Miss Merton's Last Hope

by Heather Boyd

  “Thank you.” Melanie left to collect her bonnet and gloves while Walter fidgeted under Valentines curious gaze.

  “No detours.”

  “Of course not.” He wouldn’t dare ruin Melanie’s last night in Brighton by doing something she would regret. “I find I have to go to Oxford suddenly and I wonder if I might travel the distance with your sister tomorrow.”

  Valentine’s shoulders sagged. “It would be a relief to have you travel with her. Her maid is going along as chaperone but it’s a long way.”

  “Excellent.” He dragged his gloves back on. “You have saved me the expense and bother of hiring a carriage for the trip.”

  Melanie rejoined them, wearing a warmer-looking coat today, and he was pleased she had listened to him.

  Valentine nodded. “How long did you say you’d be staying in Oxford?”

  Melanie appeared startled and he smiled tightly. “I’m not sure. My business depends entirely on someone else, but I am sure we can come to some arrangement sooner or later.” He gestured to the door as the maid presented herself. “Shall we, ladies?”

  The maid smiled warmly, but outside she fell back a few paces. “I hear Oxford is perfectly dreadful at this time of year,” he mused.

  “You cannot follow me to Oxford.”

  “You cannot stop me, and I have your brother’s permission to see you safely home. He’s agreed to let me travel in your carriage.”

  “To travel with me will call our connection into question.”

  “With a maid too, remember.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sure Miss Pond will beat me with your parasol if I overstep my bounds during the journey.”

  “I know my duty, sir,” the girl promised.

  He grinned, unsurprised by her loyalty to Melanie.

  Once they were beyond sight of her home, the maid fell back a few steps more and he took a deep breath. “Imogen came to see me about you.”

  “She did?”

  “Your gift for the child she carries truly startled her.”

  Melanie sighed. “I did not mean to make her uncomfortable but I wanted to know that she received the clothes I’d made for her children.”

  He lowered his voice. “We should discuss Brahms, too.”

  Melanie started to laugh softly. “And the mysterious Mr. Sandbottom? Could you not stop her from including you in her work with that description?”

  “You discovered that too?” He glanced down at her in time to see a blush sweep her cheeks.

  “Well, I would, since it was me who first described you that way to Imogen.” She glanced down at her hands. “It was very wrong of me to call you names, but in my defense I was only a girl at the time. I never thought of it again until I read The Recluse of the Sea. She describes you very well indeed. It is my favorite story.”

  Melanie darted forward, headed toward Mrs. Clemens’ home at a fast walk. So fast he had to jog a few steps to keep up. “There are many months left until the child comes. Why would you give it to her so soon?”

  “I thought it might be the only chance I have to know whether she could forgive me before I go home.”

  “That might take time. Certainly more time than a single day, and I do think you have a chance to be friends again but only if you stay.” He glanced ahead and saw Mrs. Clemens and several children coming to meet them. He had no time to make his case now so he finished with the truth. “Running away will solve nothing. Please. I’m not willing to let you go, Mellie.”

  Fifteen

  Ignoring Walter after his confession that he wasn’t ready to let her go proved extremely difficult, but for Mrs. Clemens’ sake, Melanie buried her heartache deep and focused on the task at hand. “It is not settled that you must give up your children but he has expressed an interest.”

  “No.” The woman stood and turned her back to them. “My Francis never had a kind word to say about his elder brother. Said he was a bully as a boy.”

  “Sometimes what we perceive in childhood isn’t always the truth. Perhaps he has changed.” Melanie turned to Walter for his opinion. “What did you think of him?”

  He described the man he’d known once. “His letter does sound sincere in his desire to offer aid.”

  “By stealing my children.”

  Walter stood. “I have your answer. Do not overset yourself. I shall write to him immediately and let him know you decline his offer.”

  Melanie caught Mrs. Clemens’ arm and guided her back to a chair. “Kindly worded, of course.”

  “I will be eloquent.”

