Lydia looked at her in mute distress, and then she closed her eyes. “Of course,” she said, calmer now, and this time when Etienne de Giverney took her hand she didn’t pull it away.
He cleared his throat. “Then if Miss Harriman is in no need of my assistance I’ll take you to my cousin’s housekeeper,” Etienne said. “Once she’s settled I’ll return to see if there’s anything that can be done for your servant. ”
“Not our servant…” Lydia said beneath her breath, and the look she cast Etienne, the look he missed entirely
, was filled with dislike.
Elinor didn’t miss it, and her heart sank. Her sister loving the wrong man was hardly the worst thing that had happened this dismal night, but it was bad enough. Hating the man she should marry was far worse.
But Etienne put a gentle arm around Lydia, leading her carefully from the room, and at the last minute Elinor could see Lydia’s shoulders drop, as the anger left her.
Elinor looked down at herself, at her soot-covered nightgown. At least the room had a hearty fire going, warming it against the cold night air. Her feet had moved beyond hurting her, though she tucked them beneath the hem of her nightdress to make certain no one would notice. For some reason she didn’t want Etienne touching her.
The doctor was far from her favorite person in the world, but if Lydia could learn to accept him he would be an admirable brother-in-law in all the ways that counted. Even if he’d let her drop dead in front of him while he was admiring her sister.
She turned back to Nanny Maude and knew she was looking into the face of death. She rose, ready to call Etienne back, then thought better of it. He had the right of it—there was nothing more he could do for her. Nanny was very old, and the shock of the fire would likely be too much for her to withstand.
Elinor raised her voice slightly. “Jacobs?”
“Yes, miss. ” He appeared immediately from his position just outside the door. He looked down at Nanny’s still figure and bowed his head. “May I stay, miss?”
“Of course you can. There’s a chair behind the door. She might like us to hold her hands. ”
“Not me, miss. She always said I had the hands of a butcher. Clumsy. ”
“I don’t think she’ll mind tonight,” Elinor said gently.
Jacobs brought the chair forward, sitting gingerly and taking Nanny’s other hand in his.
She opened her eyes only once in the next few hours, and her gaze fell on Elinor.
Author: Anne Stuart
“You’re being quite ridiculous, Nanny Maude,” Elinor said in a voice thick with tears. “Lollygagging in bed when we need you. You must decide to get better this instant or I shall be very cross with you indeed. ”
Nanny Maude smiled, squeezing her hand gently. “There’s no need for me to stay any longer, Miss Nell. I’m tired, and more than ready. You’re safe now, lass…Your mama can’t hurt any of you again. ” She closed her eyes for a moment, restless. “But I have to tell you something,” she said. “I can’t remember what it was, but it’s important. There’s something I remembered. ”
“You can tell us in the morning, Nanny,” she said soothingly.
“Won’t be a morning for me, child,” Nanny said, a trace of her usual asperity in her faint voice. “It’s danger, that’s what it is. ” She began coughing again, her small body shaking. “He’s not who you think he is,” she said after a moment.
“Who isn’t, Nanny?” she said.
But her eyes closed, and she fell back, her grip on Lydia’s hands loosening, as she sank into an endless sleep.
Hours later Etienne poked his head in one last time, coming no closer. It was already too late to help Nanny, and she had to trust that there was nothing he could have done if he’d returned sooner. “Your sister’s asleep. I had the housekeeper give her laudanum—she’ll sleep till midday. ”
“Thank you, Etienne,” she said. Lydia wouldn’t be as grateful. She would have wanted to be there with them, with Nanny as she slipped away.
And that was what she did, as the beginning of dawn light began to climb over the window, a gray, murky light. Her breathing slowed, with longer pauses between each one, and then finally there were no more.
Jacobs let out a harsh, choking sob, and she went to put her arms around his hulking shoulders, to comfort him. “To lose them both in one night, miss,” he said, tears streaming down his face. “It’s too much. ”
“Yes,” she said with unnatural calm. “It is. ”
After a moment he lifted his head. “I’m going to go get drunk,” he announced. “I’m going to get so drunk that you won’t find me for days, and then maybe I’ll get drunk again. ”
Elinor was too weary to smile, though she was tempted. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Jacobs. Just be certain you remember to find us when you’re done with such a noble activity. ”