Chapter 4
“Louisa!” Isaac cried upon seeing her fall. He instantly dismounted from his horse and ran to her. She was lying with the upper half of her body in the stream, and her lower half was on the level riverbed. Isaac quickly pulled her out of the water and onto the land. “Are you all right? Please open your eyes, please ...”
But Louisa was obviously knocked unconscious by her fall, and so Isaac knew there was only one thing to do. “Come on, boy,” Isaac said to the dog that was with Louisa. Lloyd did not know who this strange man was, or why when he licked Louisa’s hand she wasn’t responding, but he knew that it was his duty to follow this man wherever he took her to ensure her safety.
And so, with great difficulty, Isaac re-mounted his horse with Louisa in his arms and cantered back to his estate with Lloyd running right beside them the whole way. He momentarily considered taking her back to her home, but it was much further away, and so he thought this would be swifter.
When he was within sight of his home, he could see his brother sitting in the back garden, reading. “Gregory!” he called to him, and he saw his brother look up in surprise. “Call for the doctor, quickly!”
He did not need to see his brother’s face to know that he was stunned by the sight that lay before him, but to his credit, he did not hesitate in running to fetch the doctor. Evidently, Gregory had also called upon his mother to assist them, as moments later, she flew out the back door with two servants to assist them.
Before Agnes could even say anything, Isaac heard himself saying, “I went to enquire about a house for sale this morning, and this is the daughter of that family. I’m sorry I lied to you; she slipped on a rock and hit her head when we were …”
“Joseph, Andrew, help Isaac get this young woman off the horse and into the guest bedroom on the first floor,” Agnes ordered, interrupting her son. “The doctor should be here any minute, but I want to make her as comfortable as possible.”
Joseph and Andrew gently helped to take Louisa from Isaac’s hands, and together, they took her into the house with Lloyd following close behind him. Isaac was about to call the dog, but there were so many other things on his mind that he didn’t. Isaac looked to his mother, panicked. “Will she be all right?” he asked.
“You said she slipped and hit her head on a rock?” Agnes checked, and Isaac nodded. “I can’t say for certain, but I know that Doctor Abbott is very capable, and he will take the best care of her. My prediction is that she will come out of this with nothing more than a bump and a nasty headache.”
Isaac gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, Mama,” he said gratefully.
Agnes looked in the direction that Louisa had been carried off in, and then said, “And she is who again?”
“Louisa Pelham, the daughter of Archibald Pelham, the banker,” Isaac informed his mother.
Agnes’ face went pale, and for a moment, she said nothing. “Oh my,” she whispered finally, “did anyone see you as you rode here?”
“I ... I don’t believe so,” Isaac responded, confused. “Why do you ask?”
“That family is ... complicated. I did not want anyone knowing that we were associated with them in any way, let alone that you were carrying their unconscious daughter through the woods,” Agnes said in confidence.
“I know about their family’s history,” Isaac replied, annoyed, “but I did not think it was important when I saw their daughter in need of dire assistance.”
With that, Isaac strode past his mother and went to check on Louisa. However, when he arrived at the room, Gregory was standing outside the door, still wearing his muddy riding boots from his mad dash to request the doctor’s presence at their estate.
“Thank you for acting so quickly,” Isaac said seriously.
Gregory simply nodded in response. “The doctor is with her now, so you should wait before you go in there.” He was quiet for a moment and then said, “Do you know who that girl is?”
Isaac nodded. “Very much aware of that fact, thank you,” he responded, his voice dripping with annoyance. “I do not need to hear your opinion of her if you think the way Mama does.”
Gregory looked taken aback. “Isaac,” he said quietly, “do you not recall that it is I who used to constantly get into trouble for having connections with young women who I had no business dealing with? I truly do not care what her background is and what does it matter if ...”
But then Gregory trailed off. A sly smile came upon his face, and Isaac knew that his brother had discovered his feelings for Louisa. “You dog,” Gregory continued, “you like her, don’t you?”
“I won’t answer that,” Isaac said defensively. “I ... I’m too distracted by my concerns for her well-being right now.”
Gregory crossed his arms and chuckled. “Of course,” he said sarcastically. “We’ll pick up this discussion when the girl that you love isn’t unconscious because she hit her head.”
“I’m not …” Isaac tried to protest, but Gregory just walked away from him without listening any further. Isaac could feel his frustration building, and he desperately wanted to tell his brother that he absolutely did not have any feelings for Louisa. But he also did not want to have to chase after Gregory like a little brother would when his older brother was teasing him, and he also wanted to wait right here so that he could hear the report that the doctor would give.
Which, thankfully, he appeared not but two minutes later to give. Dr Abbott left the door open when he exited the room, and he looked so relaxed that Isaac couldn’t help feeling far more at ease. “Hi, Isaac,” Dr Abbott greeted him. The Quince family knew the good doctor quite well, as he had been here many times to attend to Isaac’s father when his health began failing him.
“Good afternoon, Dr Abbott. What’s Miss Louisa’s prognosis?” he asked, rather desperate to know how she was doing.
“She seems to be absolutely fine. She woke up while I was examining her, so I was able to gauge how she was doing both externally and internally. She did hit the rock quite hard, so I would like you to keep her here to observe her for twenty-four hours, but the only real thing that I can see wrong with her is a small bump on the back of her head. I don’t need to come and visit again, as I can see that she is going to make a quick and full recovery,” the doctor said.
Relief washed over Isaac. “Thank you, Doctor, truly,” he said, shaking his hand. The doctor bid Isaac farewell and then left. Isaac stood outside the door, too nervous to go inside for a time, but then eventually summoned up the courage to see how she was doing.