Page 30 of The Vanished

“Take as long as you need, and if you’d like to have a kip this afternoon, come and get me. I will be happy to sit with Father. You need your rest too,” she said and laid her hand on Dennison’s arm. He stiffened and backed away, clearly scandalized.

“I’m sorry,” Geneva muttered, embarrassed. She had never touched him before and knew she had thoughtlessly crossed a line.

“Quite all right, my lady. And thank you, my lady,” he muttered as he hurried out the door.

Geneva took the chair he had vacated and exhaled deeply. Whether it was the stress of the current situation or the close air in the room, she suddenly felt a headache coming on, building behind her eyes, and radiating into her temples. Quietly, so as not to wake her father, she slid open the drawer of his bedside table.

Douglas had suffered with migraines since he’d returned from the front, and Dr. Miller had prescribed ergotamine, which had become available quite recently and was considerably more effective than aspirin. Geneva thought she might take half a pill to stave off her own migraine. She was surprised to find that the drawer was full of vials. She thought her father took the morphine when he needed it, but this looked like he was suffering through the pain rather than opting for relief. Perhaps Douglas felt more in control when he refused the pain medication, or maybe he was saving it for a different reason, one she didn’t care to think about. Geneva couldn’t find the ergotamine, so she helped herself to two aspirins and dry-swallowed them.

She started when her father laid a hand on her wrist. His skin was cool and dry, the weight of his hand insubstantial.

“You needn’t worry,” he said softly.

“What do you intend to do with all that morphine?”

“What are your plans for the day?” he asked, deftly avoiding the question.

“I don’t know.”

“Perhaps you could do me a favor.”

“Anything,” Geneva said, glad to be able to help.

“I’d like to give Tom Dennison a gift. Something besides the usual Boxing Day bonus. He’s been so kind to me.”

“Of course. What a good idea. What will you give him?”

“He treasured his father’s watch, but he smashed it during one of his more violent episodes at the psychiatric hospital. He took it to Mr. Hale, but it wasn’t fixable. I would like to give Tom a nice watch, as a parting gift.”

“Oh, Father,” Geneva said miserably.

Douglas patted her wrist. “I rang Mr. Hale and asked him to recommend a good watch. He did, and offered to order it for me. It was delivered to the shop yesterday. Can you collect it? I will give it to Tom on Christmas Day.”

“Of course,” Geneva said. “I’d be happy to.”

“Then you’d best get going,” Douglas said. “I don’t want Honor to know.”

“Why not?”

“That girl is incapable of keeping a secret, and I don’t want anyone to feel slighted.”

“I understand. Dennison will be back shortly. I sent him downstairs to have his breakfast.”

“I’m not a child. I can be left alone, you know,” Douglas said with a slight smile.

“Are you in any pain?” Geneva asked, needing to be certain he would be all right.

“I’m perfectly fine. In fact, I think I will come downstairs for breakfast. I fancy a fry-up, and I would rather not eat it in bed, like an invalid.”

“What a fine idea,” Geneva said. Perhaps her father’s renewed appetite was a sign of improvement.

“Go on,” Douglas prompted, so she kissed him on the forehead and left the room.

TWENTY

Geneva put on her coat and hat, grabbed her reticule and gloves, and walked out into the blustery morning. She hadn’t planned on going into Ravenglass, but she was happy she could help her father, and she could use a new book, since she was about to finish the one she was reading. She’d drive into the village, visit Mr. Hale’s jewelry shop and collect the watch, stop into the bookshop, and then maybe have a cream tea. The owner of the tearoom used to work at the house when Geneva was a girl and was always up for a chat. Geneva walked to the garage, threw open the doors, and tossed her reticule onto the passenger seat of the Austin 7.

“Let me crank her up for you, my lady,” Grady said as he followed her into the garage.