Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

N igel

Nigel rubbed his temples as he looked around the room. His head was sore after the night before, though he knew very well it had little to do with the drink Kathryn had given him and everything to do with the concoction he had made himself.

Once bathed, he sat down on the edge of his bed, leaning forward as he pulled a shirt on over his head.

"What happened?" he whispered aloud, trying to recall every minute of her being here.

He felt confident in some parts of the evening, but after he had taken the tea and he'd relaxed in his chair, he was no longer sure what was reality and what was a dream. There seemed to be a black abyss in his mind where a memory should have been. The feeling of waking with Kathryn leaning on him made his stomach quell, both with excitement and fear.

Was I a perfect gentleman last night…?

The fear that he may have behaved inappropriately had him moving quickly, changing as fast as he could. He reached for his book listing his appointments as he finished the tea that he had made in the image of the one Kathryn had made the night before. Turning to his appointments, his heart leaped into his mouth when he saw the first name of the day.

Lady Georgiana Bingley.

"God's wounds," he muttered aloud. It felt foolish indeed to go to the house now, when it might yet be discovered that Kathryn had not been there for the night. Could he avoid going to the house at all? Could he send word that he was needed elsewhere and attend to his other patients instead?

I cannot do that to Lady Georgiana.

He shrugged on his tailcoat and reached for his medicine bag, tucking it under his arm as he made his way to the door. It would be idiotic of him to turn his back on any patient, and he had no intention of not checking on a patient just because of his own misdemeanor's. His need to protect his patients far outweighed his fear of being discovered with Kathryn.

"I must go," he muttered repeatedly to himself as he made his way to the door of his apartments, pulling on his hessian boots and attempting to flatten his now damp hair. Just before he left, he glanced back at the chairs where the two of them had been sitting together the night before under the blankets. The blankets were now screwed up in one of the seats. Nigel felt momentary warmth spreading through him, remembering the peaceful look on Kathryn's expression and the way he had reached toward her.

For one wild minute, he'd felt free of all his worries. He'd been purely happy. Then he'd realized it was morning and reality had returned.

"What have I done?" he whispered as he strode out of the room.

"What is going on?" a voice asked.

The door creaked open just as Kathryn walked uneasily across the bedchamber.

She hadn't been given enough time to sort out the room, or her own clothes. She had only managed to tip all the shoes back in the cupboard, leaving her gown still on the floor and her undergarments beneath her night rail. She turned around, seeing Lady Georgiana standing in the doorway with the maid behind her, who was blushing a deep shade of red.

"Are you unwell?" Lady Georgiana asked, stepping into the room toward Kathryn.

"Yes. A little, I fear." Kathryn was so jittery with her nerves that she at least didn't have to act the part of being shaken. Her hands fidgeted together in front of her, and her breathing was labored. "I asked if I could have breakfast in my chamber. I think it wise I rest this morning."

"Here, let me see." Lady Georgiana walked toward her, striking her cane across the floor as she moved. She placed the back of her hand to Kathryn's temple, her brow furrowing deeply in concentration. "Hmm. You are a little warm."

I am?

Kathryn presumed it was her hasty dash through the house that had made her body heated.

"What the…" Georgiana looked down at what Kathryn was wearing. Kathryn shifted the sleeves of her gown but knew there was little she could do to hide the undergarments that peeked through the night rail. "Did you not undress properly last night?"

"I… I fell asleep like this."

"You did not." The maid stepped forward. She blushed an even richer shade of crimson as Lady Georgiana turned to look at her, as if she feared speaking out of turn. "Forgive me, my Lady, but I prepared Miss Fitzroy for bed properly last night. The room was neat and tidy. I plaited her hair too."

Kathryn forgot this and reached for the loose locks now, pushing them behind her shoulders.

"She was perfectly ready for bed when I left," the maid whispered, clearly confused.

"I… I struggled to sleep." Kathryn hastened to explain. "Yes, Eloise is right. She prepared me for bed, but my headache soon came on. Finding I could not sleep, I dressed again and went to the library. I tried reading for a bit, but I'm afraid it didn't help. I came back to bed and found I was too tired to undress myself properly. I am sorry, Eloise. I have made quite a mess of this chamber."

The maid still frowned in confusion. Rather than saying anything more, she went to tidy things up. She snatched up the gown first, though her nose wrinkled when she got near it, and she recoiled a little from it.

"What is it?" Georgiana took the gown from the maid and sniffed it herself, her eyes going wide. "An unusual smell, Kathryn. One would think you had been smoking a pipe with this smile. There's something else to it too. Something…acrid."

Kathryn stiffened, thinking of Doctor Beille's rooms the night before. His pipe had been discarded on the side again, filling the air with the scent of smoke. The acrid smell must have come from that strange brandy and chemical concoction he had made himself.

