was on my way to the chemist to buy some laudanum for Lennie.’

‘I’ve bought some with me,’ Giles said cheerfully. ‘May I come in?’

‘Of course. What was I thinking of keeping you standing on the doorstep?’

He followed her into the room and he set the basket down on the table. ‘I hazarded a guess that you might need some supplies.’

‘That’s so thoughtful of you, Giles. We are a bit low on everything.’ Lucetta had been saving the last stub of candle for later when it was completely dark, but the room was already deep in shadow and she struck a vesta. ‘I was planning to go to the market on my way home.’

Giles hung his hat on the peg behind the door and shrugged off his overcoat. His eyes were serious as he took in his surroundings. ‘It would be obvious to a blind man that you are struggling to survive, Lucetta. You must let me help you.’

She avoided his gaze, turning her attention to the basket and lifting off the starched white linen cloth with the feeling that it was Christmas all over again. ‘What have you brought us, Giles? It really is too kind of you.’

‘You can stop pretending, Lucetta. Things aren’t going well for you. Won’t you trust me with the truth?’

Guthrie seemed to answer this with a groan and Giles bent down to examine him. He glanced up at Lucetta and his expression confirmed her worst fears.

‘He’s very sick, isn’t he, Giles?’

‘It was to be expected, I’m afraid. A chap in his condition has no resistance against infection.’ Giles rose to his feet. ‘He must go to hospital.’

‘No! He’s afraid of hospitals and I didn’t tell you the whole truth last night, Giles. Lennie was involved in a robbery that went wrong. A man died and the police are looking for Lennie. If they find him he will face the hangman’s noose. I can’t let him go to hospital and take that risk.’

Giles shook his head. ‘I had hoped he was strong enough to avoid it, but I’m afraid he has blood poisoning, Lucetta. His only chance of survival is to go to hospital. You could not be expected to undertake nursing such a sick man.’

‘I can look after him if you tell me what to do, Giles.’

‘You are not equipped to care for him here and you are out at work all day. Who will care for him then?’

Lucetta began emptying the basket of its contents. ‘I have no job now. Jeremiah dismissed me when Sam revealed my real identity.’ She held a packet of tea to her nose and sniffed it appreciatively. ‘Fresh tea. Thank you, Giles. I’ll make some right away.’

Giles reached out to seize her gently by the wrist. ‘Stop for a moment, Lucetta. Tell me exactly what
happened this morning. If I’m to help you I need to know the truth.’

She sank down on the hardwood chair, resting her forehead on her hands. The fragrant smell of the tea coupled with the baked ham wrapped in butter muslin and a loaf of freshly baked bread, no doubt all coming from the Harcourts’ well-stocked larder, were making her faint with hunger. ‘I’ll tell you when I’ve had a cup of tea. It’s been a difficult morning.’

Giles took the kettle from the trivet. ‘I’ll make the tea, you sit there. Doctor’s orders.’

He went out into the back yard, returning moments later to place the kettle on the hook over the fire. ‘There’s enough heat left to start warming the water, but you need coal. I’ll go out and get some. Tell me what else you need.’

She raised her head, staring at him in wonder. ‘How did you get water from a frozen pump?’

He grinned. ‘By holding a lighted match to the metal until the ice thawed enough to allow a trickle. It will probably freeze again but we’ll worry about that later.’ He shrugged on his coat. ‘I can see that you need candles and a box of vestas. In fact, leave it to me; I won’t be long, and in the meantime I suggest you eat something. Cook put together the basket so I’ve no idea what is in it, but I told her not to stint and she’s a good sort.’

After he had gone the silence closed in on Lucetta and the room looked even smaller, dingier and less welcoming without his presence. She decided that she must be light-headed with hunger. Things would look
better if she had some food inside her. She could not remember the last time she had eaten anything other than toast or a sliver of cheese and her mouth watered as she set about making a ham sandwich. The Harcourts’ cook had not only sent a large piece of ham, but she had included butter and a chunk of Cheddar cheese, a slab of fruit cake and a bag of sugar. Lucetta settled down to the best meal she had had since she left Stockton Lacey.

When Giles returned with a sack of coal, kindling, a bundle of candles and several boxes of vestas Lucetta was already feeling much better, but he insisted that she rested while he made tea. He had also thought to bring in a jug of fresh milk from the dairy, and when she asked how he had managed to carry so much, he admitted giving the grocer’s boy a handsome tip to transport everything on a wooden sled.

