by Anne Herries
If he did love her, but had denied it for her sake, she would make him admit it somehow. She had not come all this way to waste what was perhaps the last opportunity she would have to be with him.
Chapter Ten
Sally was not far wrong in her estimation, for her fiancé did indeed know most of the officers and had heard of both Richard and Edward. He was not sure if Captain Hernshaw was actually in Brussels at the moment, but he was almost certain that he had seen Lord Maddison at Headquarters the previous day. He did not know where he was quartered, but promised to make inquiries that evening and give them what news he could the next day.
However, he did not keep his appointment with Sally the next morning, and Georgie decided that they must go out to look for their own accommodation, because they could not presume on Mrs Feathers’s good will for ever.
Since the town was so crowded with soldiers, Jenny thought it would be prudent to take their maids with them.
‘It will give us more consequence when we are looking for somewhere to rent,’ she told Georgie confidently. ‘I know it may be difficult, but I am sure we shall find something soon.’
Georgie agreed, though she was not quite as hopeful as Jenny, but in that she was wrong for they found two rooms in a very pleasant house before they had been searching for more than an hour.
‘I had a lovely lady before. She stay here with her daughter for two months,’ the landlady explained in her broken English, which she appeared to understand better than Jenny’s attempts to speak to her in French. ‘They go only this morning. I was to put a notice in my window—but I shall be pleased to take you. I do not allow gentlemen; they can be difficile. You understand? Your maids can share a room in the attic, n’est-ce pas?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Jenny said, smiling at her sweetly. ‘We do understand and this will be perfect for us, madame.’
They returned to Mrs Feathers’s house in high spirits, pleased to have found such a good place. The lady was pleased for them and wished them luck. She told them that Captain Malvern had sent a note to say he had been sent on an errand, which he naturally could not explain, apologising for being unable to give them any news of Lord Maddison at present.
‘Oh, well, it does not matter for the moment,’ Jenny said to Georgie as they arranged for their luggage to be transported to their new lodgings. ‘Once we are properly settled we can make inquiries ourselves.’
‘Yes, I expect so,’ Georgie agreed. ‘It is perhaps a pity that we did not bring one of the grooms with us, because he might have done that for us.’
‘I thought as we were travelling with Mrs Feathers we should not need them,’ Jenny replied, ‘but you are perfectly right. I ought to have thought a little harder before I sent them home. However, I dare say we shall mange very well on our own.’
‘Yes, I am sure we shall,’ Georgie said. ‘We have got here without mishap and we found ourselves very comfortable lodgings. I see no reason to start worrying now.’
It took them most of the day to settle in and unpack their belongings. Georgie went up to look at the attic room that the maids were to share. It was large enough, but a little hot and stuffy.
‘Will this do, Milly?’ she asked Jenny’s maid, who was the senior of the two and might take offence at the arrangement. ‘I am sorry you have to share, but for the moment this is the best we can do. When we find Lord Maddison it may be better.’
‘It will do for the moment, miss,’ the maid replied with a sniff. ‘It isn’t what I’m used to but I dare say we might have done worse. At least this house smells of lavender and herbs rather than boiled cabbage.’
‘Yes, it does,’ Georgie agreed. ‘But it would be better if we had a house of our own. In the morning we must go to Headquarters and discover where Lord Maddison is quartered.’
‘You must not go unescorted,’ Milly replied in a warning tone. ‘Either Rose or I should go with you. It’s a foreign city, miss, and there’s a lot of strange people about—drunken soldiers and the like. I told Rose to be careful when she goes shopping. It’s a pity Andrews didn’t come with us.’ She gave another sniff to show her disapproval.
‘Yes, I think it was a mistake to send both the grooms home. We should have been more comfortable with a man to help us if need be, but it cannot be helped now—unless you think we should try to employ someone?’
‘Employ a foreigner?’ Milly looked horrified. ‘No, miss, especially a man. We’re better off without them! Besides, if anyone tries to accost you or her ladyship, I am more than a match for them—drunken soldier or not!’
