Melody tipped her head. “I will.”
Bennett didn’t know what it would take to get through to his sister. Melody may be the more rational twin, but she still had a stubborn streak to her.
His mother glided into the room with Doctor Anderson by her side. “I am calling a family meeting,” she declared.
“Should we not send for Winston?” Bennett asked. “Or Father, for that matter?”
She waved her hand in front of her. “There is no need. Winston is no doubt holed up in his room working, and Father is at meetings in the village. I shall speak to them later.”
Bennett leaned back against the long, rectangular dining table. “Then why call it a family meeting at all?”
“Because it is my right as a mother to call meetings whenever I so desire,” his mother remarked. “But on a serious note,the young lady Bennett rescued from the woodlands just awoke.”
Elodie gasped. “That is wonderful news. Did she say why she was wandering in the woodlands?”
“Well… no,” his mother said. “She is having a hard time recalling who she is and why she was in the woodlands.”
Bennett lifted his brow skeptically. “That is rather odd, is it not?”
The doctor stepped forward and spoke up. “If I may,” he started, “brain injuries are complex, and no one is the same. But once the swelling has gone down, I do believe this young woman’s memories will come back.”
“How long will that take?” Melody asked.
The doctor shrugged. “It could be hours or days, but it is imperative that you give her a calm space for her memories to return.”
Bennett didn’t want to be the naysayer, but he had to ask the question. “What if her memories do not come back?”
“Let us not focus on the negative, but rather on the positive,” the doctor said, skirting around his question. “She remembers her given name is Delphine.”
His mother smiled. “Miss Delphine seems like a lovely young lady and is a guest in our home while she recovers. We must shower her with kindness and hope her memories will return quickly.”
“But do not attempt to force them,” the doctor advised. “Allow them to return naturally.”
Clasping her hands in front of her, his mother informed Bennett, “Miss Delphine has expressed a desire to thank you for saving her life.”
With a smirk on his lips, Bennett turned towards his sister. “That does not surprise me. I was her hero, after all. A hero to one, a hero to all.”
Elodie shook her head. “You are trying too hard, Brother,”she said good-naturedly. “True heroes don’t brag about their accomplishments.”
“Well, I did save Miss Delphine’s life, which is more than you have done,” Bennett responded, puffing out his chest. “Do you suppose someone will write a book about my heroic actions?”
Melody giggled. “If they did, no one would read it.”
Bennett put a hand to his chest, feigning outrage. “I disagree. People will one day make up folk songs about me and future generations will sing my praises. Perhaps I will even be in the Society pages that you two so love to read.”
“How dull,” Elodie quipped.
His mother cleared her throat, drawing back their attention. “You three digress, as usual,” she remarked. “Can we return to the matter at hand, please?”
Doctor Anderson shifted his leather satchel in his hand. “It has been my experience from the war that people with head injuries are scared, not being able to access their memories. Miss Delphine is in a fragile state and should be treated with care.”
“May we visit with Miss Delphine?” Elodie asked.
“I think that is a fine idea, assuming you speak softly to her,” the doctor encouraged. “You do not want to upset her more than she already is.”
Bennett crossed his arms over his chest as he asked, “Should we send riders out to look for anyone that may be searching for Miss Delphine?”
“I think that might be a waste of time, considering there are many roads that cross near that section of woodlands,” his mother responded.
