“A fever? How did he come down with a fever?”
“Probably from his son.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. It seems that your cousin got caught in a freak storm while out visiting tenants, and, by the time he returned to the manor, was chilled to the bone. It didn’t take long for him to become ill. The viscount wouldn’t allow anyone else to care for him even though we begged him to rest for a bit. He hardly ate or drank anything while he nursed his son,” the doctor said.
“I see. I wish to sit with him. Is he conscious?”
“The fever has produced delirium. He has had a few lucid moments, but unfortunately none today.”
Noah rushed to his uncle’s side and sat on the bed. “Oh, Uncle Charles, I’m here now. This is the fight of your life, and you need to be victorious.”
“You must keep trying to cool his fever,” the doctor said, pointing to the table beside the bed where a cloth and a basin of water were. “I’m afraid that is all we can do for him.”
Noah looked over at the basin of cold water and wrung out the cloth before placing it on his uncle’s forehead. He was burning up. “This will make you feel better, Uncle Charles.”
“I will return later,” the doctor said. “If there’s any change in his condition, send for me immediately.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
Noah could hardly believe how quickly his uncle’s hale body had shrunk and how frail it looked. Uncle Charles had always had robust health, never really suffering from any ailments. To see him like this broke Noah’s heart.
A knock on the door made him turn. Thinking it was the doctor coming back to give him more direction, he said, “Come.”
Mrs. Jerrison, the housekeeper, walked in carrying a tray. “Master Noah, I’ve brought you some sustenance. You must be famished from your journey,” she said, putting the tray on the table beside the sick bed.
“Thank you, Mrs. Jerrison. Your attentiveness to my well-being is very much appreciated.” Noah had been pampered and indulged by the housekeeper for most of his life. His parents had both died in a carriage accident when he was only six years old, and Uncle Charles had immediately sent for him. He grew up at Harrison Manor, and he and Aiden had been the best of friends. Realizing that he’d never see Aiden again made tears prick the back of his eyes.
“Oh my dear boy, we’re all so devastated about Master Aiden’s passing,” Mrs. Jerrison said, patting his back.
A lone tear traveled down Noah’s cheek before he swiped it away. “Did Uncle Charles make the arrangements for Aiden to be interred in the family crypt before he fell ill?”
“Yes. The vicar will preside over the ceremony tomorrow. I fear Lord Harrison will not be well enough to attend his son’s funeral,” Mrs. Jerrison explained.
“I believe you’re correct. I will represent the family.”
“Try to eat something, Master Noah. We don’t want you to fall ill as well,” Mrs. Jerrison said, leaving the room.
Noah looked at his uncle, and his tears burst forth. Uncle Charles seemed barely half the man he was when Noah saw him at Christmastide. They’d had a wonderful visit, talking about Aiden’s coming to London in a year to spend time with Noah. Uncle Charles had even agreed to join them for a while.
The man lying in the bed was a mere shell of the vibrant uncle he knew.
“Uncle Charles, you must rally,” Noah pleaded. When there was no response from his uncle, he refreshed the cloth and placed it back on his uncle’s forehead before he began to partake of the tray Mrs. Jerrison had left for him. He hardly tasted the food, but she was right—he needed to keep up his strength.
After finishing his tea, he refreshed the cloth on his uncle’s forehead before exiting the room in search of Jerrison. He needed to know the details of Aiden’s funeral.
He found the butler talking with his wife in the foyer. Jerrison turned when he heard Noah’s footsteps. “Master Hughes, my wife tells me you were inquiring about the arrangements for Master Aiden. Are you ready to hear them?”
“I can hardly believe this is happening. It seems like God’s wrath has come down upon Harrison Manor with a vengeance. Is anyone else ill?”
“No one else became ill because the viscount forbade anyone besides himself from tending to Master Aiden. Of course, the doctor was here every day, but there was little he could do.”
“I see.”
Jerrison explained that the vicar would arrive tomorrow morning at ten. There would be a service outside the family crypt for guests and tenants to pay their respects to his cousin before the body was laid to rest.
“I will see Aiden now,” Noah said.
