Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Charles stood in the doorway as the doctor checked Harvey over. Lord Coleton's personal doctor had tended to Harvey back at his house, but Charles wanted a second opinion. He couldn't believe that Harvey could be so ill that he had just collapsed. He had always been so healthy.

Now he felt guilty for not looking out for his friend. Charles and Harvey had always spent so much time together, even while he was mourning Mary's death. But recently, Harvey had been doing other things, saying that he had business to attend to and he had pushed it aside for too long. That wasn't like him at all, and Charles should have listened to his gut feeling that something was wrong. But he had trusted his friend and stepped back.

If he hadn't done that, would Harvey be in this position now?

"Would you please leave the room, my lord?" the doctor asked as he leaned over Harvey, lifting up the man's eyelids to examine his eyes further while Harvey lay on the bed. "I can't concentrate if you're shuffling about behind me."

Charles bristled. Normally, he would tell the doctor that he shouldn't speak in such a manner, but he was more worried about his friend than what someone else was ordering him to do. Not wanting to cause a scene, Charles left the room, closing the door behind him. Archie was there, pacing up and down the hallway. He hurried over as Charles appeared.

"Any news?" he asked.

"Not yet," Charles whispered. "I just hope it's exhaustion and nothing more serious."

"The doctor at Lord Coleton's house said it was an illness, and he had finally given up fighting it."

"Well, I want to be sure that he's right. This is my friend here, Archie."

Archie looked uncertain. It was not often that he saw his son like this, and Charles felt awful for him. He clasped Archie's shoulder firmly.

"Don't fret. Uncle Harvey is going to be fine. He just needs a lot of rest. Why don't you go and find Lucy? She's going to come and stay with us."

"Aunt Elizabeth said…"

"I think it's best that Lucy has some time away from the house. Her father will agree. Can you go and make sure the girls are ready to go?"

"Of course." Archie nodded and stepped away. "You can rely on me, Father."

Charles watched him go, seeing the slump of his son's shoulders. The lad put too much onto himself, but he was very much like Charles. He liked being responsible. It was a familiar trait in their family.

The sound of the door opening had Charles turning around, and the doctor stepped out of Harvey's room. He nodded as he closed the door.

"Lord Coleton's doctor said that Lord St. Simon's illness was something that had been creeping up on him for a while, and he just couldn't fight it back any longer, am I right?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well, I agree with him. I'd put it down to exhaustion, though, if it wasn't for how tiny his pupils are in his eyes. That speaks of something more serious."

Charles didn't like the sound of that. He felt a knot tightening in his gut.

"Do you know what it might be?"

"I'll need to come back later and run some more tests with my assistant…"

"What?"

The doctor held up a hand.

"Don't panic, they're perfectly safe. I just don't want to risk moving him right now. He needs plenty of rest."

"I understand." Charles tried not to panic, taking a few deep breaths. "I'll speak to Lady St. Simon about that. If necessary, go through Maxwell and Johnson. They're the butler and Lord St. Simon's valet. They'll provide whatever you need. I'll instruct them on that."

"I appreciate that." The doctor adjusted his hold on his bag, scratching the back of his bald head. "I'll return shortly. I won't be long."

"Please hurry."

Charles wanted to go and see if Harvey was all right, but decided against it. Harvey did need to rest. And Johnson was in with him right now; that man was loyal to his master. He would stand over Harvey until he crumbled to dust, it was that strong. Charles was confident with leaving Harvey in his care.

Escorting the doctor downstairs, Charles watched as the older man left, and Maxwell closed the door behind him. Then Elizabeth came out of the drawing room, looking slightly flustered. She strode over to Charles as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, what is it?" she demanded.

"The doctor is going to come back and run some tests…"

"No!" Elizabeth cut him off. "I won't have him prodding my husband with knives and whatever else."

"Elizabeth, he's not going to carve Harvey up. He's going to find out what's wrong with Harvey. It could be contagious, for all we know, and you and Lucy have been in contact with him."

Elizabeth's face paled a little. Then she spluttered as she tried again.

"But…it can't be contagious, right? He's just exhausted and worked too hard, surely?"

"We don't know until the tests are run. He's in good hands, Elizabeth." Charles patted her arm. "I'm going to take Lucy with me. She can stay with us until Harvey's better."

"Why do you want to take her and not me?" Elizabeth protested. "Why is she the one being taken away?"

