Thick and creamy, it was delicious. Her cough hadn’t ruined her appetite, thank goodness.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Father asked and leaned across the narrow dining table to take her free hand.
She offered a smile, although it was stiff on her face. Forced. Yet a false smile was better than being unable to muster one at all.
“I’m sorry I frightened you,” she said, “I promise, I didn’t mean to.” It had become so normal now, that she hardly thought anything of these coughing fits. Mostly, they had become a nuisance of sorts. An inconvenience.
“What were you thinking about, to set this off?”
Aurora faltered with the spoon halfway to her bowl. Her other hand, still in his, tightened.
“What do you mean?”
His features softened into a look of sympathy. The meal was temporarily forgotten as he took both of Aurora’s palms in his own. “You’re worse when you’re worried,” he said, “and it has been a while since a cough has come out of nowhere. Were you thinking about Christopher Allan again?”
Ah, was she really that predictable? It made Aurora’s chest flutter, to know that he had seen through her so easily.
Then again, perhaps it wasn’t so unexpected; Father knew her better than anybody.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she admitted, “it hurts. I know it shouldn’t, not after so long...but it’s difficult.”
“I know,” Father replied, and his voice was impossibly gentle. “You don’t like to talk about it, and I understand. Maybe if you do, it could do some good.”
It was a kind thought, and an optimistic one. Aurora didn’t share his opinion. Instead of replying, she stared down at her cooling soup and forced herself to eat. This time, her appetite had vanished.
Sensing the change in mood, Papa’s voice lightened, perhaps in an attempt to cheer her up. “Regardless of all of that, I hear that Elmore had written to the Duke. We should hopefully have their reply soon, and in the meantime he has promised to write to the friends he made in Italy.”
Aurora stared at her soup. It was a rich, warm golden shade that usually had her hunger jumping to attention. She took another spoonful, but this time it brought no enjoyment. Aurora ate because she had to.
“This experiment of ours will be a fantastic experience, I just know it.” Father was still talking, his smile encouraging. “Perhaps it will do some real good, if we can develop the right strain of plant. What do you think, dear?”
I think that I’ve been hurt once,she thought,and I don’t want a repeat of Christopher in Lord Winters.
Yet she put on a smile, ignoring the tickle in her throat slowly creeping back again.
“I think it would be wonderful, if our project could help even one person.”
The urge to cough was growing again, scratching at the back of Aurora’s throat and inside of her lungs. She had to wonder, was tea not enough? With all this stress, was she going to have to carry bergamot around wherever she went now?
Chapter 13
Elmore Winters
In the days since Elmore had returned to Gloucestershire, he had come up with a total of eight people to ask for assistance. Five, including Mr. Russo, were botanists. Two were experts on poisonous plants, and one had connections to the shipping industry.
It was a fairly good turnout, he decided, given that he hadn't even heard back from the Duke yet.
"My Lord?" a hesitant voice called from the study doorway. "Your tea is ready."
He turned to see one of his maids hovering by the door, holding a white tray adorned with tea and biscuits. It looked delicious, the sweet aroma of the fresh biscuits wafting across the study.
"Please bring them to the fireplace," he asked her, "and sit them on the table there."
She did so, gently lowering the tray onto the low table, before turning to offer a curtsey. "Anything else I can do for you, My Lord?"
The maid had a thick London accent, and it reminded him of Aurora. That wasn't to say that they sounded alike, as they weren't much alike at all, but there was a certain lilt to the maid's voice that was reminiscent of Mr. Washam's daughter.
Elmore shook his head. "Nothing at the moment, thank you. Have we had any letters yet today?"