Page 22 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
“It’s looking better, Nurse Walters, I’ve seen cases like this before. She got through the crisis when the fever was highest, and it’s stayed down since then. I’m hopeful she’ll recover, but we’re not through the woods yet” Dr. Carstairs said.
“Absolutely” came the confident voice of Nurse Walters. “I don’t know Miss Banks well, but from what I’ve seen of her, she is strong-willed and feisty enough to overcome this fever.”
“I’ll visit again tomorrow, unless I hear from you that her condition has worsened,” Dr. Carstairs replied.
They are discussing me. I’ve been ill and could have diedAudrey realized.I must be strong, I must recover for Sasha’s sake.
More voices loomed close to her, and she felt a cool compress placed on her forehead. “Now Jude, you hold that compress onher head. We need to keep her temperature down.” Again, the voice of Nurse Walters permeated her consciousness.
The voice of the duke, which she had come to recognize in her dreams, seemed to falter, choked with emotion. “The doctor isn’t sure she will survive. She could still deteriorate. What can we do?”
“Your Grace, I’ll hear no more of that sort of talk in my sick room. As I told that doctor, I know how to nurse others and have seen more illness than most people.” It appeared that Nurse Walters was determined she would not lose her patient.
“None of us would have made it past the age of ten without you,” agreed the duke.
“There you are. We have to be positive. There is every hope she will come through this illness. Now, keep applying that compress. I’m going to see if she will take a little of one of my tisanes, and then I’m going to ask Mrs. Driscoll to get more ice from cook.”
As the hours passed, Audrey could sense the duke at her side. Occasionally, her eyes flickered open for a few moments to see him reading quietly by the fire, or she would hear his voice reading poetry to her. Although she did not know how long she had been there in bed, of one thing she was sure: the duke was never away from her side for long.
Audrey was finding it difficult to separate dreams from reality, but she instinctively knew how much he cared, his voice urging her to escape from the tendrils of illness, which clawed and gripped at her body.
Once more, his voice broke through into her foggy mind, a positive force of energy, giving her the strength to defy the tide of fever that had engulfed her.
“Please come back to us, Miss Banks, we need you.” His voice was carrying her on a wave to the beach, to rest on the warm sand.
“I think she’s through the delirium” came the voice of Nurse Walters. “Her forehead is cool. She is definitely through the worst now.”
“You’re sure, Nurse?” The duke sounded unsure.
“Now, my dear Jude, I’ve seen many an illness in my day. I told you this young lady is strong; she fought the fever and returned to us.”
“Nanny, you are a wonder!” The gratitude in his voice was obvious.
Audrey could also hear relief in his voice.They're talking about me. I must have been very sick, but I’m going to recover.
As she drifted back to sleep, she heard Nurse Walters telling the duke to go and get some rest. She could manage. That all she needed to do was watch her patient.
He cares for me!was Audrey’s final thought before sleep overcame her.
Chapter 7
Jude had hardly dared hope, but sure enough Miss Banks continued to grow stronger every day. He no longer held her hand as she was no longer critically ill. He did visit and read poetry and passages from a novel calledSense and Sensibility, written simply by an anonymous lady. He found the characters engaging and realistic, and Miss Banks smiled and laughed out loud at some of the descriptions.
The quarantine ended, with Mrs. Driscoll, Barton, Jake, Nurse Walters, and himself all out of danger. The biggest relief had been when Dr. Carstairs had confirmed that if Sasha had been ill before her mama, she would have immunity to the putrid sore throat.
Miss Banks remained weak, but as she gained strength, Nurse Walters supervised as Miss Banks was fed broth and nourishing light meals.
Nurse Walters ordered him out of the sickroom. “Your Grace, I was glad of your assistance when Miss Banks was close to death. It’s different now. It isn’t seemly for you to be in and out ofher room each day.” She paused, and he became aware she had guessed the depth of his feelings for Miss Banks.
“You can visit in the afternoon and in the evening, but that’s it,” she stipulated, and he knew there was no arguing with her.
Jude focused on practicalities, determined to locate Sasha’s family. The news from Daniel was that, up until now, he had been unable to find anyone who knew the child or her mother, but he would keep trying. Even though Napoleon was now imprisoned on the Island of Elba, there was still significant turmoil in France, which made enquiries difficult.
What of Miss Banks?Thought Jude. He was intrigued to know more about her family, but she had been surprisingly reticent about her home and childhood. All he had been able to glean from her so far was that her family had fallen on hard times, and she was taking up the post of governess in Harrogate. He felt honor-bound to ensure the family in the north was informed of her whereabouts. Miss Banks had said she would write to them but that was before she fell ill.
Jude was also concerned that her family should be made aware of her illness and a message should be sent to them. They would be concerned about her and may already be aware she had not arrived in Harrogate to take up the post there.
He found Mrs. Driscoll in the parlor, embroidering a linen cloth with Sasha sitting beside her, playing with a spinning top.