"Because you're Harvey's wife, and he needs you by his side. Lucy is also distressed, and time away to give space for her father to recover will do everyone some good."

Elizabeth looked like she wanted to argue further, but she decided against it. Charles was glad about that, as he was in no mood to argue about it. Harvey's health was the main priority here.

"All right, fine," Elizabeth sighed. "But are you going to come back here?"

"Come back?"

"For me? Are you going to comfort me for having such a sick husband?" She leaned toward him. "I'm very distressed by what happened."

Charles had noticed. So distressed that Elizabeth had barely shown herself until Harvey was being put into their carriage. He had no idea where she had gone, and she didn't even seem that worried about her husband, either. Charles had been hoping that Elizabeth really did love her husband, and things had just gotten strained recently, but now he saw it for himself. Elizabeth didn't care about Harvey at all.

He couldn't trust her to look after her husband. But Charles was not comfortable bringing Elizabeth home and looking after her, despite him being away from Harvey. He was going to have to leave her here instead. Maxwell and Johnson would look after Harvey once Charles spoke to them.

He slowly took her hand off his arm.

"I think it would be best that you look after your husband, Elizabeth. He needs you right now."

"But I need someone right now." Elizabeth pouted. "What's wrong with doing something for myself? Can't I be selfish for once?"

"Forgive me for saying, but you seem to have been rather selfish regarding everything lately."

Elizabeth gasped.

"How could you say such a thing?"

"Well, you haven't exactly been a loving partner for Harvey, have you?" Charles knew that he was raising his voice with his annoyance, but he didn't care. "You try to spend as much time as you can with me, or with whoever will give you attention. When was the last time you actually spent time with Harvey out of your own volition?"

Elizabeth faltered, and that was enough answer for Charles. He shook his head and stepped around her.

"I'm going to take Lucy to my home for now. Hopefully, Harvey will recover without having to worry about his daughter."

"It's her, isn't it?"

Charles stopped and turned back. Elizabeth was glaring at him, the fury clear to see. She gripped onto the edge of the banister with whitened knuckles.

"What did you say?"

"It's because of that woman you're talking to me like this," Elizabeth hissed. "She's just an influence on you now that you won't listen to anyone else. Including me!"

It took a moment for Charles to realize who she was talking about. Louise. Anger stirred and he stepped back toward her.

"You think I'm doing this because of Lady Louise?"

"Of course you are! You would have agreed to look after me without hesitation if she wasn't around!"

"Actually, I wouldn't. My response would have been exactly the same. This has nothing to do with Lady Louise."

Elizabeth snorted rudely.

"Of course, it isn't. You've had your head turned by that little harlot that you won't look or listen to anyone else. She's not good to be around you, and yet you still spend time with her?"

Charles growled, which made Elizabeth jump. He pointed at her, still keeping his distance.

"You will never call Louise a harlot again," he snarled. "You will not speak about her in such a manner."

"But…"

"Enough!" Charles shouted. "Louise is a warm, caring person. She's not judgmental, and she is willing to listen. The sweetest person I've ever come across, and I have Lara as a daughter. If I'm spending time with her it's because I like her and I want to be around her. You do not get to dictate who I can and cannot see, Elizabeth. I'm not a child. And you are not my wife, so stop telling me what I can do. Especially when it comes to Louise!"

There was a moment of stunned silence. Elizabeth looked as pale as Harvey had been earlier that day. She began to tremble.

"She really has bewitched you," she whispered. "Just like Mary. They're all the same."

Charles couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was she not backing down?

"Why are you bringing Mary up now? She has nothing to do with it. That's your sister you're being disrespectful toward!"

"She turned your head as well."

"So what? She was the woman I wanted to be with. What's wrong with that?" Charles could feel his anger about to snap, and he turned away. "I'm not doing this with you, Elizabeth. Don't you ever say a word about Mary or Louise again. I'm not about to have you disrespect them."

"Charles, wait!"

But Charles had no intention of listening anymore. He was really going to lose his temper if he tried.

***

"I hope that Father's going to be all right," Lucy said, wringing her hands as she paced around the room. "I couldn't bear it if something happened to him and I wasn't there with him."

"He's going to be fine, Lucy," Archie assured her. "Uncle Harvey is strong. I'm sure he'll be up and moving around like normal in no time."

"Did you not see him when he collapsed, Archie?" Lara asked, giving her brother a frown from across the room. "He looked so frail. I'm surprised he stayed upright for as long as he did."

