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“How is she?” he asked.
“Feverish,” Daniel said. “My aunt showed me what to do.”
“Have you been up all night, Your Grace?”
“I slept a little.”
Blake shook his head. “Let me examine her.” The doctor removed the covers and gazed upon Lily, clad only in a dressing robe that Daniel had draped over her. He held his hand to her forehead. “She’s a little warm, but not burning. You’ve taken good care of her.” He looked between her legs. “No residual bleeding. That’s good. When was her last dose of morphine?”
“Just a little while ago, at seven.”
“Good. Let’s continue it every six hours for the next full day. We should be able to cut back after that. She may wake up for a few minutes today, but that remains to be seen. Her concussion may keep her unconscious for another twenty-four hours. I’d like for her to take some broth if she wakes up. I’ll have some sent up. You’ll need to keep it warm on the grate since we don’t know when or if she’ll wake up today. Has she taken any water?”
“A little. It mostly drips down her chin.”
“How about ice?”
“When she’s burning, I let it melt in her mouth. It seems to go down.”
“Try ice for now, then. It will be easier to get into her than water. Keep feeding it to her.”
“Yes, all right.”
“Also, I’d like her bed linens changed. She’ll be more comfortable if they’re changed every day. More frequently if possible. The sweat from her body soils the linens and will irritate her skin.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“Good. Have her parents been in yet?”
“I’m here now,” the Countess of Ashford said, entering the room carrying a wicker basket. “How is my daughter?”
“She’s doing well, my lady. She’s feverish, but His Grace has taken excellent care of her. He’s hardly slept.”
“You should go, Your Grace. I’ll sit with her.”
“She needs her bed linens changed,” Daniel said.
“I’ll call for a maid,” the countess said.
“No, I want to do it.”
“Your Grace, that’s silly. There are servants—”
“I want to take care of her.”
Dr. Blake bowed. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you two to fight this out. I’ll be back in to check on her in a few hours.” As he walked out, he turned to look at Daniel. “Your Grace, Lady Ashford is right. You need to rest. Have the servants change the linens, and let her mother sit with her for a while. She’s in good hands.” He shut the door behind him.
“You really do love her, don’t you?” Lady Ashford said.
Daniel sat down in his leather chair which had been moved to Lily’s side of the bed. “More than my own life.”
The countess sat down next to Lily, facing Daniel, and took one of her daughter’s hands in her own. “She’s not an easy one to love, you know. She’s stubborn as a mule, impatient, impulsive, quick to anger. She has little respect for authority or convention. She gave her father and me more trouble than Thomas and Rose combined.”
The countess laughed softly, smiling, drawing her daughter’s hand to her lips and kissing it lightly. “Oh, but she’s worth it. She’s so very intelligent and strong, so avidly curious. She has a passion and excitement for life that I’ve always envied. She finds joy and beauty in the simplest things.” She looked up at Daniel. “When she was younger, she used to share her journals with me. She wrote about everything, sometimes about the most mundane things, a cricket chirping, or a clump of weed growing in one of the gardens. Yet her descriptions made me feel as though I were experiencing something amazing for the first time. She has a manner of wriggling her way into one’s heart.”
She took one of Daniel’s hands and joined it to hers and Lily’s. “She has a big heart, you know. There’s room for you. Just be patient with her. She’ll come around.”
Daniel nodded numbly.
