Page 127 of The King's Man
Thamsine stood by the bed and looked down at her sister.
‘Why didn’t you tell me how sick you were?’
Jane managed a wan smile. ‘What concern was it of yours, dearest? I have known for a long time that it was the lung disease and it would kill me.’
‘Do you cough blood?’
Jane nodded. ‘I have for some months. Now, tell me, how is your Captain Lovell?’
Thamsine’s face crumpled. ‘He’s in the Tower, Jane. They took him away a week ago and won’t let me see him.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Jane said.
‘I didn’t tell you when we last met. Kit and I were married after he rescued me from Bedlam.’
She looked up and saw the sympathy and confusion in her sister’s eyes.
‘Why didn’t you tell me that you were married?’ Jane asked.
Thamsine shook her head. ‘It didn’t seem important. What mattered was his hand. We were to take a ship to Barbados when the soldiers came. There was no escape. An hour later and we would have been gone.’
Jane took Thamsine’s hand in her frail grasp. ‘What will become of him?’
‘He … ’ Thamsine faltered, ‘ … he may hang.’
‘Your Captain is a good man, Thamsine. He pretends not to be, but in his heart he is a good man. I told him he should marry you and he did. You are free of Ambrose Morton now, and that is what matters … ’
Thamsine smiled. ‘No, Jane, you don’t understand. I didn’t marry Kit for that reason. I married him because I love him. I have loved him from the day we met.’
Her sister studied her face. ‘Then we must speak to Roger, get him the very best lawyer we can.’
She broke off, struggling for breath, her frail body wracked with coughing. Thamsine held her, holding a cloth to her lips, wiping away the bright blood. Gently, she laid her sister back on the bolsters.
‘Thamsine, I’m very tired … let me sleep a little. When I wake we can talk some more.’ Jane’s voice struggled with her breath.
Thamsine straightened the bolsters behind her sister’s head. As Jane sank back into them and closed her eyes, Thamsine sat down beside the bed, taking Jane’s hand in hers, overwhelmed by the depth of her emotions. Perhaps some of her strength would pass to Jane and she would recover.
Despite the years they had been apart, she could not imagine a life without her sister. How cruel to lose Jane just as she had found her again. Tears pricked her eyes and she choked them back, kissing her sister gently on the head.
The day slipped away and night had fallen before Jane woke. Thamsine stood at the window, her arms crossed in front of her body, staring out at the gloom. After the clear day, the stars burned brilliantly in the country air.
‘Thamsine?’ Jane’s voice made her turn. ‘Are you still here?’
Thamsine turned and gave her sister a weak smile. ‘I’m not going anywhere, Jane. My place is by your side for the moment. There is little I can do for Kit. You, on the other hand, need me.’
Jane tried to pull herself up in the bed. Thamsine was by her side, straightening the bolsters and assisting her. The door opened and Roger stood in the doorway, in his shirtsleeves, a candle in his hand.
‘How are you, my dear?’
‘I have slept a little,’ Jane replied. Her hand tightened on Thamsine’s. ‘Having Thamsine with me has eased the pain.’
‘Mary is coming with a little supper for you, my dear,’ Roger said. ‘Thamsine, would you care to join me in the parlour?’
Thamsine nodded. She felt tired, desperately tired, as the events of the long day caught up with her. She bent and kissed her sister.
‘I shall return after supper, Jane. Roger, I would like a cot made up in the closet so I can be near my sister should she need me at night.’
Roger nodded and stood aside as Thamsine passed him.
