Page 83 of The Devil of Clan Sinclair
Virginia took a deep breath. “I can’t simply remain here.”
“Then rest a day, or two at the most, your ladyship.”
She shook her head, got dizzy, and waited a moment. When she stood, Hannah held her arm, and she smiled in thanks, closed her eyes and prayed for the strength to do what she had to do. Leaving the nursery, she steadied herself at the top of the steps. Had the staircase always been this steep?
“He has Elliot, and I can’t remain in England while my son’s in Scotland.”
“You know where he’s gone,” Hannah said. “Two days, that’s all I ask. You look like you could collapse if someone looked cross at you.”
For the first time in days, Virginia felt a tinge of amusement. “I’ll have to ensure someone doesn’t look cross at me.”
She would also have to prepare to face Macrath.
“The worst of the scabs have not yet fallen off.”
“You mean people will be frightened of me?” Virginia asked.
“They’ll think you’re still contagious.”
She glanced at the maid. “The doctor says I’m not. I wouldn’t put Elliot in jeopardy.” She held up a trembling hand. “I won’t be swayed, Hannah. I must go after him, don’t you see? He’s my son.”
“We can’t leave at night, your ladyship. We can leave at first light.”
Glancing at the window, she realized Hannah was right. Darkness had fallen. Ever since she’d become ill, time passed so quickly. Whole days were gone before she realized.
“Tomorrow, then,” she said. “First thing in the morning.”
How could Macrath have taken Elliot? How could he have done something so unconscionable and cruel? She could almost hear his voice now.How could you have hidden my own son from me?
How was she to answer that question? If she were wise, she’d start marshaling her arguments now for the confrontation with Macrath.
Even if she’d been wrong, she was not going to remain meekly here and let Macrath steal her child.
“I’m coming with you,” Hannah said.
She hesitated, looking at her maid, a woman who’d become so much more than a servant over the past months.
“I should tell you no,” Virginia said. “Enid could use your help here.”
According to what Hannah had told her, the whole of the household was in shambles. Meals were late, the bells never rang, two footmen had quit. Several of the maids were still recovering from smallpox. Paul was acting as the head of the house, and that, more than anything else, was symptomatic of how disruptive their lives had become.
Hannah shook her head. “I’m not staying here while you travel to Scotland alone.”
Slowly, Virginia started to descend the steps. She managed a smile for Hannah’s benefit. “And I don’t think I could make it to Scotland without you.”
The next morning Virginia still felt weak but was determined to make the journey to Scotland. Because she was still in the process of healing, she decided it would be safer not to travel by train. Even heavily veiled, someone might see her scabs and wrongly deduce she was still contagious. She didn’t want to cause panic. They would travel by carriage, the same way they had before, in the same manner. She would be as surreptitious as she’d been as a new widow.
After drinking her morning tea, she went through the laborious process of dressing. Twice, she almost collapsed, and twice waved away Hannah’s concern.
“I’ll be in a carriage,” she said. “I won’t be doing anything but sitting.”
After descending the stairs, she leaned against the wall, willing her stomach to calm and her heartbeat to slow.
Before she left, she was going to visit with Ellice, an encounter she didn’t anticipate. Hannah left her at the door with another concerned glance. She pasted a determined smile on her face and entered the parlor.
Ellice sat in her favorite chair, staring down into a cup of tea like the answers to all the problems of the world were to be found there.
Every time Virginia came into the room, she remembered the dawn when she’d kept vigil with Lawrence’s casket and arranged a deceit.
