“I will answer your question with a question.” Max said smugly. “’Tis easy enough if you think who may have felt threatened the most by your association with the DeLacey twins.”
Could Max be right? “You do not think he is associated with…?”
“No, no. I think it was a simple case of jealousy,” Max interrupted. “Keep in mind, I was not there, but you have related enough of the exchanges around Lady Lilian DeLacey, that I think it is where the guilt lies. We will not know for sure until we ask.”
The two men fed and watered their horses and walked up to the house. Harlow’s priorities were news of Lilian, sleep and food, in that order. Hearing that she was resting comfortably, he relaxed. He needed to think more, but the minute his head hit the pillow he went to sleep, comfortable knowing that the next day held an excitement all its own.
Epilogue
The next day
Lilian lay in bed with her eyes closed, feeling the sun warm her face. She was trying to have a better dream to wake up with so she might rid her mind of a most unsettling nightmare. In her nightmare, the stable had caught fire, trapping over a dozen horses, including her horse and her sister’s horse, nearly burning them alive. She adored Danby, and the idea she could lose him to something so devastating shook her to the core. Try as she might, she could not reach him. When she did at last free him, he refused to leave her side. With her remaining strength depleted, she collapsed, able neither to save herself nor her animals. Somewhere in her dream she could smell him, the Prince Charming her sister had continually promised would come for her. The scent of bergamot and bay leaf filled her mind, and she felt her face relax, content that he had swooped in and saved them all. Part of her believed it had been a dream, and all of her wished the last part had been true. Experience had taught her that if she stayed asleep, she could find herself in a better reverie, freeing her consciousness of this horrible dream.
A knock sounded on her bedchamber door, shattering any chance for a daydream. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see her sister kiss her on the forehead and plop into a chair next to her.
“I love you so much, dear sister. If not for you, I would not have my precious Ginger.”
“Then it was true,” she said through a lump in her throat. The horrific part of her dream was not a dream, after all. It was a bad memory coming back larger than ever.
“The fire? Yes, but so much has happened. Do you remember using the cane?” Her sister’s voice nearly burst with excitement.
I used a cane, she remembered. “Yes.” Her voice hitched. “I could not get close enough to the horses. Then I saw the cane you left there for me, so I walked to it.” Of their own volition, her lips formed an ‘O’. Sitting up, she threw her covers back. “I walked? I walked!” She reached for her legs and could feel her hands touching her skin. She had not felt her legs in a year.
“Yes. All of that!” Tears ran unchecked down Lydia’s face and she buried her face in her sister’s shoulder. “I love you,” she mumbled, her voice muffled by Lilian’s hair. “You are my hero, sister.”
“Yes, she is,” Mama said, walking into the room at that moment. “I should be angry with you for what you did, risking your life, but I cannot be. The doctor said you will recover—more than recover, in actual fact. He believes you are ready to enjoy a normal life again.”
Mama sounded anything but angry. Maybe the right word was giddy? While she respected her family, Lilian knew, without a doubt, she would do everything to save her animal—even risking her life again, given the circumstances.
“You will want to get dressed soon and break your fast,” her mother suggested pointedly. A knowing smile teased her lips.
Cooper bounded into the room and leaped onto her bed, licking the faces of both girls and sending them into giggles.
“I love you, little man. If my nightmare was true, it is you who saved me—you and Danby.”
“He is a little rascal, that one.” As she mentioned her former dog’s name, her mother smiled again. This time it was wistful. “I cut myself off from other dogs, thinking they could not bring back the happiness I had known with my dear little Rascal. Had I refused a home to this puppy, I might have lost my daughter.” She leaned down and hugged Cooper, who licked her squarely on the nose. She wiped her nose, then laughed. “I could get used to that again! I have a treat for you,” she said, petting Cooper’s head and watching him gobble up the biscuit. “I reminded Cook of the salmon-flavoured biscuits she used to make for Rascal, and she made some for Cooper.”
“Thank you, Mama,” Lilian breathed.
“Tell her what the doctor said,” urged Lydia.
Mama cupped Lilian’s face affectionately. “The doctor said you should walk again. The accident last year may have created some kind of injurious condition, producing a fear you could not recover from. He is uncertain, as they are just seeing this type of occurrence with all the war injuries. The doctor thinks the fear of losing your beloved horse forced you to move past the affright which was causing your paralysis. He spoke in terms I did not understand completely. However, I grasped that you will walk again.” She stood up, wiping away fresh tears. “Get dressed.” She walked over to the bell and pulled it. “I shall see you downstairs.”
Thirty minutes later, Lilian met Lord Harlow and Lord Worsley as they were leaving her father’s study. Both gentlemen gave a quick