Georgie thanked her for her assurances, deciding that when she went shopping she would buy a gift for Milly. Perhaps a new velvet bonnet or some pretty lace she could use to trim an undergarment.
Madame Bonner proved to be a good cook and they enjoyed their dinner that evening, spending the hours before retiring in Jenny’s bedchamber, where they played cards to pass the time.
After a night spent in clean, sweet-smelling sheets, Georgie woke refreshed. She found Jenny a little pensive at breakfast and asked what was on her mind.
‘Oh, nothing…’ Jenny said. ‘I am just wondering what Edward will say when he discovers we are here.’
‘He may be angry at first, but I think he is sure to be pleased once he knows how well we have managed.’
‘Yes, he must be proud of us, mustn’t he?’ Jenny brightened. ‘We should go to Headquarters this morning, do you not think?’
‘Milly says that she should go for us. She says if you give her your card with our address she will have it delivered to him.’
‘Yes, perhaps that is best,’ Jenny said. ‘And then we could take Rose and go shopping. I am eager to explore a little of the fashionable part of the city. I am sure there must be a lot of people here that we know and it would be nice to meet acquaintances.’
Georgie agreed that it would. She secretly suspected that Jenny was a little anxious about her first meeting with her husband, because he had refused to take her with him. However, she said nothing, because Jenny was obviously trying not to think about it. Georgie was more than a little apprehensive about meeting Richard. He was bound to be angry with her, both because she had accompanied Jenny to Brussels—and because of that slap. However, her resolution to remain calm was firm. She would not be provoked into a show of temper whatever he said!
Milly was dispatched with the card and the rest of them set out on a shopping trip. It was very warm and they needed their pretty parasols to shade them from the sun. Noticing that Rose seemed to be suffering a little from the heat, Georgie decided to buy her a plain blue parasol with lace edging for her own use. She bought an untrimmed straw bonnet for Milly, some lace, a length of green ribbon and a bunch of artificial cherries so that the maid could trim it for herself as she wished. For herself she bought a very smart hat, and Jenny bought gloves, lace and a length of green silk, which was to be delivered to their lodgings. However, they were all loaded with small parcels and they decided to stop and indulge in a bowl of the fragrant coffee being sold at a pavement café.
It was as they were leaving the café that Georgie saw the tall figure striding towards them. She knew that he had seen her at almost the same moment, and his expression was serious, even grave. Her heart raced wildly, and she braced herself for the scolding to come.
‘Miss Bridges,’ Richard said as he reached them. His expression was serious, but as far as Georgie could see not angry. She swallowed hard, waiting for what would come next. ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw Milly at Headquarters and she told me she had come to deliver a message to Lord Maddison. How you managed to get here and why, after you both promised to stay at home, I do not know. However, it is fortunate that you did, because I have grave news.’
Jenny had come up to them, her face pale as she heard her brother’s words. ‘Edward!’ she cried. ‘Something has happened! Please tell me at once, Richard—is he dead?’
‘Not dead, Jenny,’ Richard told her in a gent
le tone. ‘Edward was sent on a scouting mission while I was away on a similar errand. Unfortunately, he ran into an enemy patrol. He realised almost at once and tried to outride them, but he was shot in the shoulder, and again in the leg. It happened two days ago, but I did not know until I returned. He was taken in by a village woman, who then sent word to Headquarters. I fetched him back last night, but he has a raging fever and knows no one. I was wondering how best to send word, for I did not wish to leave him unattended—and I must leave again soon. It is a blessing that you ignored his wishes and came, Jenny, for he will need you.’
‘You must take me to him at once,’ Jenny said. ‘Is he in hospital?’
‘A small hospital run by a religious order,’ Richard said. ‘I thought it best for I did not have the time to nurse him at my lodgings—and it is hardly suited for the purpose. Are you well situated where you are? I know it is hard to find good accommodation. Edward had been staying at an inn, which would not be suitable at all.’
‘We have two rooms, though the landlady does not take men as a rule,’ Georgie told him. ‘But Edward would be better in a private house as soon as it can be arranged. I dare say the nuns are good, kind people, but Jenny needs to be with him, and she will nurse him better than anyone else.’