  He grinned and the pain of leaving him intensified. They worked well as a team. She turned her attention back to Mrs. Clemens. “Now I want your promise that you will not fret over the matter. Walter has delivered his message and that is that. The children worry so when you become upset.”

  “I won’t.” Mrs. Clemens took Melanie’s hand. “Promise me you will take care of yourself too. You will be a long way away and you’ll be in my prayers every day.”

  “As you will be in mine,” Melanie promised. She said her goodbyes and moved down the narrow hallway toward the front door to where her maid had waited. Walter followed close behind. He touched her shoulder briefly and an ache to seek comfort from him built. She always hated saying goodbye to her friends.

  Words failed her and they returned to Cavendish Place in silence. Melanie was uncomfortably aware of Walter’s presence so close and yet so far away, and while she’d love to stay in Brighton for friendship’s sake, it would be impossible to change her plans now. Valentine would want to know why she’d changed her mind and she couldn’t tell him. Her parents had already been warned to expect her arrival.

  Her doorway loomed. “Would you care to come in?”

  “I intended to.”

  In the entrance hall, he removed her coat and the brush of his fingers across her body sent a thrill through her. The maid smiled briefly then fled down the hall.

  “Is that you, Melanie? Come quick!”

  Her brother’s wail sent her flying toward the sound. Valentine was bent over the settee where Julia rested, pale as a sheet. “What happened?”

  “She fell from a window.”

  Melanie took a step back as nausea swamped her. Walter grasped her about the waist and hoisted her out of his way. He moved forward to inspect Julia. “Has a doctor been sent for?” he asked Valentine.

  Melanie averted her eyes and held on to the nearest piece of furniture. She wasn’t any good with the injured and sick. She never knew what to do and anything she said was tinged with panic. She peeked at Julia and her stomach dropped again. She was so pale and clearly in pain. Melanie shuddered and perspiration broke out over her skin.

  “Her shoulder,” Walter murmured.

  “I tried to stop my fall,” Julia whispered brokenly.

  “Yes, darling.” Valentine kissed her fingers. “I hope it is only dislocated.”

  A dislocation meant a resetting of bone into place. Julia would scream from the pain, and after that she’d be forced to rest for weeks and weeks. She would hate both things.

  The door swung open and Brighton’s apothecary, Mr. Rigby, hurried across to his patient. Walter returned to her side and put his arm around her back. She huddled against him, even as she fought her fear.

  The apothecary peered at Julia over his spectacles. “I always wondered when I would have to come and call on you, young lady.”

  “Well, now you have your turn,” Julia whispered. She moaned as the man moved her right arm. He wriggled fingers and toes and checked her eyes and tongue. By Julia’s halting account, only her right upper body hurt.

  “Dislocation of the shoulder,” Mr. Rigby confirmed. He removed his spectacles carefully, his stare disapproving. “You are a very fortunate woman.”

  “I don’t feel fortunate.”

  “It will be all right.” Valentine smoothed Julia’s hair from her damp face. His concern was sweet; a reminder that her brother wasn’t afraid to show how much he cared.<
br />
  “You’ll be fine in no time,” he promised. “I’ve seen this done before and every patient made a full recovery. Isn’t that correct, Mr. George?”

  “Indeed they have.” The rumble of Walter’s voice against her face had the immediate affect of calming her panic. She turned her face toward Julia.

  “No limit of movement whatsoever afterward,” Rigby crowed as he moved around her sister-in-law. “You’ll have no trouble holding your babies when they come.”

  The mention of babies brought a smile at last to Julia’s face. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Mr. Rigby and Valentine moved into positions to reset the bone. Melanie turned her face into Walter’s chest as a sickening crunch filled her ears.

  Walter squeezed her tightly. “She’s fainted.”

  Unwilling to move, Melanie clung to Walter a little longer. He drew circles on her back and pressed a kiss to her hair. “The worst is over.”

  “Best get her up to bed and comfortable before she wakes from her faint,” the apothecary suggested.

