Free The Village Spinster by Laura Matthews Page A

Lawrence leaned over to open his black bag. “I’m going to examine her now, Lord Kinsford. If you would wait in the hall.”
    Kinsford reluctantly let himself out into the hall and Clarissa heard Meg offer him a cup of tea in the dining parlor. She heard their footsteps retreat to the next room.
    Dr. Lawrence proceeded to examine his patient, listening to her chest, palpating her abdomen, checking her wrists and ankles, adjusting the bandages about her relocated shoulder. Lady Aria said very little, responding only to direct questions, and then with monosyllabic answers. Dr. Lawrence spent a long time looking in her eyes and checking her scalp.
    “You’ve put some lotion on?” he asked.
    “Yes. Her head had been aching intolerably,” Clarissa explained.
    “It would be better to shave off a little of the hair, but I won’t insist upon it. I know how awkward it is for a young lady. Still, you must attempt to get as much lotion on as possible. Several times a day. Every few hours, if you can manage it.”
    “Certainly we can manage.”
    He sighed, stepping away from the sick bed and lowering his voice. “It’s hard to tell if there’s anything seriously amiss. We’ll need to keep a close watch on her for the next few days. I wouldn’t move her. Not even upstairs, if you can handle the disruption of your household.”
    “It’s no problem at all,” Clarissa assured him. “I wonder if you would tell Lord Kinsford exactly the same thing. I very much fear he’ll suggest moving her.”
    Dr. Lawrence regarded her thoughtfully. “I can’t see why he should, and it would be most unwise. In fact, it wouldn’t be a good idea to distress Lady Aria in any way at this juncture. I’ll have a word with him.”
    “Thank you.”
    He walked back to Lady Aria and assured her that he would return the next day, sooner if she needed him. He had a comforting way about him, as William had remarked. Confident, competent—just the sort of doctor Clarissa would have wished for her charge.
    She stayed with her patient when the doctor left the room. There was already a chair drawn up to the side of the sofa and she seated herself there to rub more lotion onto Lady Aria’s wound. Though it stung momentarily, the girl relaxed when Clarissa continued to massage her temples. Within minutes she had fallen asleep again.
    The door opened quietly and Kinsford stood for a few moments regarding the scene. Clarissa met his eyes with a steady gaze. She couldn’t tell precisely what he was thinking, but his frustration was apparent.
    “I’ll return this evening,” he whispered. And then, as an afterthought, “If I may.”
    “She’ll probably be asleep.”
    “I won’t disturb her.”
    “Very well.”
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Clarissa checked on Lady Aria frequently over the next few hours. Her fever seemed about the same, neither reducing significantly nor elevating alarmingly. She was a little less fretful in her sleep, perhaps, and her sleep remained unbroken, since no more visitors insisted on seeing her for the rest of the afternoon.
    Keeping country hours, Clarissa ate her evening meal early and then returned to the sitting room. Aria was awake and slightly confused. “Where are my watercolors?” she asked, looking about the familiar room. “I shan’t be able to draw without them. I want to paint the ha-ha behind the Hall. Will was chasing a fox cub and I especially wanted to paint him.”
    Disorientation being one of the signs Dr. Lawrence had particularly cautioned her about, Clarissa felt a start of alarm. She seated herself beside the sofa and laid a hand on Aria’s forehead. It was no warmer. “You’ve not been well, my dear. We’ll save the watercolors for later.”
    “Oh, yes,” Aria agreed, blinking up at her. “How stupid of me!”
    As she had herself awoken from vivid dreams that lingered, Clarissa could not determine whether this constituted disorientation. When Aria declared that she was hungry, Clarissa took