‘Yes…’ Richard nodded. He glanced at her, a speculative look in his eyes, and then back at his sister. ‘He could have my room, which is large enough to hold a truckle bed. If that would suit you, Jenny?’
Jenny hesitated for she did not wish to be parted from Georgie, but Edward’s well being had to come first. ‘Yes, of course,’ she said. ‘Will you be all right at Madame Bonner’s without me, Georgie?’
‘Yes, dearest. You must be with Edward. It is why we came,’ Georgie said. ‘I shall manage and I shall come every day to help you look after Edward, dearest.’
‘It will be a day or so before he can be moved from the hospital,’ Richard said. ‘I shall take you both there now, and then I must go—but I shall return this evening, and in the meantime I shall see if better accommodation can be found for you. You need a house of your own if it can be found.’
Jenny thanked him, all her desire for independence fled now that she knew her husband was desperately ill. ‘I shall be grateful for anything you can do.’
‘You had best send poor Rose back to your present lodgings with those parcels,’ Richard told them. ‘I shall escort you to the hospital.’ He looked at Georgie, seeming hesitant. ‘There is something I must say to you, but it must be for another time. I am sorry I cannot stay with you for longer, but I have much to do.’
‘Of course you have,’ Georgie said. She did not smile, for the news that Edward had been injured was sobering and she could only feel grateful that the man she loved was alive and unharmed. ‘Do not feel that you must worry about us, Richard. We managed to get here without help and we shall manage now. You have your duty. We both understand that.’
His eyes seemed to convey a message that had Georgie’s heart racing. ‘I shall see you this evening. Please wait at the hospital with Jenny. I may have good news for you when I come. At least I shall try.’
Jenny was given permission to sit with her husband in the small ward. There were three other beds, each with a male patient, only a curtain separating one from the other. Waiting in a little room just off the ward, Georgie found the smell of strong soap mixed with sickness a little nauseating, but she passed the time looking out at the nuns’ pretty garden and reciting poetry to herself. It was almost two hours before Jenny came back to her.
‘He is very ill,’ she said, tears in her eyes. ‘Oh, Georgie. If this fever does not break, I fear he will die. The nuns said that the woman who took him in was well meaning, but the cloths she used to bind him were not clean and his thigh wound may be infected.’
‘He is not so lucky as Richard was when he was wounded in the thigh. Henderson tended him so well that he scarcely had a fever at all.’
‘They say that they might try to cauterise the wound if it does not look better by morning.’ Jenny made a little choking sound. ‘If it turns bad, he could lose his leg…’
‘Oh, no,’ Georgie said. Her heart wrenched with pity for she loved Jenny as a sister and knew how much she was suffering. ‘I wish that Henderson were here. I am sure he would not waste time, but do whatever was needed at once.’
‘I wonder that Richard did not suggest it,’ Jenny said. ‘I know that he has helped my brother often in the past.’
‘Perhaps Henderson is not here,’ Georgie replied, frowning. ‘Richard would surely have thought of it if he were.’
‘I must go back to him,’ Jenny said. ‘You can do nothing here, dearest. When we have him home you may help me, but I do not like to think of you wasting your time here.’
‘Richard told me to wait for him,’ Georgie said. ‘But you may tell him I have gone back to Madame Bonner’s house when he comes. I shall ask her if she would be prepared to have Edward there if Richard’s lodgings are not suitable. At least we have two rooms, and you and I could take turns to sleep in mine.’
‘I think she will not like it,’ Jenny said. ‘Richard will do what he can for us, but I think it will be hard to find a house for they are all taken.’
‘I shall go and talk to Madame Bonner,’ Georgie promised. ‘I shall go now, dearest.’ She kissed Jenny’s cheek. ‘My prayers are with you.’