  Walter set Melanie aside as Valentine lifted Julia into his arms. She did not stir and, with Walter’s guidance, he removed his unconscious wife upstairs to their bedchamber.

  Melanie drew in a steadying breath then faced Mr. Rigby. “Thank you, sir.”

  “It is my pleasure.” He glanced at her curiously. “I thought you were made of sterner stuff.”

  Melanie shook her head quickly. “I never know what to do.”

  “Best remember to send for me when you have a need then. I was expecting you to faint.” He collected his bag. “I’d best be on my way, but I will return tomorrow to check how she’s doing.”

  As soon as Rigby went out, Linus Radley appeared on the front step, his eyes wild. “I came as soon as I heard. What has happened to my sister?”

  “A fall.” They had not spoken since she’d refused him, but she could not deny him the chance to comfort his sister at a time like this. “They say she will recover, Mr. Radley. Valentine is just settling her into bed upstairs.”

  She gestured for him to enter. He held his hat awkwardly and stared at her. Melanie took his hat just as Walter returned. “Radley,” he said in a tone that was both cautious and belligerent.

  “George. I’ve come to see my sister.”

  “Upstairs to the right. She was just coming round as I took my leave.”

  Radley took the stairs two at a time in his hurry.

  Alone at last, Melanie locked the front door and pressed her head against the wood. She should have done something for Julia, but as always, her fear prevented her from acting.

  “Mellie?”

  She flew into Walter’s arms and hugged him tight. “I should have helped.”

  “No. She is Valentine’s wife. It is for him to fret and worry and comfort her when she is sick or afraid.” Walter cupped her face. “Just as I comforted you.”

  He bent his head and kissed her brow.

  Melanie curled her fingers into his lapels. He was more of a comfort to her now than he would ever realize. Even she had not understood until this moment how much she’d come to rely on him. He drew her into the parlor and pressed her into the chaise. When he took a place beside her and caught up her hand, she clung to him.

  He shifted closer. “I expect this will curtail Julia’s adventurous nature for a while.”

  “She’s never been hurt before.” Melanie bit her lip. “The odd scraped knee, but never like this.”

  “No. She has been very lucky. I hope this misadventure will put an end to her escapist tendencies.”

  “Perhaps it will.”

  He smoothed her hair behind her ear. “What did Linus say to you?”

  “Nothing. He only came to enquire after his sister’s health.”

  “He should have apologized,” Walter grumbled and then stroked his thumb over her knuckles.

  “Honestly, I don’t need the apology and I don’t want you demanding it.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Could you stay a while longer?”

  His smile was soft. “I wasn’t going to leave until Radley was on his way home and I was certain you were feeling yourself again.”

  She smiled because he was the last man she’d ever expected to make her feel good about herself. Secure, safe. She did want his arms around her. His lips covering hers. His dry wit and teasing smile driving away the doubts that filled her mind constantly. She had grown accustomed to him, just as he’d suggested she might of a suitor.

  However, he’d never said he was courting her. He’d never brought her flowers or taken her driving. Yet he knew her better than any of the men who had previously proposed. She wanted to show him how much she cared.

  She glanced up at his face then leaned toward him, seeking a kiss. He obliged with a softly muttered groan and pulled her against him.

  Walter brushed his lips across hers and she did the same back to him. She lifted her fingers to span his neck and pulled him even closer, settling her body against his, but he broke the kiss.

  “I love when you touch me,” he whispered against her ear. The warm tickle of his breath against her skin made her gasp. He brushed over her throat with the tips of his fingers and her senses rioted.

  He eased away. “We should stop before your brother comes down and catches us. I’ve asked for tea to be readied for you and I think Valentine could use a drink to settle his nerves when he joins us.”

  He’d no sooner spoken of Valentine than the thump of boots on stairs reached her ears. She jumped to her feet guiltily as Valentine and Mr. Radley joined them. “How is she?”

  Valentine ran a hand through his hair as Walter moved to the sideboard where the liquor was stored. “She’s asking for you.”

