Page 66 of Beguiling the Baron

Chapter 44

The events following Hal’s collapse passed in a sickening blur. Tia remembered seeing his limp form borne away on a large wooden board, her handkerchief pressed against his gushing head wound. She recalled Symons helping her off the ground and carrying her back to the house, to the anxious ministrations of Mama.

She was taken into a room she’d never seen before and handed a large china basin into which she was promptly sick. There were vague memories of being bathed and dressed in a clean nightgown before being put to bed. But she didn’t become fully aware again until someone dabbed a stinging liquid on her hands.

“Ouch!”

“Oh, my darling girl.” Mama’s voice. “Please don’t fidget. Bessie is putting some alum water on your cuts. How do you feel?”

Tia tried to sit up, but the room swam. Easing back against her pillows, she waited for her mother’s face to come back into focus.

“I’m nauseous and slightly dizzy. But I’m not hurt. How’s Hal?”

“Somewhat damaged, but he’ll recover, given time and rest. So the doctor says.”

“Oh, thank heaven.” Tia closed her eyes in relief. Whatever the future held, whatever happened between them, she would at least have the chance to assure Hal of her love. Had he died, thinking she hated him . . . she couldn’t have lived with the guilt.

Opening her eyes again, she took in the elaborate hangings of the bed, the delicacy of the furnishings, and the tastefulness of the decoration. “What room is this?”

“The baroness’s bedchamber, adjoining Ansford’s suite. It’s easier for the doctor if you’re close together.”

“Can I see Hal?” Mama had said he was alive but damaged. What did that mean, exactly?

Mama pursed her lips. “Out of the question. He’s to be disturbed as little as possible. He looked so dreadful when they brought him in, I thought he was done for.”

“Where’s Polly?” What would it do to the girl to lose her father as well as her mother?

“In her room with Nurse, being comforted.”

“Can I see her?”

“Perhaps she could be brought to see you later, but for now, you’re in no fit state. Let me brush that awful grit out of your hair while Bessie finishes cleaning your cuts. I don’t know what you were doing with your hands. You’ve broken every single nail, some of them quite badly.”

“I was trying to dig Hal out.” Oh, the hell of those few moments, when she didn’t know if he was dead or alive.

“It was a mercy you were there. You were able to raise the alarm and help save Ansford.”

Tia’s heart thumped painfully. Had she—however inadvertently—brought about the entire catastrophe? Was she to blame? She fought to keep the wobble out of her voice as she asked, “What brought the building down? Was there an earthquake?”

“Lynch has sent for a surveyor to find out. Currently, he thinks the mortar may have failed. It could have been scoured out by the bad weather we had a few years ago, and frost might have weakened the masonry, making it spall and crack.” Mama paused and shuddered melodramatically. “I didn’t like that folly at all—it was eerie, and I never went near the place, as you well know. I do hope Ansford had nothing valuable in there, for everything’s been reduced to dust.”

“Do you think he’ll rebuild it?” She hadn’t meant to voice the thought aloud. Pondering Hal’s monument to Mary, Tia prayed he wouldn’t want to resurrect it.

“What an odd question to ask. Why, no. I believe Ansford declared—in a rather colorful fashion as they were cleaning him up—that he was relieved it was gone. It was as if the place had an unnatural hold on him.”

Tia couldn’t agree more. But was the hold now broken? Could she and Hal finally be free from Mary Pelham’s unforgiving influence?

“Tia, you’re so pale. Shall I fetch the basin?”

“Oh Mama, I fear it is all my fault.” She wrenched back a sob.

“Don’t be silly. How could it be?”

“Bessie,” she choked out, “would you leave us for a moment, please?”

“Of course, miss.” The girl bobbed respectfully and left.

Clasping her hands together, Tia discovered how sore they were. Every cut buzzed from the alum water, and the tips of her bruised fingers ached.

“Now, what’s all this nonsense about the folly’s collapse being your fault?” Mama asked softly.

“Oh Mama, Lord Ansford asked me to marry him.”