Page 45 of A Gentleman's Wife

Chapter Twenty

Pearls scattered across the floor of the corridor, but what filled Thomas with dread was hearing the sound of Marianne’s body drop with a thud.

He fell to his knees beside her, not knowing what to do. Her body violently thrashed, eyes closed and mouth clenched, her right arm pressed tightly against her chest. He had to make sure she didn’t incur any other injuries like the ones she’d told him of before, but he didn’t know how to help, or if touching her somehow would only make things worse.

“Marianne!”

Eliza appeared in an instant from the staircase, crouching down beside where Marianne seized on the floor.

“Will she be all right?” Thomas asked, unable to take his eyes from his wife’s struggling body.

“She will be. It’s an unpleasant sight, but this is nothing out of the ordinary. It will pass quickly, though the timing is most unfortunate.”

The corridor was empty for now, but guests could come out and find them at any moment. He didn’t want her to be further shamed, any more than his grandfather had already done, but Thomas couldn’t leave her side. Not when he’d promised he wouldn’t. Not when she had to suffer through this.

“What’s happening?”

James’s voice made Thomas turn. He appeared first, then Henry followed after him.

“She’s…” Thomas didn’t know how to explain.

“Something more than a swoon?” Henry asked gently, and Thomas nodded.

James spoke in a calm voice. “How can we help?”

“I don’t know.” Thomas hated the uncertainty of the moment. But when he looked back at the door, he said, “I suppose there is something.”

“Anything,” James responded.

“Can you and Isabel please take lead in the ballroom? See that everyone is entertained, and I will return as soon as I am able. Henry, please find Collins and have him send for Mr. Sanders immediately, and don’t let any remaining guests out the doors until we’ve gone upstairs.”

They both nodded and disappeared.

If Thomas knew anything about his wife, it was how hard she’d take this. She’d see it as a personal failure and worry if anyone had seen her in one of her worst moments. The least he could do was try to protect her from the vicious gossips and any further despair.

As quickly as it had started, Marianne’s thrashing slowed. She did not throw her head back as much, and her breathing came a little easier. He remembered her struggle for breath, which had led to her pulling at the pearl necklace he’d given her. It now decorated the floor, but that didn’t matter. Her health mattered. Her life mattered.

“What will happen now?” he asked Eliza.

“She won’t wake immediately. Her body takes time to recover, and she’ll wake with a splitting headache. But she was hopefully spared any injury this time. Likely thanks to you.”

Thomas shook his head. Marianne’s chest rolled lightly, the fabric of her dress sliding off her shoulder on one side. It revealed a jagged scar, one she had told him about before. He thought it would be something small, similar to the ones on her face, but it was large and lifted, and it hurt his heart to think of her receiving it, that she had any kind of injury or pain because of the seizures she suffered, as he’d just witnessed.

Finally, Collins arrived, with Mr. Sanders and Mrs. Bamber in tow.

“What’s all this?” she asked.

“She’s already past the worst of it,” Eliza explained to the doctor.

“Can we move her?” Thomas asked.

Mr. Sanders’ brow furrowed. “Once she’s calmed a little more, I will check her for injuries, and then we can take her upstairs to rest in bed.”

Thomas turned, knowing the entrance to the stairs corresponded with the entrance of the ballroom, so it would have to be carefully done to spare his wife any disgrace.

“Collins, please coordinate with Mr. Godwin to ensure the ballroom door is closed. It need only be for five minutes so we can get her up the stairs. His Grace will command the room until I return.”

Collins caught a careful glimpse at his mistress before he nodded and disappeared.

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