The Viscount's Veiled Lady (Whitby Weddings 3)

‘Yes?’ Her voice sounded more guarded than before.

‘Dr Bennett spoke to me this morning.’

‘Oh?’

‘About your sister.’

‘What?’ She pulled on her reins, her voice sharp with panic. ‘What about her?’

‘Apparently she had some kind of accident yesterday when she was out riding.’

‘But she’s all right?’

‘I don’t know. She hit her head and... Frances!’ he called after her as she spurred her horse on again, but it was too late. She was already turning the corner of the street ahead of them, galloping at full pelt over the cobbles towards her parents’ house.

Chapter Twenty-Four

‘Lydia!’

Frances burst into the house, charging breathlessly across the hall and up the stairs into her sister’s bedroom.

‘Oh, Frances.’ Her mother got up from the bedside and opened her arms when she saw her. ‘Thank goodness you’re here.’

‘Mama.’ She flung herself into her embrace. ‘I only just found out. What happened?’

‘All I know is what Leo Fairfax told us. He said that she wanted to race, that she claimed she was sick of being cooped up and a prisoner and she wanted to feel free. Free!’ Her mother’s face crumpled. ‘Then she fell. This is all my fault.’

‘No.’ Frances clasped her hands tightly. ‘If it’s anyone’s fault, then it’s mine. She was upset about Arthur and me. I should never have kept secrets from her.’ She forced herself to look down at the bed. Lydia was lying perfectly still, the top of her beautiful face covered with a thick, white bandage. ‘How bad is it?’

‘She’s been unconscious since it happened. The doctor says that if she doesn’t wake up soon...’

Her mother faltered, unable to finish the sentence. She didn’t need to. The implications were all too obvious.

‘I’m sorry I wasn’t here.’ Frances squeezed her hands again.

‘There was nothing you could have done. After we got your message about Mrs Amberton I thought it was better to leave you where you were. How is she?’

‘She had twins, a boy and a girl.’

‘Oh.’ Her mother’s eyes filled with tears. ‘How lovely. I’m happy for her. Was Arthur there, too?’

‘Yes, he brought me back when Dr Bennett told him about Lydia. He’s probably taking the horses around to the stables now. I abandoned mine in the middle of the road.’

‘Well, I’m glad he’s here to take care of you.’ Her mother almost managed a smile. ‘You should go downstairs now. I’ll stay here.’

‘No, I want to stay with you, both of you.’

‘You can come back soon, but your father needs you, too. This has been a terrible shock for him. Go down and see how he’s doing for me.’

‘If that’s what you want, Mama...’ Frances dragged herself away reluctantly, descending the staircase to find Arthur and her father standing by the parlour window together. Both of them looked round when she entered, though for a moment she felt as though she were looking at a pair of strangers. Her father seemed to have developed new worry lines since she’d last seen him, and Arthur...she felt a shiver run down her spine...his face wasn’t so much harrowed as blank, without any expression at all. She could hardly believe it was the same man who’d undressed and then kissed her so tenderly the night before.

‘Is she...?’ Her father started forward hopefully.

‘No.’ She winced as the gleam in his eyes faded. ‘But she doesn’t seem to be in pain.’

‘Yes. That’s something, I suppose.’ Her father’s voice turned shaky. ‘If you’ll excuse me, Lord Scorborough, I’ll be in my study.’

‘Papa...’ She made a move as if to stop him, but he was too fast, crossing the room with the speed of a man half his age.