“Thank you, sir. I prefer to use them. The ones we have here are good enough, but it doesn’t compare.”
“I will take your word for it.” He bowed his head slightly and motioned his horse to have it run ahead of the carriage.
It felt too good to be this free and not inside a boat. God forbade if he ever had to travel far because of his work. He wasn’t sure he could survive the trip.
The full moon lit the way Edward already knew by heart. Even though he was raised in Wales, his home in Bristol had always been his favorite because it was the first thing he bought when he finally became a successful businessman who could splurge his money a little.
He re-named it Taunton Estate in order to honor his mother and his heart ached whenever he remembered her. She was the kindest woman he ever met. Her heart so open it broke in the hands of the wrong person.
She never fell in love again after his father.
Edward always felt he could have saved her if only he hadn’t been so insistent about her talking about his deceased father. If only he knew.
He knew better, now of course and oh, the things he would have done differently.
Distracted and honestly never expecting it to happen with the road getting darker by the second, Edward was surprised, to say the least, when he saw a woman come out of the trees; running and in distress, her red hair a mess and loose. It was a miracle he saw her coming.
She stopped in the middle of the road with her blue eyes filled with shock. Edward managed to halt his horse in the nick of time and avoided running her over. His horse reared back at the sudden halt and Edward had to pull the reins tightly in order to avoid tumbling.
The woman gasped and took a few steps back, only to trip over a rock and fall.
With his heart pounding in his chest, Edward called to the carriage to stop and got off the horse the second he could.
He ran to the woman who had yet to get up and kneeled next to her. He noticed how pretty she was, even dirty and unconscious. She was pale too, and it worried him when he pulled her gently off the dirt road, so her head was supported by his arms.
“My Lady?” he asked, noticing her expensive dress. She could be nothing but a Lady. “My Lady, can you hear me?”
When no answer came, he became even more worried and needed to act fast; they couldn’t stay there. He yelled at Mr. Gropps who had just got off the carriage to see what was going on while one of the boys took care of his horse. “Mr. Gropps, tell Mrs. Putman and the maids to make room.”
He picked the woman from the ground gently, and rushed to go in the carriage’s direction.
“What happened, Sir?” Mr. Gropps asked.
“She just ran into the road and got spooked by the horse. She tripped and hurt her head, I think,” Edward said. “I will take her to Taunton.” He informed the older man and with the help of the two young maids and Mrs. Putman, they managed to put the unknown woman inside the carriage. “Mr. Gropps,” Edward turned to his trusted valet. “I will ride ahead and have the staff call for a doctor and prepare a room, please, take care of her in the meantime.”
“Of course, Sir.” Mr. Gropps nodded, trustworthy as always.
Before getting to his horse, Edward stopped to talk to the driver, giving him instructions to go as fast as they could. When the man nodded in understanding, Edward got on his horse and looked down at his hand where a little blood from her wound had stayed, and it only made him want to get to Taunton faster.
* * *
Arriving at the manor, Edward barely slowed his horse down before jumping down and meeting his very surprised butler halfway. As the older man rushed to attend to his master, Edward started to bark orders.
“Marks! I need you to send someone to town to get a doctor at this moment.”
“Is someone hurt, sir?” Mr. Marks, the butler, asked, already rushing inside to find someone to get the order done.
“A woman we found on our way here,” Edward informed him as they walked the stairs to the manor. He looked over his shoulder and was glad to see his horse was being taken care of by a stable boy already.
Mrs. Jones, his governess waited by the door, also surprised to see him home already. She curtsied and listened carefully to Edward while Mr. Marks ran down the stairs where the rest of the staff stayed. “Mrs. Jones, I need you to prepare a room and have some maids have towels and any item the doctor might need to treat the woman.”
“Of course, sir,” the older woman agreed, her dark clothes a beautiful contrast with her silver hair tightly put. Always calm and put together, Mrs. Jones asked in a practical tone. “Mr. McAlister, please take a seat. What happened? What are her wounds?”
Her attention went to a passing maid for a moment. “Gracie, please bring Mr. McAlister a glass of ale.” The young girl nodded and curtsied before rushing off.
Edward didn’t realize he was panting in distress until Mrs. Jones pointed out he should sit. He had been so worried on the way to his house, his mind so focused; he didn’t realize he was shaking badly.
He was terrified he had killed someone without meaning to. Again.
Following the governess’ advice, he sat down on one of the chairs at the entrance and realized he was shaking. His mother didn’t suffer a quick death, but he was feeling just as helpless.
“This woman ran from the woods to the middle of the road and stopped, as if afraid. It startled my horse, even if I did stop in time, its sudden movements scared her, and she tripped,” he told her and Mrs. Jones nodded. “She hit her head. It was bleeding slightly from what I could see. I carried her to the carriage and rushed here so we would be prepared.”
