Raven (Gentlemen of the Order #2) - Adele Clee Page 0,19
be kind of heart and spirit. Hannah’s vibrant red hair and slender frame were her defining features. By all accounts, she was thrilled to marry Finlay Cole, although Sophia had lacked the strength to attend the wedding. Finlay courted privacy, avoided society, and so her knowledge was limited to those simple facts.
“But she wasn’t ill when you married her.” Sophia experienced the usual stab in her heart when she imagined him exchanging vows, promising to love and cherish another, of his passionate wedding night. Hers had been a hurried coupling, bereft of genuine affection.
“The signs were there. I ignored them.”
“Because you loved her?” Sophia stroked his arm, desperate to maintain contact. Oh, how she wanted to draw him into an embrace and simply hold him, love him.
Finlay looked her keenly in the eye, his dark gaze berating her for asking the question. “I cared for Hannah. I doubt I shall ever meet such a gentle soul again.”
She knew him well enough to know he had not married out of vengeance. He had married hoping to heal his heart. And yet these past three years she had never seen him so bitter and tormented.
“Was she like Jessica? Prone to bouts of melancholy? Pensive and restless?”
“Most of the time she was consumed by a dreadful sadness.” His expression turned sorrowful, a reflection of what he must have faced at home. “I have no desire to discuss it further.” His tone changed from brittle to blunt. He stepped back, and her hand slipped to her side. “The point is, tinctures and anodynes cloud the mind.”
Oh, Finlay!
Did he not know that suppressing the pain delayed his recovery? Although in the three years since his wife’s death, this was the most he had ever said about his marriage. Still, she would not press him further.
“Then what do you suggest we do?” She would look to him for guidance. He was right. The usual methods had failed to reap results.
“About Jessica?”
“Yes, about Jessica.”
“We reduce her medication. We take her out into the woods and gently coax her memory. We treat her like an important member of the household, not like a madwoman who should be watched night and day. We give her responsibilities to restore her self-worth.”
“And did those things work for Hannah?” she dared to ask.
“No.” Finlay firmed his jaw. “Like you, I trusted those I presumed knew better.”
“I trust you over Dr Goodwin.” She would trust him with her life. The only reason she hadn’t told him about Jessica previously was to save him more heartache. “He may take umbrage and leave, but I’m prepared to take the risk.”
“He won’t leave.” Finlay sounded confident in his assertion. “Dr Goodwin wouldn’t travel all this way if he didn’t have other motives for being here.”
“He is always quick to take payment,” she agreed but could think of no other reason for his faithful service other than his loyalty to Mr Archer.
“Then if he wishes to continue treating Jessica, he will need to be more accommodating.”
Dr Goodwin was used to taking charge and would offer some resistance. She scanned the breadth of Finlay’s chest, considered his resolute jaw. The doctor lacked Finlay’s strength and determination and would eventually comply.
“After Dr Goodwin’s session, Jessica becomes anxious. He sedates her with laudanum to ensure she has a good night’s sleep. It’s usually the next day that she disappears into the woods.”
Finlay pursed his lips while considering the information. “And she’s only started venturing to the woods recently,” he confirmed.
“Yes, but I cannot think what sparked her sudden interest.”
The sly smile playing on Finlay’s lips failed to reach his eyes, but anything was better than the permanent frown. “Then we shall leave the doctor to conduct his session privately. We will insist he stays the night, insist he refrains from giving Jessica medicine to aid her sleep.”
Finlay’s distrust of the doctor roused Sophia’s suspicions, too. What had Dr Goodwin put in his paregoric vial? Was he responsible for the sudden change in her sister’s behaviour? His persistence in moving Jessica to a hospital near Oxford might have prompted the man to act recklessly and take matters into his own hands.
“Without the usual dose of laudanum, do you think Jessica will sleepwalk tonight?”
Finlay shrugged. “Who can say? But it’s likely. I suggest you sleep for a few hours this afternoon. Tonight, we shall keep vigil. With luck, we shall discover what Jessica finds so intriguing about Blackborne Wood.”
Chapter 6
“How long are we supposed to wait here?” Dr Goodwin complained. “It must