‘Now,’ he said, setting a mug of tea on the table in front of her. ‘When you feel able, I want you to tell me everything. I’ll do what I can to help you, but I can do nothing until I know all the facts.’

In between sips of hot, sweet tea, Lucetta related the events as they had happened, although she omitted telling him of Sam’s repeated proposal and his ideas for a joint venture into business. That was something between her and Sam, and only she could make that decision.

Giles listened intently until she had finished speaking. His expression was unusually serious. ‘Do you love this man, Lucetta?’

The question was so unexpected that she was
stunned momentarily into silence. Giles met her startled gaze with a steady look. ‘Do you?’

‘I don’t see that it’s any concern of yours.’

‘I wouldn’t ask if it didn’t matter.’

‘The honest truth is that I don’t know.’ Lucetta lowered her gaze, staring at the tea leaves in the bottom of the mug. ‘I did love him with all my heart, but things are different now.’

‘And you learned things about him in Devon that you had not known before.’

‘That’s not fair, Giles.’

‘Maybe not, but it’s true. You were very young when you first met Cutler. You knew nothing of the world of men and it’s no wonder your father objected to the match.’

‘You sound just like him. Don’t say any more. I know you mean well but this is something that only I can decide.’

‘You’re right, of course, but you really cannot remain in this cold, damp house. For one thing you can’t pay the rent, and more important this is not the most sanitary place to care for a patient with septicaemia.’

‘I won’t let him go to hospital. The police would find him, and he may have committed criminal acts but he doesn’t deserve to die for them.’

‘I’ve never supported capital punishment, Lucetta, but without urgent medical attention the poor fellow is likely to die anyway.’

Lucetta shook her head. ‘He depends on me, Giles. Lennie is a child in a man’s body. He would be terrified if he woke up in hospital.’

Giles was silent for a moment but his gaze never wavered from her face. She was afraid that he would try to persuade her and she felt her resolve weakening, but he seemed to change his mind and he stood up, laying his hand briefly on her shoulder.

‘I can see that your mind is made up, so we’ll leave the matter there. I’m going now but I’ll be back first thing in the morning. Are you sure you will be able to manage on your own?’

‘I’m quite sure. Thank you for everything, Giles.’

He moved towards the doorway and then paused, turning his head to give her a searching look. ‘You can still change your mind.’

‘No, I’m going to care for Lennie myself. This is his home and I won’t have him sent away to be cared for by strangers.’

‘You are a stubborn woman, Lucetta Froy.’

‘If there’s one thing that these past few years have taught me, it’s how to survive. I was such a silly, thoughtless creature before, and now I’ve learned to stand on my own two feet and to appreciate the things that really matter, like good friends. And you are the best of friends, Giles.’

His face was in shadow but for a moment she thought she saw his lips tighten as if he were in pain. ‘I must go now,’ he said abruptly. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’ He opened the door and vanished into the winter gloom.

Lucetta set about making Guthrie as comfortable as was possible on the thin palliasse. She wished that she could get him upstairs to her bed, but it would take
two strong men to carry him up the narrow staircase and any movement caused him excruciating pain, even under the soothing influence of laudanum. She bathed his forehead, and moistened his lips with water when he was too delirious to swallow.

She lost all track of time and she must have dozed off as she awakened suddenly when the front door burst open and a flurry of snowflakes preceded Sam into the living room.

‘You ought to lock the door,’ he said severely. ‘Anyone could walk in off the street and this is a rough area.’

Lucetta stretched and yawned. ‘Keep your voice down. You’ll disturb Lennie.’

‘He looks dead to the world,’ Sam said, staring dispassionately at Guthrie’s inert body. ‘Put on your bonnet and wrap up warm, Lucetta. It’s freezing outside.’

She had completely forgotten his invitation to dine with him, but now the memory of their conversation came rushing back to her. ‘I’m sorry, Sam. I can’t leave Lennie. He’s very ill. Giles thinks that—’

‘What?’ Sam turned to her, frowning. ‘Has that fellow been pestering you? Doesn’t he know that we are engaged to be married?’

‘Giles is a doctor. He came to treat Lennie, not to see me.’