hand trembled. Frances saw it too, and covered it with her own. “We’ll find her, Nat.”
He managed a brief smile, but his facial muscles felt stiff with the effort. As he helped her inside the carriage, the sound of hoof beats on the drive made him pause.
“Who could this be?” Florence said from the doorway. “It’s nearly dark.”
Nat stepped back to see the rider come into the golden light spilling from the doorway.
The rider, no more than a youth, dismounted and swiped off his cap. “Who is in charge here?”
Florence stepped forward. “I am. Can I help you?”
“I’m from the hospital. A lady has been brought in and the doctor believes she is associated with this Home.”
Nat thought his heart would stop. “A lady?”
The youth nodded, causing his blond hair to fall over his eyes. “Doctor Harper thinks she might be the lady who held the charity ball last year, which he attended.”
“Hurry, Nat!” Frances demanded from the carriage door.
“Timms follow this fellow.” Nat, with one foot on the folding step, looked back at the boy. “Take us there.”
“Yes, sir.” The boy grabbed the horse’s reins and heaved himself back into the saddle.
“We mustn’t become over-imaginative, Nat. She could have merely sprained an ankle,” Frances said, gripping his arm as the carriage careened down the drive and along the roads into the city.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Frances. If it was only a sprain she’d have told them her name.”
“Yes, of course. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
Agitated, he flung his hat off onto the opposite seat and ran his hand through his hair. “She must be unconscious. Perhaps received a blow to the head.” He bit back a moan of agony at the thought.
“Yes, she may have fallen and banged her head. It is very likely, the roads are so uneven.”
He closed his eyes, willing her not to be badly hurt, but they sprang open again as the carriage slowed and turned into the hospital drive. In the darkness, he felt disorientated, but lamplight showed up the front door and before the horses had come to a complete stop, he threw open the door and jumped down. He waited fractionally to help Frances and then they were hurrying through the hospital entrance to the office on the right.
“Come this way, sir.” The youth on horseback had followed them in and was now gesturing for them to go with him down a wide corridor to the right.
Nat followed blindly, his mind in turmoil and Frances clinging to his arm. The boy turned left and then right again into a large ward, lined with beds. He stepped up to the nurse seated at a desk. “I’ve brought these people here. They might know the lady Doctor Harper was examining earlier.”
The nurse rose, and smiling kindly, came towards them. “I’m senior Nurse Orwell. Please wait here while I fetch the doctor.” She disappeared through a doorway behind her desk, returning a few moments later with a small bespectacled man.
“I’m Nathaniel West.” He searched the doctor’s face for any hint of bad news.
“How do you do, Mr West. I’m Doctor Harper.” He held out his hand to be shaken.
Nat, his patience at an end, hastily shook it. “My wife has been missing and—”
“Ah, I see. Did you marry Miss Douglas from the governess home?” Harper nodded as if it all made sense to him now. “I remembered her name about ten minutes ago. I thought it was her, as I attended the ball, you know, but I couldn’t think of her name at first. I was about to send for Mr Belfroy.”
“How is she? Can I see her?” Nat stepped forward. If the man didn’t take him to her shortly, he’d not be responsible for his actions.
“Yes, yes, come along.” Harper bowed to Frances and then waved towards the door he’d come out of. “I have her in a room by herself, so she can be assessed.”
Nat followed Frances into the bright white-washed room. The room held a bed and a chair. Under the window was a narrow wooden table. Nat heard Frances’s small gasp and he closed his eyes. He stopped, unable to move or open his eyes in fear of what he might find.
“As you can see, Mr West, your wife has been attacked. Her left eye has closed shut due to swelling and bruising and she has a lump on the back of her head. The main injury is the stab wound.”
Nat’s eyes flew open. Stabbed! He stared at the slim figure of Nicola