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Leticia nodded, and both Harry and Richard answered in unison. “She thinks that if she holds her breath long enough, the hiccups will go away.” With her cheeks puffed out like giant balloons, Leticia began to bob her head in affirmation.
Richard felt as if he wanted to hold his own breath, so nervous was he about her condition. Her face turned almost a vermillion color, and then, she gave a great sigh and sucked in a gulp of air. Then, as if she were a marionette and someone snipped her strings, her head drooped so that her chin rested on her chest. Richard abandoned his post behind her and skirted around the stone bench, sliding to his knees next to Harry.
“Letty,” Harry said, “are you better now?”
“I have no idea,” she replied weakly. Then she hiccupped once more. “But I do not feel dizzy anymore. I feel light, almost as with the next hiccup I might float away.”
“I will keep you grounded,” Richard said.
They sat in that pose for several long minutes with Richard wondering what was going to happen next while Leticia hiccupped every few seconds. Harry’s expression was sullen as with each hiccup he startled as though he thought that breath might be her last.
As a balmy breeze blew past them, ruffling Leticia’s hair, Mrs. Hoffingbrooke began to gently run her fingertips over the bluebells in Leticia’s hair. “It occurs to me,” she said thoughtfully, “that it’s possible Miss Loery’s nefarious plot might have been thwarted by Leticia’s propensity to wear the bluebells regularly.” Her finger skated over the end of one of the dark blue petals. “You gather them as well as put them in your hair, right?”
Leticia nodded.
“So, that means you have regular contact with these flowers?”
“Yes,” Leticia gulped. “I’ve worn them in my hair since I made my debut, and before that, I used to help my mother collect them from the garden.”
Mrs. Hoffingbrooke smiled fondly at Leticia. “Then, I think you may be in the clear. I’ve read accounts where people, mostly apothecaries, but I suppose it can happen to others, work with certain poisons, and eventually, they become immune to them. I’m not saying that you could start nibbling on the ends of these flowers right now and not suffer some consequences, but I would be willing to bet that your exposure to the bluebells may have just saved your life.”
“Do you really think so?” Harry asked, looking at Mrs. Hoffingbrooke with a great sense of respect and hope.
She nodded. “Most poisons do their work quickly. She drank that potion more than an hour ago, and the only side effects have been a few hiccups.” She wrapped an arm around Leticia’s shoulder. “I’d say our friend is going to be just fine.”
Richard sprang forward at once and wrapped his arms around Leticia’s petite frame. She squeaked and whispered, “I’m still going to need to breathe.” But he only relaxed his grip minutely. His relief was so strong that he wanted to savor the moment and not let her go.
“I…I want to apologize,” Harry murmured. Those words drew Richard away from Leticia, but as he sat back on his haunches, he did not let go of her hand.
“Go on,” Leticia said as she gave her cousin a chilly stare.
“I never should have tried to keep the two of you apart. Now, I know that standing in the way of your love was wrong, and I—” He lowered his head and cleared his throat. Then, he looked back up and met Richard’s eyes. “Please, forgive me for the wrong I have done both of you. Have mercy on me, for I did not know what Miss Loery meant to do. I did know how far she would go.”
EPILOGUE
Richard’s eyes floated toward hers then, and she could see that they were full of remorse. “We have all done many things to one another that we should not,” he said slowly.
Leticia nodded. “Had we all been more honest and open with each other from the beginning, I might not have been poisoned.” Richard barked a bit of a laugh, but his grip tightened in hers.
“I am sorry that I caused you pain, Letty. And you, Richard, I should not have made you worry in such a way,” Harry continued, determined to make amends fully.
Leticia grimaced as she prepared to add another quip, but Richard answered for her. “You are not the first person to go to extremes when love was on the line.” He smiled beatifically at her, but her attempt to return the gesture was feeble—at best.
I admire how he’s taking all this in stride. Had he not been right here beside me, I’m not so sure I would have been so lenient.
For a moment, she imagined how good it might feel to slap Harry and to search out Miss Loery and do the same to her. But, with Richard holding her hand and anchoring her to this spot, she forgot all about punishing the others for their misdeeds.
“I forgive you, Harry,” she said as she stood. A hiccup popped from her lips then, and she grimaced. “Perhaps I’ll be able to feel even more charitable once I stop hiccupping all over the place.”
“Shall we return to the ball?” Richard asked, quite unexpectedly. “I do believe there’s an announcement I wish to make.”
Leticia startled nearly as much as Harry did. “You’re not going to confront Miss Loery, are you?” she asked quickly, thoroughly concerned that while Richard had been kind toward his friend, his forbearance would not extend toward Miss Loery. Harry followed up her question with his own.
“You do not intend to tell everyone what I have done, right?”
Richard shook his head, and his smile turned jubilant. “Come along, friends. Let us go back to the party.”
He led the way, and as Leticia still held tightly to his hand, she had little choice but to follow him. Mrs. Hoffingbrooke and Harry trailed behind, and she caught a look of curiosity flash between them.