Lucy whimpered, and Archie winced. Grimacing, Louise gently nudged Lara.

"Maybe not the best choice of words?" she suggested, nodding at Lucy.

That had Louise's eyes widening, and she gasped.

"Oh, goodness, I…forgive me, Lucy, I wasn't thinking."

Lucy didn't respond, continuing to pace around in circles. She was making Louise dizzy, but she didn't have it in her heart to tell her to stop. It was a frightening situation to be in, and Louise couldn't begin to imagine how Louise was feeling right now. If someone she loved dearly was in such a similar situation, Louise knew she would be scared as well.

The image of Charles floated across her mind. If something happened to him…

No, she wasn't going to think about that. It was too much, and Louise knew it would overwhelm her if she thought further into it. She had to keep a level head while they waited for news on Viscount St. Simon's health.

The door opened, and everyone immediately turned toward it. Charles entered the room, and Louise was on her feet before the twins were, her heart pounding in her chest. Lucy hurried to her uncle.

"How is he?" she asked breathlessly, her voice trembling. "Is he going to be all right?"

"The doctor is confident that all he needs is rest," Charles said with a gentle smile at his niece. He reached out and rubbed her arms. "You can go and see him shortly once the doctor says so. He's just going to make sure on a few things first."

"What about Mother?" Lucy bit her lip. "What is she going to do?"

"You let me worry about her. But your father is conscious, and he said that he would rather you came with the twins and myself for a few days." Charles held up a hand as Lucy started to protest. "It's just until he's feeling better. We don't know if what he has is contagious, and he doesn't want you to get sick as well."

Louise could see that Lucy wanted to argue, but the girl's shoulders slumped and her head bowed.

"All right," she mumbled.

"It'll be fine." Charles kissed her forehead and then looked over at Louise. "Thank you for staying with them, Lady Louise."

"Of course," Louise said quickly, aware that Lara was giving her a sly look. She hurried toward him. "Do you need me for anything more?"

"I think we've got everything covered. Your carriage was called, so it should be at the front door by now." Charles gestured for her to follow him. "I'll walk you out."

Louise felt a rush of disappointment. She wanted to stay a little longer, to be there for him, but she knew that she would be treading on other people's toes if she stayed. After all, she wasn't family.

She turned to Lucy and squeezed her hands.

"Take care of yourself, Lucy. I'll see you soon."

"I hope so, my lady." Lucy gave her a tiny smile. "Thank you for your kindness."

Nodding at Archie and Lara, Louise followed Charles out of the room. He closed the door behind him, lowering his voice as he took Louise's arm as he led her toward the front door.

"I've just spoken to the doctor, and they're going to run some tests."

"Tests?" Louise's eyes widened. "Does that mean he thinks there is something suspicious about Lord St. Simon falling ill?"

"It's apparently just a precaution, but…" Charles hesitated. "With the way things are going, and the comment about his pupils being like pinpoints…it reminds me of that case of Lord Marchmont a few years ago. Do you remember that?"

Louise did. It had been the talk of the ton at the time, and the culprit—his stepdaughter—had been hanged for the crime. She stared at him.

"Are you saying that Lord St. Simon might have been poisoned?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case," Charles said quietly, looking around him. "I don't want to think about it, but if it comes out that way…"

"Surely, it's just exhaustion," Louise insisted. "And you're looking for something that isn't there."

"I'm hoping to God that this is the case." Charles ran his fingers through his hair. "Because the implications if he is poisoned is something I don't want to think about."

Neither did Louise. Someone close to St. Simon would have to have poisoned him, and she didn't want to contemplate someone in his family doing that. She might have considered Lady St. Simon as the poisoner, but that was dismissed almost immediately.

The viscountess was a smart woman; she wouldn't poison someone when everyone would be pointing the finger at her. As someone who made her feelings about her husband clear, it would make her the obvious suspect.

Louise didn't want to think about the rest of it.

Charles looked worn out. Louise didn't care that there were a few servants within sight. She slipped her hand into his and drew it away from his face.

"It's going to be all right, didn't you say?" she said with a gentle smile. "Lord St. Simon is going to be safe and well, and he'll recover."

"I know I said that, but I'm still struggling with the knowledge that my closest friend is so unwell and how it's affecting his daughter." Charles sighed heavily. "This feels like the whole day is going downhill."