“I see,” Mrs. Jones gave one nod. “It seems she just had a fright and a small wound on her head.” A maid, who was a few feet away, waiting for instructions, was called. “Sarah, if you could prepare the green room and bring a few extra towels? We don’t know how long she will stay, so if one of you girls could lend a sleeping gown and a coat, it would be magnificent. And don’t forget the fire.”
Before Sarah could leave, Edward called her name, making the young woman stop. “Also find out who lives on the property next to us, on our right. She came from the left on our way here, so we just need to reverse her steps. She couldn’t have come too far, not dressed as if she was ready for dinner. She comes from money that is for certain.”
“Of course, Sir.” She curtsied and left while the first maid, Grace, returned with a glass of ale. Mrs. Jones took it and gave it to him.
“Now, Sir, drink this and let us wait for the carriage to arrive. I am sure this mysterious woman will be fine.”
Chapter 3
Mr. Edward McAlister
The moment the carriage arrived, Edward hurriedly opened the door and gently took the unconscious woman from inside it and was grateful to see she had a little more color than before.
“She hasn’t woken up yet, sir,” Mr. Gropps informed him. The maids and Mrs. Putman had put a cloth around her head, but she seemed much better.
“Thank you, Gropps,” Edward said and carefully started to walk his way inside the manor, the woman in his arms.
Mrs. Jones was waiting at the top of the stairs and rushed them inside. “The room is ready for her, sir,” she said and led the way up, opening the door for him.
The room was warm enough with the recently lit fire, the sheets had been changed and there were towels and a nightgown on top of the bed. The maid he recognized as Grace pulled the blankets so Edward could put the woman down, and he did so gently.
“Sir, the doctor is on his way,” Mrs. Jones told him.
“Thank you,” he said with a nod. “Can you make sure she is not alone at any time? She is not someone I know, but I do not want any rumors about her stay here, especially when we find out who her family is. I want to tell them with confidence she was safe.” And so was her honor, Edward thought, but didn’t say out loud.
“Of course, sir. Grace will stay with her and if my duties do not take me from here, so
will I,” Mrs. Jones guaranteed.
“Thanks to you both.” He was about to say something else when they heard a moan come from the bed and he rushed towards it.
Edward kneeled next to the bed and saw the woman open her eyes and blink a few times. “Miss? Miss, can you hear me?”
“Yes?” Her voice was weak and it seemed she had a case of dry throat. Before he could even say anything, Mrs. Jones already had a glass of ale in her hand.
He helped the woman up just so she could drink the ale Mrs. Jones offered to her. After a few sips, she seemed to feel slightly better and refused any more ale.
“Where am I?” she asked, confused.
“Taunton Estate.” Edward stated. “Do not worry, we will have you home in no time.” She made a sound of agreement and almost closed her eyes when Edward prevented her from doing so. “Miss, may I ask your name?” he wondered, gently putting her back down onto the mattress. “You gave us all a scare.”
“Sorry.” It appeared that she was still a little sluggish, her eyes closing once again.
“It is fine, Miss, but we really must know your name.” His voice was firmer, and he held her hand, to let her know she was safe. Her grip was weak – she was about to pass out once more, Edward was sure. “Miss? Your name, please.”
“Selina.” She muttered tiredly.
Edward sighed in relieve and smiled. “Selina. You have a beautiful name, Miss. What about your last name?”
It took her a second to say it. “Clifford.”
“Selina Clifford.” Edward nodded. “I am Edward McAlister.”
His words fell on deaf ears, as Selina had already fallen asleep once more. He sighed and got up from his place on the floor.
“I will ask for someone to find where she comes from.”
“Grace and I are going to change her clothes while we wait for the doctor. The dress is filthy. The poor thing must’ve gotten lost.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Jones.”
Edward left the room and went downstairs to the kitchen. When he arrived, all the servants got up from their chairs and he waved his hand to let them know it was fine.
“As you have heard, today I brought a woman with me who was hurt. We met her in the middle of the road on our way here. She is about this high,” he said, putting his hand at the same level as his chin, “has red hair, blue eyes and was wearing a blue expensive dress. She said her name is Selina Clifford. Do any of you know anyone by that name?”
The servants looked at each other in confusion, shaking their heads; neither the name nor the description sounded familiar.
Edward sighed and put a hand on the back of his neck, feeling it ache. “Thank you.”
He was about to leave, when he heard someone. “Sir? You said her name was Clifford?”
It was Sarah, the maid from upstairs. “Yes, that is what she told me.”
“My sister works for the Crawleys. Their property is close from here that you can easily walk there. I know because I have done it to see my sister,” Sarah said.
