Free Tanya Anne Crosby by The Impostor's Kiss Page B

weeks, his strength increased and he was able to take long walks. Now, this man was in the last stages of consumption, but I must wonder. You see, vital air is nothing more than pure oxygen gas. When exposed to it, plants develop at an increased rate. It would make sense that it somehow promotes the growth of healthy tissue within the body, much in the same way increased blood flow willdo. But I cannot say it is a certain cure. I’m merely at an end as to how to treat you, my lady.” Her expression was full of apology. “I just have not been able to find and remedy the cause of your…”
    “Lameness,” Fiona finished for her. “You may call it what it is, Chloe. Never mince words with me. Tell me, is this treatment terribly expensive? Does it hurt?”
    “I would have to look into the cost, my lady. But it shouldn’t hurt at all. In fact, they say it produces a sensation of agreeable warmth about the region of the chest along with a comfortable sensation throughout the body.”
    Fiona sighed. “Let us consider it, then,” she said. “You’re a godsend, Chloe.”
    Chloe averted her gaze. “In truth, you might do better to hire yourself a proper physician,” she suggested.
    “Rubble! I already have a proper physician!” Fiona replied without pause. “And she happens to be quite accomplished. Never suggest such a thing again!”
    Fiona understood Chloe must feel inadequate after the loss of Rusty Broun’s child. But Fiona had never met a woman, nor a man, who tried as hard as Chloe. She sighed heavily, wearied as she watched Chloe work in vain.
    Poor Chloe, didn’t she realize; there hadn’t really been an accident at all. Fiona had taken thecarriage out alone with a devilish design in mind. Knowing Ian would follow, she’d run her own carriage off the road and then had waited for her son to come after her. Like a bloody fool, she’d claimed that Hawk had driven her off the road and then tried to rob her—to which Ian was supposed to have confessed that such an incident was quite impossible, because, of course, he was Hawk.
    But he hadn’t done any sort of thing.
    Instead the wily boy had insisted they report the robbery to the constable and he’d called in the physician to examine Fiona at once. Chloe’s father.
    Unfortunately, Fiona hadn’t learned her lesson and her deceit had only begun. Once her lies had begun, pride had been her downfall. Like a dolt, she’d talked Chloe’s father into covering for her. Fiona might be able to fool Chloe for a time, but her father had been far too seasoned.
    Then everything had gone from bad to worse.
    To everyone’s shock, Chloe’s father’s heart had failed him and Fiona had felt responsible for his death—her plotting had certainly caused him undue stress. And knowing that without the deed to their land, Chloe wouldn’t be able to remain in their home, Fiona had offered Chloe a position as her nurse. And so here she was, eight months later, still sitting in an invalid chair and her son was still risking his life to change the circumstances of others—all because of her lies.
    There must be something she could do—if nothing else, at least for Chloe and Ian.
     
    In the library, Merrick retrieved the eviction notice from his coat pocket and sat back in a chair, contemplating his mother’s involvement.
    How much did she know of Edward’s actions? His gut told him that Ian was as much in the dark as was Merrick.
    But what of his mother?
    Setting his feet up on a stool, he stared at the document, unable to shake a growing feeling of unease. The constable had called again this morning, questioning Merrick about the missing vehicle. Merrick had assured the man that he hadn’t the least notion of what he was speaking, but it hadn’t seemed to assuage him. It was no wonder Ian had fled with Merrick’s coach; in the short time Merrick had worn his shoes, Ian’s life was beginning to feel like a chessboard with the king in check.
    He needed to speak with