"I… I knocked something over in my garderobe." She pointed toward the door that led to her garderobe. "I cleaned it up again," she added hastily, before the maid could cross to the garderobe to investigate. "I am sorry. I seem to have made quite a mess last night."

"Hmm. Well, one can do strange things when they are not well." Despite Georgiana's words, she didn't seem to believe them. Her head was cocked to the side and her eyes didn't blink as she watched Kathryn. "Come. Sit, dear. You do look a little heated and flustered."

"Thank you." Kathryn moved to the edge of the bed and sat down, her hands repeatedly fumbling and fidgeting in her lap. Georgiana passed the gown to the maid, urging her in a whisper to send it to the laundry to get rid of the smell.

"Fetch some tea for Kathryn too, please," Georgiana pleaded. "I shall sit with her for a minute." Slowly, she sat on the stool in front of the vanity table as the maid left. When the door closed behind her, Georgiana rested two palms on her walking cane and raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

"Well?" Kathryn repeated, her fidgeting growing worse.

"Out with it. There's something more to this than just a headache. One does not wander the house at night to such an extent, reading and knocking things over in the garderobe, just because of a headache."

"I…" Kathryn inhaled deeply, knowing there was one way to end the conversation. A particular subject matter was a way to explain odd behavior and with so few people willing to talk of it in front of others, it usually ended discussion right away. "I do have a headache, Cousin, yet I am also struggling with the moon's cycle." She lowered her head, avoiding Georgiana's gaze. "I am in some discomfort, and I hoped that wandering could distract me from the pain. I was wrong."

"Ah, I see." Georgiana stood at once. Just as Kathryn had hoped, Georgiana did not ask again what was wrong. "Come, then. I think it best that you rest in bed for a while." She flicked her fingers toward the head of the bed where Kathryn had puffed up all the pillows. "I'll arrange for your breakfast to be brought to you here."

"Thank you." Kathryn raised herself from the edge of the bed. Before she could move to the other end though, the door opened.

The tea must have already been brewed downstairs for Eloise had returned quickly indeed, with a steaming teapot on a tray. She bobbed a curtsy, and crossed toward the table that was by the head of the bed.

"Eloise, Kathryn will have her breakfast in her chamber after all. She is suffering a little from…well, you know. Her time! It comes to us all. Well, it did in my younger days, though not anymore." Georgiana laughed at her own jest.

Kathryn caught the maid's eye as Eloise nearly dropped the tray in surprise. As her maid, it would be Eloise's responsibility to bring flannels and wash clothes that could be bound into pads to stem such a flow. Kathryn held her breath as Eloise clearly knew that she had not been asked to bring such a thing the night before. The crockery on the tray chinked a little loudly as she looked up, catching Kathryn's eye in confusion.

"I thought…" She began but said no more.

"Oh, excuse me." Kathryn sat down on the edge of the bed. Not knowing what else to do, and only feeling that she had to distract Georgiana at once, she covered her face with her hands. "I fear I feel dizzy."

"How strange. This month is taking its toll on you, is it not?" Georgiana took her shoulder. "Come, sit back against the pillows and rest your head. Perhaps the tea will help to revive you."

"Thank you." Kathryn sat back, uneasily, lifting her head enough to watch Eloise. At least now the maid was rushing to her task, pouring out the tea and no longer looking at Kathryn with pure suspicion.

"Here, drink this." Georgiana took the tea from the maid and thrust it into Kathryn's hands. "We have all had our bad days when it comes to such a thing. Sometimes, it takes a strangling hold on our bodies." She sat down on the edge of the bed, huffing loudly. "A strange thing, is it not?"

"Very," Kathryn agreed with a nod, startled that Georgiana was willing to talk of such private things at all.

"I have often wondered at the science behind it, the biological function." Her nose screwed up. "My late husband believed it was God's way of showing women were sinful creatures."

"He said that?" Kathryn spluttered, her jaw falling slack. She had read enough in Arabella's notes to know something of the science.

"He did. Fortunately, I did not believe him." Georgiana looked at Kathryn, her frown growing greater. "You do look quite ill, dear." She placed her hand to Kathryn's brow again. "Hmm… I think it best we get someone to take a look at you."

"That will not be necessary. I will be quite well after a short rest," Kathryn said hurriedly, fearing she knew where Georgiana was going with this.

A horse neighed close by, and Eloise darted to the window, peering down at the drive.

"Is that him?" Georgiana called to her.

"Yes, my Lady. Doctor Beille has just arrived for his appointment with you."

"Excellent." Georgiana stood from her seat on the bed. "Then he shall see Kathryn before me."

"What!?" Kathryn spluttered, nearly dropping her teacup and spilling tea all over her hand.