Lavender Lady Read Free Page B

cosy cottage. On the threshold he turned to wave to her, and she waved back. Then she went upstairs to see to her patient.
    Mr. Fairfax was still sleeping, though far from peacefully. He moved restlessly as if trying to find a comfortable position, prevented by his leg. Hester laid a hand on the small area of his forehead that was not obscured by the bandage; he seemed somewhat feverish. She fetched lavender water and began bathing his brow. He soon grew still. The moaning and muttering ceased, and after a minute or two his eyes opened. They had a glazed look, which she attributed to the drug he had taken, and he seemed unable to focus on her face.
    “Dreaming,” he mumbled. “No more lau . . . lau’num.” Then clearly: “Lavender lady!”
    His eyes closed, and he seemed to sleep again. Now he lay peacefully, Hester was relieved to note. There was a slight smile on his face. Suspecting he had been having nightmares before, she wondered what he was dreaming of now and resolved to give him no more medicine without first consulting Dr. Price. She knew some people had unpleasant reactions to laudanum.
    She sat by his bedside for another half hour. He continued to sleep quietly, so she lit a fresh candle, took hers, and went to join her family.
     

Chapter 2
     
    Hester awoke in the middle of the night. The evening had been so warm that she had left her curtains open, and a huge harvest moon was floating in the midnight sky, looking near enough to pluck like a ripe apple, bathing woods and meadows in its glow. An errant ray had fallen across her face and roused her.
    Since she did not feel drowsy, Hester decided to check on Mr. Fairfax. She put a wrap around her shoulders and slipped along the hallway, carefully avoiding the board that always creaked.
    Mr. Fairfax was awake, and by the light of the guttering candle she could see that he was alert. There was no sign of fever or drug haze in the smiling face he turned toward her.
    “Let me light a new candle,” she proposed. “It must be later than I thought if this one is nearly done.”
    “I hope you did not rise solely for my sake. I shall do very well until morning.”
    “How is your leg, sir?”
    “It hurts like the devil,” he answered frankly, “but no more of that medicine, I beg of you. I had rather suffer the pain than the nightmares. Though, to tell the truth, I am rather sharp-set by pangs of hunger than by my injuries. I missed my dinner last night. Of course your cook must be abed, but do you suppose you might find me a piece of bread to keep me alive until breakfast?”
    “I am the cook,” said Hester, flushing a little as he raised his eyebrows. “You see, we have but one maidservant and I had rather cook than clean,” she added hurriedly, then wondered whether that made it worse. Annoyed with herself for a sensitivity she did not normally feel, she spoke in an abrupt tone. “I can get you bread and cold meat, or perhaps an omelette.”
    Mr. Fairfax unexpectedly seized her hand and kissed it before she could pull it away.
    “I have offended you!” he exclaimed in mock despair. “And I am entirely at your mercy.” Still holding her hand, he studied it. “I was under the impression that cooks had huge, rough, red hands, and yours are small and soft and white.” He raised his eyebrows again, in enquiry this time.
    “One of the things I make in my kitchen is a lotion for the skin,” explained Hester, and added, with candour, “Besides, Ivy washes the dishes. Come, give me back my incongruous hand and I will make you an omelette.”
    “Bread and meat will be more than adequate, Miss Godric,” he said meekly, but with a teasing twinkle in his eye. She wondered if he knew how charming he was, but suspected that he was quite aware of it.
    “You’ll eat what you’re given,” she told him tartly, and departed.
    While she was gone, Lord Alton lay and thought about her. Her speech was that of a lady, yet the little information he had gleaned