"It isn't, and focus on what you need to do, not what you could have done. It's not going to help anyone."

"You're right." Charles' expression softened as he smiled at her. "I'm glad you were here, Louise. I don't know how I would have coped if you hadn't been around to help with the children."

Louise smiled back.

"They're hardly children anymore, Charles," she reminded him. "And you needed some help, so I'm glad that it was me."

"I do appreciate it. You were well-balanced compared to me." Charles shook his head. "I'm not feeling calm or composed right now. It's not a nice sensation."

Louise could see that. He looked like he wanted to go to a quiet room and lock himself away. Before she stopped herself, she stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Charles stiffened in surprise as she embraced him, resting her cheek against his chest, but then he put his arms around her and hugged her back, resting his chin on her head.

For a moment, neither of them said anything, simply accepting the silence and the comfort they gave each other. Louise knew that what they were doing was frowned upon, especially when people could see them, but she didn't care. She just wanted to give Charles some comfort.

"You know," Charles said as he shifted his head, his hand cupping her head as he urged her to look up at him, "you're going to have your reputation brought into question if you do something like this. Aren't you worried about that?"

"I'm considered an old maid by everyone now, and you're not married." Louise shrugged. "Also, given the circumstances, I doubt anyone can be upset about it. It's just pathetic to be upset about something so innocent."

Charles' eyes darkened as he looked at her. He reached up and brushed his fingers across her cheek. His touch was gentle and warm, the heat trickling over Louise's jaw. She turned her head and leaned into his hand, the palm now cupping her cheek. It was a simple gesture, but it felt so intimate as well.

"How you're not married by now, I have no idea," Charles murmured, almost as if he was talking to himself. "You are a remarkable woman, Louise."

"Once I get the answer to that, I'll let you know." Louise was aware that she was blushing, but she didn't pull away as she looked up at him. "Maybe someone was saving me for this moment."

That was a bold statement, she knew that, and Louise was aware that she couldn't take it back anymore. But given everything that had been going on between her and Charles, she had a feeling that things would be all right once it settled down.

Charles' eyes drifted over her face, and Louise felt him draw her closer. Their faces were now inches apart. It dawned on Louise that he was actually going to kiss her. Her lips throbbed at the thought, and she shifted up onto her tiptoes, wanting to get that kiss.

A shriek had Louise losing her balance, and Charles had to tighten his hold around her before Louise ended up on the floor. Lady St. Simon was storming toward them, her eyes blazing with fury at Louise.

"How dare you?" she screamed. "How dare you, you little harlot!"

Before Louise could get her balance back, Charles had shoved her behind him, and she had to grab onto his arms as Lady St. Simon approached them. Charles sidestepped and blocked the viscountess' way.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Elizabeth," he said quietly, his voice coming out as a snarl, "but you will not call Lady Louise such names, and certainly not in my presence."

"She is a harlot!" Lady St. Simon cried, fury vibrating through her words. "Who does she think she is?"

"How is she one, then?" Charles challenged her. "She's unmarried, and I'm a widower. Neither of us is attached to anyone. Sure, we might be taking some slight liberties, but we're not attached to anyone else, so how can she be considered a harlot?"

"Because she is!"

"How? Give me specific reasons."

Lady St. Simon began to flounder, her mouth opening and closing. Louise might have laughed if the situation wasn't so dire. Charles nudged Louise toward the door.

"I think you'd better go, Louise," he said. "I'll let you know the progress on Lord St. Simon, and if I need anything else."

"Of…of course." Louise cleared her throat and backed away. "You know where I am when you need me."

Lady St. Simon looked past Charles and scowled, her anger palpable and frightening.

"Lord Chesterfield will not be calling upon you for anything," she hissed. "Our family is in turmoil right now and the last thing we want is for an outsider to be here making a mess of everything."

"That's enough!" Charles bellowed, making both women jump. "I told you to stop! Do you ever listen to anything, Elizabeth?"

Lady St. Simon's face went pale, and she stammered something, but Charles ignored her, turning to Louise with a stony expression.

"I'll send word tomorrow, Louise. You go home now."

"Yes…yes, my lord."

Louise was only too grateful to get out of there. Especially with the viscountess being as volatile as she was. She could understand with the situation, but, somehow, she didn't think that was the reason for the vitriol aimed in her direction. Although Louise was loath to leave Charles with his sister-in-law.

But she had to trust him. She didn't really have a choice about it.