Trembling, she stood horrified at seeing her mother crouched in the dirt. She felt a rush of goose-pimples break out along her arm as she stared ahead of her. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to take one step towards that monstrous figure she knew was her mother.
Henry seemed to sense her thoughts. “I’ll go. If she lashes out, I can contain her,” he said simply. “Stay here.”
She watched as Henry walked resolutely towards Augusta. When he came within a decent distance, he called her name. She swung up at the sound of his voice with an, “Ah ha! I knew it!”
She swung a piece of rope towards him, but Henry easily avoided her trap and caught her around the waist.
“Come now. Enough of this. Your daughter is waiting,” he said very sternly.
Audrey was dazed as her mother came into view. Her eyes looked wild, and her hair was in disarray.
“You’re not my daughter! You creep up on me at the most important moment. I almost had him!” she yelled at Audrey, and then rounded on Henry. “You brute!”
Henry admonished her sternly to be quiet, and with that, Augusta fell silent.
Audrey said nothing as they walked back to the cottage. The entire time, her mother murmured about the ghost she had almost caught had it not been for the two of them. After she had been put to bed, Audrey went downstairs and poured herself a brandy.
She gulped it down in one swallow, shuddering as she did. Henry didn’t say anything until she turned to him, tears in her eyes. In a quick movement, he was holding her in his arms.
“I’m so frightened,” she said in his ear, trembling uncontrollably.
He brushed her hair from her temple. “I’m sorry. Your mother is not well.”
“What do I do?” she asked, pulling away to stare at him. “What can I do?”
Henry sighed. “I know a doctor. He’s very good. He can examine her.”
Audrey bit her lip. “A doctor?”
“Yes. He teaches at the Bethel Hospital here in Norwich.”
“A hospital?” Audrey felt relieved. She had not wanted to believe in the possibility that her mother might be losing her mind, but she was not qualified to assess her. If Henry knew someone who could properly diagnose her mother, that would be a huge relief for them all.
“Yes.”
“What sort of hospital?” she asked.
“It’s an asylum. For lunatics.”
She felt her heart plunge. “An asylum.”
“I’m not saying anything about your mother. I don’t know what affliction she may have. Or may not have. I only know that whereas you seem to bloom and thrive under these difficult circumstances, it has affected your mother most adversely.” Henry touched her hair.
They walked outside to the small garden, and she looked up into the night sky.
“That must be it. The circumstances. She has been through too much and she’s struggling.” Audrey tried to convince herself, but she didn’t know what she thought.
“Do you want me to arrange the visit?” he asked her. “He will be most circumspect. He won’t gossip.”
“You’re very kind.” She paused and studied his handsome face. “But then you’ve always been.”
“I want to help you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted since the moment I saw you in Green Park.”
Audrey thought on his words. “What if she’s not well? What then? What do I do?”
He took her hands in his. “Audrey, you aren’t alone. You are not. You have my mother, and you have me. If you’ll allow me, I only want to support you. To be your friend.”
She looked down at their entwined hands. “You’ve been that. Your family has been my only friend, my only support here in Norwich. I don’t need to tell you I’m—”