Sally covered her mouth to hold in a cry. It was no wonder the male family members refused to discuss William. How terrifying for him. All was silent for a while except for the dull tap of Hastings’s foot upon the carpeted floor. Sally clung to that sound as she strove for calm. She would have all the answers she wanted today. She would not allow Captain Hastings to deny her. “Go on. What happened after William was wounded?”
“Slaughter. The crew of the French vessel would not yield, and we were forced to put them down to the last man.” Felix shook his head, his expression bleak. He swallowed and a look of pure revulsion swept his face. “Once the enemy ship was ours, I took command of the situation and assessed the damage. The French vessel’s rudder had been shot away in the battle, which accounted for their zeal in attempting to take the Adelaide. I ordered repairs made and advanced Captain Ford’s officers to their temporary posts while the surgeons attended the captain’s injuries.”
“What do you mean, injuries,” Sally asked, hand pressed to her chest.
“Aside from his cut face, he was sheeted in blood and his right hand had been smashed to a bloody pulp. He had fought left-handed when we dispatched his assailant together. I fear his hand might have suffered irreparable harm.”
Sally almost swooned.
Felix ignored her reaction. “We made sail together for several days and saw the Adelaide and her prize back to the safety of port for repair.”
The duke shifted a letter. “You put Laurence ashore with orders to dispatch an urgent message to Newberry.”
“Yes, Your Grace. I felt certain you would wish to know of Captain Ford’s situation immediately and to oversee his recovery. The admiralty has many other concerns, and despite William’s stubborn streak, I feared for his life under less respected hands. Lieutenant Ford, Laurence, was positive that a courier was best to reach Newberry Park, and I felt it reasonable to accommodate his wishes.”
“But the final say was yours, was it not?” Grandfather shifted, his expression harder than ever. “Your quick thinking ensured William’s survival, but it also went against your orders, which were to make haste to rejoin the channel fleet. Some in the admiralty are less than pleased by your show of favoritism.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” He lifted his chin defiantly. “I do not regret my actions, although William curses me now.”
Sally leaned forward, surprised by his words. “Why would William curse you? You saved him.”
“When you see the wound, the state of his fist and face, you will have an inkling of the suffering he has endured these last months,” Felix said softly.
Her eyes widened. “You saw William before coming here?”
“Only long enough to assure myself that he survives.” His gaze was steady. “He was not happy to see me, but I could never hold his anger against him. I am certain he suffered a great deal to be saved.”
The clock struck the hour and she shivered. They were all silent until the chimes quieted once more.
“Never admit fault,” the duke said, a wry smile curving his lips as he quoted the first line of the Ford Family motto. Rutherford turned to his granddaughter. “Will that satisfy you and your cousins and end the tears?”
“Yes.” She hurried to scratch out the past few minutes of the captain’s statement, although her eyes were full of tears at the thought of William’s pain and suffering. She was grateful to Felix for doing so much to save her cousin. He had gone beyond what was necessary for the sake of a fellow officer, putting his own good standing in peril to ensure a member of her family lived to fight another day.
“Hastings, pull the bell for me. You will now tell my three youngest granddaughters, William’s sisters, anything you deem fit to give them peace with their brother’s condition. I will allow you to be the judge of what they need to know about the extent of William’s injuries.”
Felix stood slowly, pulled the bell, and then resumed his spot before the duke’s table, his expression grave. The way the captain moved kept her attention fixed to him yet again. In his youth he had been an energetic man, but in maturity he possessed a caged power that lured her thoughts into scandalous territory. Sally rubbed her temple. Appalled by her traitorous thoughts. Why could she not think these thoughts around Ellicott? When Ellicott had kissed her that morning, she had been waiting for the moment he would stop kissing her.
It was disconcerting.
When the door opened, her younger cousins filed inside quietly.
“William!” The youngest shrieked and ran the length of the room as if to embrace the captain but pulled up short on seeing his face. “What are you doing here?”
“Miss Evelyn.” He glanced past her head and smiled warmly at the other two more composed of her cousins. “Miss Ford and Miss Audrey. How much you have grown since I saw you last.”
The other pair seemed at a loss and glanced Sally’s way quickly with wide eyes. They knew Felix had almost been her husband, but she had not known they had met often enough for him to be instantly recognized.
“Captain.” Evelyn stared up at him, then at their grandfather. “You sent for us?”
“Captain Hastings has news of your brother.”
The girls crowded him immediately, and Sally had to commend the captain on holding his ground in the face of their youthful eagerness. “You have seen our brother?”
“Yes. Not too long ago, in fact.” He glanced at the duke. “Perhaps you would allow me to walk outside with the captain’s sisters while we speak.”
“That would be appreciated.” The duke rubbed his brow. “Sally will go with you as chaperone.”
Felix raised a brow at the suggestion but agreed readily enough. “As you wish.”