Page 42 of Exile's Return
Agnes sat down on the edge of the bed. ‘Me too, but she’s right, Daniel. We are not going anywhere until you are quite well. I was…’ She looked away, her throat working. ‘I was so scared I was going to lose you.’
‘Why? As has just been pointed out, I’ve been nothing but rude and churlish and I’ve surely given you no reason to wish me well.’
She flashed him a sharp glance. ‘You’ve given me every reason to wish you well. You have been a friend when I needed one, however base your motives.’
Daniel took another mouthful of the soup. Despite his protests about it being invalid pap, it was thick with vegetables and pieces of chicken and tasted wonderful.
‘There are things in my past, Agnes…’
She raised her chin, a gesture he had come to recognize. For a tiny person, she had a strong will, and he suspected she brooked no nonsense, not from the children in her care…or him.
‘I’ve seen your back, Daniel Lovell. It tells its own story and I’ll not ask you about it if you don’t wish to tell me.’
He set the spoon back in the near-empty bowl. ‘Thank you.’ In truth, he had no idea how to even begin telling that particular story. He changed the subject. ‘Is there a Lady Longley in this house?’
Agnes nodded. ‘Lady Eleanor Longley is Sir Jonathan’s sister.’
‘I have some letters for her in my satchel, but I would like to see her.’
‘Lady Longley?’ Agnes frowned. ‘I thought your business was with Sir Jonathan.’
‘I met her husband, and he asked me to carry his letters for him. I thought maybe she would want some news of him too.’
‘I’ll fetch her.’
After Agnes left the room, Daniel set the tray aside, lay back on the bolsters and closed his eyes. He cursed the fever that always left him irritatingly tired. Ellen was right; it would be a week or more before he was fit enough to sit a horse for any distance.
The door creaked open and he opened his eyes. The woman in the blue dress with fair ringlets and startlingly blue eyes could only be Lady Longley. She crossed the floor and looked down at him, her cornflower blue eyes filled with concern as Agnes slipped into the room behind her.
Lady Longley may have been a few years older than him, but she was beautiful and he felt the heat of embarrassment rise to his face and wondered how her husband could bear to have been separated from her for so long. The preponderance of women in this household, after years of male companionship, took some getting used to, particularly as he only seemed to be meeting them at a significant physical disadvantage.
‘I’m Lady Longley, Master Lovell. I do hope you are feeling recovered?’ She smiled and laid her hand over his, soft golden curls falling around her face. ‘I believe you have some word of my husband?’
He cleared his throat and extricated his hand. ‘I am well on the road to recovery. Thank you for coming to see me, Lady Longley and yes, I met your husband recently and have some letters for you from him. Agnes…can you find them?’
Agnes obliged, producing the crumpled and travel-stained packets from the bottom of his bag. She handed them to Daniel, who went through them quickly. He set the one addressed to Sir Jonathan aside and handed the others to Lady Longley. She carried them over to the window, where she stood with her back to the room, quickly scanning them without opening them.
‘How kind of him to write to his daughter,’ she said in an acerbic tone, waving the offending missive in the air before slamming it down on the windowsill. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against the glass.
Daniel glanced at Agnes. From her wide eyes, he took it that the reaction was not what she had expected either. Lady Longley straightened and turned around, looking from one to the other, colour staining her cheeks.
‘I apologise. I am weary of this long separation. I have two children who do not know their father. Tell me, was Giles well when you saw him?’
‘He seemed to be in good health,’ Daniel replied. ‘And if it’s any consolation, he asked me to tell you that he will make amends.’
A bitter, humourless smile twisted Eleanor Longley’s mouth and she tapped the letters in her hand. ‘I will read these later. Is there anything I can do for you, Master Lovell?’
He shook his head. ‘No, the kindness of everyone in this house has been quite overwhelming.’ He cleared his throat and added, in the hope it might console her, ‘Lord Longley seemed hopeful of returning to England with the King.’
‘And then, of course, all will be well,’ Lady Longley said with a noticeable crack in her voice. ‘Excuse me, please. I will be better company in the morning.’
She turned and left the room.
Daniel glanced at Agnes. ‘Was she crying?’
Agnes nodded as she bent to pick up the tray from where Daniel had pushed it. ‘Yes. So many broken lives, Daniel. Is there anything else I can do for you?’
Daniel closed his eyes, covering them with his arm. ‘Leave me. I’m poor company, Agnes.’