After leaving the hospital, Georgie set off confidently enough, believing that she could easily find her way to the house she was staying at. However, after half an hour of walking, she realised that she must be going in the wrong direction, for the streets had become progressively meaner and she was beginning to feel uncomfortable as she saw that there seemed to be an excessive number of inns and, as dusk gathered, the noise coming from inside sounded loud and rowdy.
It was as she was passing one of them that some men came tumbling out, fighting and brawling amongst themselves, and almost knocking into her.
‘What have we here?’ one of them cried, leering at her in a manner that made her start back in alarm. ‘Don’t be frightened, my pretty doxy. I won’t hurt you. I only want to lift your skirts and pleasure you.’
Georgie gave a squeak of fear, turning and fleeing back the way she had come, the man giving chase with a cry of raucous laughter. She was in such a hurry as she turned the corner that she did not notice the man coming towards her until she bumped into him.
‘I am so sorry…Henderson!’ she cried with relief as she looked up and saw his face. ‘Oh, thank goodness! I was trying to get back to my lodgings and I took a wrong turning and then a man…he seems to think I am a lightskirt or something of the sort.’
‘You shouldn’t be in this part of town alone, miss,’ Henderson told her with a look of disapproval. ‘You’re not running away again, I hope?’
‘No, of course I am not,’ she said. ‘Have you seen Captain Hernshaw recently?’
‘No, for he sent me on an errand and I have just this minute returned to Brussels.’
‘We are in terrible trouble,’ Georgie said. ‘Lord Maddison is badly hurt and Richard took him to the nuns, but they do not seem to know what to do for him. His wound is infected and we are afraid he might die—and we have nowhere to take him.’
‘Can he not stay with you at your lodgings?’
‘Madame Bonner says she does not take gentlemen.’
‘Madame Bonner?’ Henderson looked thoughtful. ‘I think I might know the lady. Take me to her, Miss Georgie—and let me have a word.’
‘Well, I would, except that I am lost, but I can give you her address.’ She repeated it to him parrot fashion and he smiled.
‘I do know the lady, and I believe we may be able to persuade her.’
‘I should be so pleased if you could,’ Georgie told him. ‘Because it would mean that you could help us to tend Lord Maddison’s wounds.’
‘As to that, the captain might have work for me—but I’ll do what I can,’ Henderson promised. ‘
Come along, Miss Georgie. You took a wrong turn just back here.’
Watching Madame Bonner’s face when she opened the door to them a little later, Georgie was amazed. For a moment she just stared, then she broke into a string of excitable French and seized hold of Henderson, kissing him on both cheeks and crying noisily. Her fingers stroked the terrible scars on his face lovingly, her eyes soft and gentle. He patted her on the back, smiled and spoke to her for a few minutes, but so quickly that Georgie could only make out a few words. Whatever he said did the trick because she was all smiles as she looked at Georgie.
‘Bring the poor gentleman here,’ she said. ‘And you, Jacques—you must come too and look after him. You may have my parlour. You can be comfortable there, n’est-ce pas?’
Henderson took a step forward, kissing her on the lips, which made her smile even more. ‘You are a good woman, Belle,’ he said. He turned to Georgie. ‘Stay here, Miss Georgie. I’ll go back to the hospital and make all the arrangements. We’ll do what we can for his lordship, I promise you.’
‘Thank you,’ Georgie said. ‘And thank you for coming to my rescue earlier. You need not say anything of that to Captain Hernshaw?’
‘Mum’s the word, miss,’ he said and winked at her. ‘Don’t want him worrying for nothing, now do we?’
Georgie smiled as he went off. She thanked Madame Bonner again, and went upstairs to change.
It was nearly three hours later when a carriage arrived outside the front door. Madame Bonner opened it to admit Richard and Henderson, who were carrying an unconscious Edward between them. Jenny followed behind, looking pale and tearful.
‘It was terrible,’ she said in a choked voice. ‘The doctor wanted to take Edward’s leg and Henderson wouldn’t let him. There was a row and they were going to throw Henderson out when Richard arrived. He told them he was taking Edward away—and here we are. Henderson says that if Edward had stayed there much longer he might have died. He has promised to do all he can for us.’
