Chapter Eighteen
July 27, 1818
When Isobel came awake, she was met with a raging ache thudding through her head. At first, she didn’t remember where she was, but slowly she began to recognize the familiar furniture and décor of her bedroom at home. Darkness had engulfed the space, broken only by the flickering flame of a single candle that rested in a brass holder on the far bedside table.
“Welcome back.”
Oh, that delicious, masculine voice! It sent tiny flutters down her spine. Slowly, carefully, she turned her head to the opposite side of where the candle sputtered. “Royce.” Then the happiness she’d had upon seeing him evaporated. Why was he here? Hadn’t he told her he didn’t want her any longer?
But his grin was soft and there was a glimmer in his hazel eyes she didn’t quite trust. Why would he look that way if he wished to leave her? “What are you doing here?” Her throat was scratchy and dry, and when she raised a hand to her head, her fingers encountered a length of cloth wrapped about her head. “What happened?” When she tried to push herself into a sitting position, his hands were on her shoulders holding her in place.
“Easy. It’s best not to move suddenly.” Once he regained his seat on the straight-backed wooden chair at her bedside, he spoke again. “You were thrown from a horse yesterday afternoon. When your head hit a tree, you were rendered unconscious. Do you remember that?”
“No.” Why the devil had she been on horseback? “Is that why my head aches so fiercely?”
“Yes. You have a mild concussion and a rather large bump on the back of your head, but everything will be right as rain in a few days.” His eyes were filled with such tenderness, she didn’t know how to interpret that emotion. “Do you hurt anywhere else? Though Jane and I did a cursory examination on you shortly after the accident occurred, it’s most helpful if the patient can catalogue other injuries themselves.”
Isobel frowned. She wore a thin lawn shift. Here and there, bruises dotted her arms. When she experimentally moved her legs and then her hips, she let loose a faint moan. “I feel quite battered but otherwise, my insides don’t hurt, if that’s what you mean.” Why was he here, acting in a doctor’s capacity, if he’d turned his back on the profession in favor of his title?
“That’s good to hear.” Then he took her hand. The warmth of his fingers on hers sent tendrils of peace to soothe the worry that built in her belly. “You don’t remember the accident nor of riding into Hyde Park to meet a Lord Alder?” The softness of his tones lulled her into a relaxed state. Truly, he was a good physician. It was a crime for him to give it up.
She scrunched up her nose. “I remember Lord Alder from a society event weeks ago.” A frown tugged at the corners of her lips as she found Royce’s gaze. “Why was I with him yesterday?”
The way he rubbed the pad of his thumb across her knuckles made her breath catch. “You and he apparently got up a wager to race through Hyde Park, and you entered with William’s Arabian thoroughbred.”
“Why, though? I’d not ridden that horse much.”
“It seems your short-term memory is lost.”
“Is that a bad thing?” She didn’t want to move lest he release her hand.
“Not overly much. It might return; it might not. As long as you’re still able to speak and think, you’ll be fine.” For long moments, he remained quiet, apparently content to look at her with a faint grin before it vanished under an expression of concern. “In any event, the race you entered went awry when your horse spooked and ended up throwing you against a tree. Trey happened to be in the vicinity and witnessed the accident. He and others got you into a carriage. Then he sent notes to me and your cousin Andrew.”
That made no sense. Why would she even wish to race through Hyde Park? “How long was I unconscious?”
“About a day and a half. It’s now nine in the evening. Your accident was yesterday.” He cleared his throat. “There are other things I need to inform you about, but would you rather have your brother in? Or perhaps the earl? Or Fanny?”
Why was he suddenly uncomfortable? Did he remember that he was now a prized bachelor who could be trapped into marriage if he was alone in an unmarried woman’s room? Hot panic rose in her chest. She certainly didn’t want that. Once more, she attempted to struggle into a sitting position, and this time she succeeded. “I’d rather not see anyone.” The movement broke the connection of their hands, and she mourned the loss of that warmth. “Does this have something to do with my health?”
“Yes, as well as your future.”
There was no glint of amusement in his eyes, no teasing in his voice. Instead, he was as somber as she’d ever seen him, and good heavens he was so handsome in the candlelight! That little shock of hair that fell over his brow gleamed like molten copper in the dim illumination, and his eyes were now more green than brown. The only other time they’d done that was when he and she had had that tryst in his clinic. Things between them had shifted and they’d grown closer…
Isobel’s heartbeat accelerated. “Tell me.” Was he here for more than the role of her doctor?
“You were bleeding profusely; head wounds usually do. Both your brother and the earl indicated that you’d been ill for a week or more. They urged me to conduct a more thorough exam on you than I would have done originally.” His Adam’s apple bobbed above the knot of his black cravat, and belatedly she remembered he was in mourning. So was she. “My sister Jane assisted.”
“And?” Why wouldn’t get tell her straightaway? Would she die?
“The few tests I performed by touch indicate that you’re increasing, Isobel. Six weeks or so along.” He cleared his throat as her lower jaw dropped and astonishment swept through her person. “I have to know if you laid with another man in the time you and I were together.”
“I… I…” Is that what he thought about her? Is that what her reputation suggested? Heat of both embarrassment and fury slapped at her cheeks. “No.” She shook her head. “There’s only been you.” Merciful heavens, but that would explain why she’d been sick at her stomach lately, as well as the dizzy spells. “Only you.” The first man she’d trysted with sent her into this state. Shock gripped her insides. It was all too much. As her breath came in tiny pants, tears welled quickly to her eyes and spilled frantically over onto her cheeks. “Surely you’re wrong.”
“I could, indeed, be incorrect. Only time will tell. However, there are certain signs a physician or midwife look for in the early stages, and you have them all.” Compassion lined his face. “Is your upset happy or sad?”
“I don’t know.” The words came out on a wail.
“Here.” Royce thrust his handkerchief into her hand. “You’ll feel better if you talk to me. And trust me, I was just as shocked as you.”