certain that something was wrong.”
Grace Armistead put her knitting back into her bag. “Do you honestly want me to go wake up your father?”
Nancy frowned. “No, I suppose not. I just don’t know what to do. Seth would never stay away this long.”
“The time could have gotten away from him.” Faith knew the suggestion wasn’t at all helpful, but she was trying to think of possibilities for Nancy to focus on.
Clementine had been waiting for her brother’s return as well. “I could go. Faith and I could go together.”
“Absolutely not!” Grace declared. “If anyone is going to go, it will be Alex.” She got up from the chair. “I’ll go wake him.”
Nancy looked uncertain. “I don’t want to wake him up. I just want to know if Seth is all right. I’m worried that with everything that’s been going on, something has happened. I just have a bad feeling. Oh, I wish I’d put in a telephone.”
Grace came to her and put her arm around her daughter. “It’s all right. Sometimes we have those feelings for a reason. That’s why I’m going to wake up your father.”
The sound of someone on the front porch brought a smile to Faith’s lips. “Ah, here he is. I’ll let him in and give him a good piece of my mind for making us worry.” She went to the door and flung it wide. “Seth Carpenter, how dare—” She stopped.
The man facing her wasn’t Seth. He was a uniformed policeman.
“Good evening, is this the residence of Seth Carpenter?”
“It is. Is something wrong?”
“Are you his wife?”
Faith shook her head. “Nancy is.” She backed away from the door and toward the front room. “Nancy, you need to come here.”
Nancy appeared with Grace close beside her. Clementine followed. “What is it? What’s happened to Seth?”
“Are you Mrs. Carpenter?” the officer asked Nancy.
“I am. Is my husband all right?”
“No, ma’am. He’s been hurt pretty badly. He’s in the hospital, and they sent me to tell you he’s gravely injured.”
“I must go to him.” Nancy looked at her mother.
The policeman shook his head. “Ma’am, the visiting hours are done for the day. The doctor told me to tell you that if Mr. Carpenter lives through the night, you can visit him in the morning. They won’t be allowing anyone any sooner, because he’s unconscious.”
Nancy looked as though she might faint. Faith decided to pull rank. “I’m a physician. I’ll go to the hospital and learn what I can.” She looked at Grace, who nodded.
“You’re in no condition to go, Nancy,” her mother said. “Let Faith go. She’ll be able to tell you what’s going on.”
“But if he dies . . .” Nancy’s voice broke, and she sobbed against her mother’s shoulder.
“Try not to worry.” Faith went to the coat tree and took up her jacket. “Officer, do you have a horse?”
“I do.”
“Might I ride double with you back to the hospital? That will save me some time.”
He looked uncertain for a moment, then nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry to have brought you such bad news.”
“We needed to know,” Grace replied, holding her daughter tight. “Faith, come back to us as soon as you can.”
Faith nodded. “I will.”
She followed the officer outside. He climbed atop his horse, then held his hand down for Faith. She hiked up her skirt and barely managed to place her foot in the stirrup. Thankfully the officer had a powerful arm and easily lifted her up, and she sat behind him.
“Hold on tight.”
The sound of the horse’s hooves against the brick echoed in Faith’s ears. “What happened to Seth?” she asked.
“He was beaten. We found him in the street. His injuries are the worst I’ve ever seen, and I’m surprised he’s still alive. If he’s still alive.”
Faith swallowed hard. “Was most of the trauma to his head?”
“Yes. It’s like somebody laid into him with a club. They may have busted his arms too. They looked to be in pretty bad shape, and if he was trying to defend himself, they would have taken bad blows.”
Faith pictured Seth’s body in her mind. She tried to prepare herself for what she would see. When they reached the hospital, she slid off the side of the horse.
“Thank you. I can make my way from here.”
She entered the hospital through the same doors she had used when doing her training. This was where the nurses and doctors generally entered, and no one would pay much attention to her at this hour, since most of the doctors would be gone