Free Miss Lacey's Last Fling (A Regency Romance) by Candice Hern Page A

"Yes. But you must not ask me any more questions, aunt. If you will just be so good as to send for a physician, I would be much obliged to you."
    "All right, my dear, it shall be as you wish," Fanny said, her voice gentle and her brow furrowed in concern. "I have no desire to pry, only to let you know you may confide in me at any time. You must know I would respect any confidence. I have grown quite surprisingly fond of you."
    "Thank you," Rosie said. Feeling uncharacteristically emotional at her aunt's words, her voice came out watery and weak. She took a deep breath to compose herself. She had no desire to fall apart in front of her aunt. "If there is something you must know," she said with more control, "I promise I will tell you."
    "Good. Then I will have Sir Nigel Leighton sent for. He is the best man in London."
    Violet helped Rosie to wash up and put on a simple morning dress before the doctor arrived. She could stomach no more than tea and toast when breakfast was offered. Violet's constant fussing, however well-meaning, became irritating and Rosie finally sent the maid away.
    When Sir Nigel arrived, Fanny brought him up herself. She introduced them, then made a discreet exit, leaving them alone in the bedchamber. Sir Nigel pulled a finely carved arm chair close to Rosie's chaise and sat down.
    "What can I do for you, Miss Lacey?"
    The physician was short and stout, with a magnificent head of silver hair. His direct gaze and authoritative air made Rosie feel suddenly foolish and tongue-tied.
    "I don't know where to begin," she said.
    "At the beginning, I think."
    "Well, it all began with my mother."
    Sir Nigel lifted an eyebrow. "Go on."
    "Before I do," Rosie said, "I must have your word that what I tell you will be kept in the strictest confidence. Even my aunt—especially my aunt—must not know what I am about to tell you."
    "You have my word of honor. Now, tell me what troubles you."
    And she did. She told him the same things she had told the Exeter physician who'd diagnosed her. She told him how, when Rosie was fourteen, her mother had suddenly become ill, and that in six months she was dead. Now Rosie found herself with the same symptoms. Another physician had confirmed the diagnosis, and predicted Rosie, too, would succumb within six months.
    "Tell me more about your mother's illness," Sir Nigel said, and pulled out a small notebook from his waistcoat pocket. "What precisely were her symptoms?"
    "I wasn't told everything, of course, but I do know that she suffered horrible headaches. She could always tell they were coming on because her hands and feet became cold. Sometimes she became disoriented and dizzy. When that happened, her nurse or my father bustled her away at once, and we sometimes did not see her for days. My father would come out of her bedchamber looking white-faced and drained, but he never told us what happened behind that closed door. He would simply say that Mama was ill and we must be very quiet and leave her alone."
    She waited while he made some notes. He wore an uncompromising scowl and Rosie knew he was not pleased with what she told him. She had been accustomed to their gentle family physician back home. There was nothing gentle, nor even compassionate, about this man.
    He looked up and asked, "Did these symptoms appear suddenly, or had you ever noticed anything similar when you were younger?"
    "Oh, no. It was quite sudden. I remember it well. She had been out for a ride. When she returned, she was removing her hat and gloves in the hall, and she fainted."
    "And then the headaches began." It was not a question. "Did they become more frequent?"
    "Yes. And then one day, six months later, Papa came out of her bedchamber looking more devastated than ever, and told us she had died."
    "Had a physician attended her during that six months?"
    "Yes, Dr. Urquhart."
    "A competent man, this Urquhart?" he asked, and made a note.
    Blast. She ought not to have mentioned the doctor's name.
    "Well?" he