  Melanie hurried from the room, regretful and grateful for Valentine’s interruption. It was so easy to get swept away when she was alone with Walter.

  She slipped inside the doorway of her brother’s room quietly. Julia lay flat on her back staring up at the ceiling. A bottle of laudanum and a silver spoon sat upon a small table near the bed.

  “Sister,” Julia whispered.

  “I’m here.” A chair had been placed beside the bed and she perched on the edge. “What can I do?”

  “Nothing for me. I have little time.” She licked her lips. “You have feelings for Walter, don’t you?”

  “I…” Melanie nodded. “Yes.”

  Despite the pain, Julia managed a smile. “I thought so.”

  Melanie leaned closer and whispered, “How could you?”

  “You have always preferred Walter’s company and you were so sad after you quarreled.”

  “That was for many reasons.”

  A smile curved Julia’s lips. “You were moping so much, I’m surprised Valentine didn’t discern he was the cause.”

  “I was not moping,” Melanie insisted, but whom was she fooling? She had lost her heart to Walter. His disapproval had cut her to the quick.

  “You are a terrible liar.” Julia winced. “I will be laid up a while, confined to bed they say, so I have demanded Valentine make you stay in Brighton for as long as I need you. That will be as long as it takes for Walter to propose.”

  She brushed her fingers over Julia’s brow gently, surprised to see her hand was steady for a change. “You didn’t fall out of that window on purpose, did you?”

  “No. I’d never be as foolish as to purposely injure myself. I had not tried a window escape in this house from the upper floor and I’m sure I never shall try again.” Julia licked her lips and closed her eyes briefly. “But I’ve been trying to dream up a way to make you stay and having no success. I like having a sister too much to lose you so soon. I’d rather lose you to Walter than to your parents. They don’t love you like we do. Like he does. Miss Pond happens to agree with my assessment.”

  Melanie reached for Julia’s left hand. “He has not proposed a marriage between us. He is not courting me.”

  “He will. He cares for you so much. I’ve s
uspected it for some time, and you care for him too, or you would never have allowed him to comfort you in his arms.” Julia opened her eyes wide, but it was all too clear she was fighting the effect of the laudanum and losing. “I won’t need you after nightfall. I will ask Valentine to stay with me so if you were to slip out of the house after dinner, he will never know about it. There is a lot more that can be said without a chaperone, a brother or sister, butting in at the wrong moment. That is how your brother convinced me to wed, you know. We spoke our hearts to each other.”

  “I don’t think I should.”

  “Please.” Her grip tightened. “He knows you. He knows what you want. Give him a chance.”

  Julia closed her eyes again and after a time, her breathing slowed enough to indicate sleep.

  Was she brave enough to sneak into Walter’s house just to talk to him? Nothing in her life had prepared her for making these sorts of decisions.

  Assured that Julia rested comfortably for the time being, she slipped from the room and made her way to her brother, only to be brought up short. Linus Radley had remained with Valentine and Walter. She took a step back. “Julia sleeps now.”

  Valentine nodded and turned to Radley, one brow raised. “I believe you had something to say.”

  Radley cleared his throat. “I wish to apologize, Miss Merton, for my poor display of temper. I have no excuse.”

  Behind Mr. Radley, Walter nodded firmly.

  She nodded too. “Thank you.”

  Although Radley appeared ready to say more on the subject, she lifted her hand to stop him. She did not want to hear his excuses for losing his temper. What he thought of her no longer mattered. “If you gentlemen would excuse me, Julia expects me to remain at her side until nightfall. Walter, could you inform Imogen of Julia’s injury yourself? She should not suffer shocks in her delicate condition.”

  “An excellent idea.” He collected his hat. “You know where I am if you need me.”

  Sixteen

  Repeated soft knocking brought Walter to his feet. He tossed Imogen’s latest manuscript onto his bed and threw a shirt over his nakedness and tugged on a pair of trousers. At this late hour, close to midnight, there was only one reason for someone to seek him out. Trouble. He hoped the matter had nothing to do with Julia Merton.