lord, but not well enough to travel on the morrow,” was the doctor’s opinion after examining his patient. “The wound won’t bleed again, I daresay, but you’ll have a scar.”
“One more can’t hurt,” Jack commented.
“As for your memory …” The doctor scrunched his time-weathered face into a thoughtful frown and pulled on his chin with short, blunt-tipped fingers.
“I’m sure it will return,” said Jack, sitting up in bed with the sheet pushed down to his waist in order for the doctor to listen to his heart and lungs. He caught Miss Darlington staring at his chest and winked at her when she looked up. She pressed her lips together, jerked her chin up, and immediately shifted her gaze to the doctor.
“I think it will, too, my lord,” the doctor agreed, “but I couldn’t even begin to guess when that happy event might occur.”
Jack watched the effect this vague pronouncement had on Miss Darlington’s composure. She squeezed her hands together and held them at bosom-level, as if she were imploring or even praying, then stepped closer to the doctor. “You do think his memory will return soon , don’t you, doctor?”
Jack suppressed a grin. The chit couldn’t wait to get rid of him, but he had no place to go and was as happy as a fat cat to stay exactly where he was—with Miss Darlington.
“As I said, m’dear,” said the doctor, stuffing his instruments into his leather bag, “I haven’t the slightest idea when he’ll regain his memory. It could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, or it might not come back for a month or more. ’Tis impossible to predict. And in the meantime, be aware that your husband might have occasional bouts of confusion. He’s very lucid at the moment, but one never knows with these head injuries.”
Miss Darlington’s frustration was obvious. The doctor noticed, too, and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t fret about it, m’dear,” he advised. “Take an example from your husband, here.” He gestured toward the bed, and Miss Darlington lifted her forlorn gaze to Jack’s face. “His lordship is handling this unfortunate situation very well … very well, indeed. He knows, as I do, that his memory can’t be forced but will return naturally as he is reintroduced into his everyday life.”
“You mean when I get back to my home in—” Jack turned to Amanda and widened his eyes in a pose of innocent inquiry. “Where do we live, my darling?”
Jack could almost see the cogs and wheels turning in Miss Darlington’s brain as she scrambled for an answer. “Why, in Yorkshire, dear,” she answered with a guilty twitch of her upper lip. He could tell she wasn’t a seasoned liar, and Jack gave her credit for thinking of a county far enough away that no one would be familiar with the landed gentry who resided in that area.
“There, you see,” said the doctor in a satisfied tone. “All will be well. You are extremely lucky, my lord, that you were traveling with your excellent wife when this accident befell you. She’s been a wonderful nurse. And I shudder to think what would have happened to you had you been off by yourself, so far from home, and with no one and nothing to connect you to your true identity.”
“Yes, that would be a rather desperate situation,” Jack agreed gravely. “In such a case, one would be entirely at the mercy of strangers.”
He slid a pathetic look toward Miss Darlington. He watched as her small aristocratic nostrils flared and her jaw tightened in an effort to keep from making an unwise retort in front of the doctor. She doubtless understood that Jack was implying that it would be a heartless desertion if she left him behind with Mrs. Beane.
But if she thought he was going to try to delay her departure, she was wrong. Despite the doctor’s advice to the contrary, Jack was going to insist that Miss Darlington resume her journey first thing in the morning … taking him with her.
“You are indeed far
“One more can’t hurt,” Jack commented.
“As for your memory …” The doctor scrunched his time-weathered face into a thoughtful frown and pulled on his chin with short, blunt-tipped fingers.
“I’m sure it will return,” said Jack, sitting up in bed with the sheet pushed down to his waist in order for the doctor to listen to his heart and lungs. He caught Miss Darlington staring at his chest and winked at her when she looked up. She pressed her lips together, jerked her chin up, and immediately shifted her gaze to the doctor.
“I think it will, too, my lord,” the doctor agreed, “but I couldn’t even begin to guess when that happy event might occur.”
Jack watched the effect this vague pronouncement had on Miss Darlington’s composure. She squeezed her hands together and held them at bosom-level, as if she were imploring or even praying, then stepped closer to the doctor. “You do think his memory will return soon , don’t you, doctor?”
Jack suppressed a grin. The chit couldn’t wait to get rid of him, but he had no place to go and was as happy as a fat cat to stay exactly where he was—with Miss Darlington.
“As I said, m’dear,” said the doctor, stuffing his instruments into his leather bag, “I haven’t the slightest idea when he’ll regain his memory. It could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, or it might not come back for a month or more. ’Tis impossible to predict. And in the meantime, be aware that your husband might have occasional bouts of confusion. He’s very lucid at the moment, but one never knows with these head injuries.”
Miss Darlington’s frustration was obvious. The doctor noticed, too, and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t fret about it, m’dear,” he advised. “Take an example from your husband, here.” He gestured toward the bed, and Miss Darlington lifted her forlorn gaze to Jack’s face. “His lordship is handling this unfortunate situation very well … very well, indeed. He knows, as I do, that his memory can’t be forced but will return naturally as he is reintroduced into his everyday life.”
“You mean when I get back to my home in—” Jack turned to Amanda and widened his eyes in a pose of innocent inquiry. “Where do we live, my darling?”
Jack could almost see the cogs and wheels turning in Miss Darlington’s brain as she scrambled for an answer. “Why, in Yorkshire, dear,” she answered with a guilty twitch of her upper lip. He could tell she wasn’t a seasoned liar, and Jack gave her credit for thinking of a county far enough away that no one would be familiar with the landed gentry who resided in that area.
“There, you see,” said the doctor in a satisfied tone. “All will be well. You are extremely lucky, my lord, that you were traveling with your excellent wife when this accident befell you. She’s been a wonderful nurse. And I shudder to think what would have happened to you had you been off by yourself, so far from home, and with no one and nothing to connect you to your true identity.”
“Yes, that would be a rather desperate situation,” Jack agreed gravely. “In such a case, one would be entirely at the mercy of strangers.”
He slid a pathetic look toward Miss Darlington. He watched as her small aristocratic nostrils flared and her jaw tightened in an effort to keep from making an unwise retort in front of the doctor. She doubtless understood that Jack was implying that it would be a heartless desertion if she left him behind with Mrs. Beane.
But if she thought he was going to try to delay her departure, she was wrong. Despite the doctor’s advice to the contrary, Jack was going to insist that Miss Darlington resume her journey first thing in the morning … taking him with her.
“You are indeed far
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