“Go on.”
“When I went to visit a few days ago, she was very busy because the family was receiving a few relatives for a couple of weeks.”
“Do you think she is one of those relatives?” Edward questioned.
Sarah bit her lower lip for a moment. “I think so, sir. My sister said one of them was a niece and Mrs. Crawley used to be a Clifford.”
Well, that settled it, then.
“I will write to the Crawleys right away. Mr. Marks, could you make sure there’s someone to deliver it as fast as possible?”
“Of course, sir,” Mr. Marks bowed his head slightly. “I will ask Tom to saddle up the horse already.”
“Thank you, Marks.” Edward put a hand on the older man’s shoulder and then looked at the rest of the servants. “Thanks to all of you.”
* * *
Never one to not go straight to the point, Edward’s letter was a brief account of the facts and how they found out she was Selina Clifford.
Any member of the family was welcomed to arrive at any time to see her. If there wasn’t anyone with that name there, he asked for a reply so he could look for her family elsewhere.
“Marks.” Edward gave the older man the letter. “Please, tell Tom to wait for an answer once he delivers it. Tell him to inform them it is a very sensitive matter I want sorted as fast as I can. If she’s not a guest of the Crawleys, we need to keep looking for her family.”
“Right away, sir.” Mr. Marks bowed his head slightly. “The doctor has arrived as well, sir. Since you were writing the letter, I took the liberty of asking him to go upstairs.”
Edward sighed in relief. “Of course, Marks. You did the right thing. Let us hope he has some good news for us.”
Edward couldn’t stop moving, walking from one side of the room to the other like a caged cat in front of the room, not even when Mr. Marks returned from delivering the letter to Tom.
He was thankful Selina had woken up earlier and gave her name, but it wasn’t enough. What if she had woken up just for one second and then never woke up again? He knew it was a strong possibility. Head injuries were unpredictable.
He remembered when he was a child and a little boy his age fell while playing, hit his head and never woke up. His mother had been terrified of letting him play outside for weeks.
The door opened and Doctor Jameson stepped out, finally stopping Edward and his nervous pacing.
“When I got the call, I thought I would have to patch you up again, Mr. McAlister.” The Doctor offered his hand to Edward, who took it.
“Not this time, Doc.” He smiled and let go of the older man’s hand. “What about Miss Clifford? Is she going to be fine?”
“She will be, with some rest. She will have a strong headache though, but I think her mental state is more concerning than the physical.”
Edward frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I was told she ran to the road? While it was dark as if she was running from something?” the doctor asked and Edward nodded. “No one does that unless something bad happened or was running from something.”
“Do you think it is my duty to call the local authority?” Edward didn’t want to say the words, but the other two men in the hallway understood what he meant.
“I examined her, and I am confident she wasn’t hurt in any other way other than on the head. Mrs. Jones and the maid guaranteed me. They just changed her gown. Nothing else and from a quick look, nothing seemed amiss,” Doctor Jameson said. “I can’t say someone didn’t try, but if that was the situation, nothing happened.”
“That’s a relief,” Mr. Marks muttered and Edward nodded in agreement.
“I would wait for her to wake up and question her before calling the local authority,” Doctor Jameson pondered. “It might not be anything we are thinking. If it is, then we should be concerned. Have you notified her family?”
“We think she is not from here and arrived to stay with the Crawleys,” Edward told him. “I sent a letter to them a few minutes after you arrived. We will know soon enough if she’s staying there. If not, we will wait until she wakes up.”
“Very well,” the doctor nodded. “She has a mild concussion and has to be woken every couple of hours for the next day, and hot soup would make her feel better, I am sure, as long as she doesn’t feel nauseated. If she is staying at the Crawleys, would you write me so I can see her again tomorrow? If not, I could return here.”
“Thank you, doctor and of course, we will let you know.”
“For the moment, there’s nothing to worry about. She will be fine.”
“I will escort you, Doctor Jameson,” Marks suggested.
“Put it on my bill, doctor. I was the one who scared her, after all,” Edward offered the man a hand, which he shook.
“No problem, Mr. McAlister. Have a good night.”
“You, too.”
Edward watched as both men walked away before knocking on the door and opening when he h
eard Mrs. Jones’ voice.
“I just spoke to the doctor,” Edward told her and his gaze went to the sleeping woman, her hair no longer in a complicated bun and curls, the red hair was loose, and it fell into waves on her shoulder. “She will be fine.”
“Yes, he told us,” Mrs. Jones nodded. “Any luck finding out who she is?”
He did his best to repeat the information he gathered and by the end of it, Mrs. Jones seemed to be thinking.
A Hidden Duke For The Passionate Lady (Regency Historical Romance) Page 2
