Page 18 of Betrayal from Beyond
“We have the duchess’s own doctor on the way,” Niall reassured her. “Dr. Balgate cured Harold when he was very ill indeed. I have every confidence that he will do the same for Turner.”
The housekeeper nodded gratefully. She looked around. “I hope someone will send news of his recovery?”
She departed amongst assurances. Niall saw her to his own coach, then took John Coachman aside. “Keep your eyes peeled and the horses under a tight rein,” he said, low.
“Aye.” John had clearly heard the details of the accident.
As they set off, Niall asked Mrs. Canning to point out the spot where the incident had occurred. She agreed, but held her silence as they traveled, even when they passed a couple of grooms bringing the battered chaise back home. As they grew closer, she leaned forward and indicated the spot.
“I do hope you will be able to catch the villain who did this,” she said. “It’s not right, setting out to harm someone who has done nothing to you.”
“I mean to,” he answered. “I mean to put a stop to this.”
Niall delivered her safely home before directing John back to the scene. There were scuffs in the lane from where the chaise had been dragged, but nothing in the spot where the shooter must have lain in wait. He widened his search and eventually found half a boot print in a soft patch of dirt.
“I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman’s boot,” he told Stayme later, as they lurked on the threshold of the guest room. “Just middling sized, with no distinguishing features.”
“I told you, she’s good, that Scot woman.” The viscount shook his head. “Neither she nor her hirelings are going to make this easy on us.”
“What did Balgate say?” Niall asked. He could see that the doctor had visited, as the pallet was gone and Turner had been thoroughly washed and dressed in a nightshirt.
“He wanted to know when we are going to stop making him dance on the end of our stick,” Stayme said wryly. “He confirmed the broken ribs and wrapped them. He praised Kara for her quick thinking with the ice, which is apparently something they found useful when they were working with his amputees. Balgate thinks Turner will awaken when the swelling on that lump goes down. He’s down in the stillroom, brewing up a poultice to slather on it.”
Sighing, Niall entered to crouch down next to Kara. “Come down and take some dinner? Stayme will sit with him while you get away for just a few minutes.”
“No, thank you,” she replied absently. “Elsie will bring me a tray.”
“My love—” he began.
She stopped him with a hand to his arm. “Please, Niall.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “You already know what I’m going to say.”
“Yes.” Her loyalty to Turner was unshakable—with good reason. “He never gave up on you.”
When Kara had been kidnapped as a child, even Scotland Yard had been unable to uncover the villains. It had been Turner, a footman at Bluefield Park at the time, who had put together the clues. When the police ignored his theory, he risked himself to save her.
“I’ll stay here,” she said. “I want to be here when he wakes.” Niall’s stomach gave a loud rumble, making her smile. “You two go and have your dinner.”
“I’ll come up and sit with you once we finish.”
“Good.”
He kissed her hand and went down to dine with Stayme. They were just finishing when a pale-faced Prudence entered.
Tom stepped forward to intercept her. The downstairs maid usually had no place in the dining room, but Niall waved him off.
Prudence gave a curtsy. “I do beg your pardon for interrupting, but Your Grace, this was just found on the front door.” Hand shaking, she extended a folded note.
Alarm and anger kindled in Niall’s belly as he took it. They burst into full flame when he read the note. Raising his head, he handed it to Stayme, then gave both the servants a hard look. “Not a word of this,” he growled. “Is that understood? Tell no one about this, for now. I don’t want Kara to know anything about it until Turner is awake and stable.”
Standing, he looked to Stayme. “Keep a sharp eye on things here, won’t you? I have a few calls to make in Town.” He paused and looked back at the viscount. “Wait a moment. You have people trained to dig in and ferret out secrets. Let’s put them to use.” He leaned in and spoke low near Stayme’s ear before straightening again. “Find out all you can, will you? We might need a bit of leverage.”
Chapter Five
For nearly twodays, Kara kept her vigil beside Turner’s bed. Twice, she thought he was about to awaken. He would move purposefully, grimace, but then fall back, inert once more.
She decided to take it as a hopeful sign. Because she could not bear for it to be anything else.
She intermittently applied cold and Balgate’s poultice to the lump on Turner’s head. She made sure he was kept warm and clean. Occasionally, she would prop him up and try to dribble a bit of honey-laced tea into him.
