Chapter Twelve
Captain William Ford’s sisters took the news of his injury as well as expected, even when he left out most of the gruesome details. Evelyn’s arms tightened around his waist as she sobbed brokenly over the ruin that was her brother’s face. “He was so handsome.”
He was shocked the youngest sought comfort from him. Felix was more or less a stranger to them, though they had met several times over the years of his service, and he was a man they should have kept a distance from given his past relationship with Sally. “He survives, poppet,” he murmured gently, hoping his assurances would ease her pain.
“But you said he would not smile at us,” she whispered brokenly against his dress jacket.
He tried to lift her face from the fabric, but she resisted. “He would if he could, but to smile pulls at the stitches and that is not a good thing for now.”
He secured enough freedom to move and led them along the curving paths toward the sea, away from the prying eyes of any who might try to curb their sorrow. He’d had no idea the girls would be so emotional, or that Sally would not prevent them from clinging to him. However, he had to admit it would be better for Captain Ford if their distress had eased before they met each other. Ford was bitter enough as it was without his family having hysterics when they saw his face the first time. He could not be called handsome anymore.
“Is he cross?” the middle girl, Audrey, asked, struggling to hide her distress.
“Sometimes they say.” Felix eased Evelyn away from his side and set her on her own two feet. He liked Captain Ford’s sisters, but he should not encourage them to be too familiar. The duke would not like it. “Brothers are often cross creatures, are they not?”
Audrey burst into fresh tears and turned away. As Sally’s arm crept around the girl’s shoulder, it dawned on him that these cousins were terribly important to her. They had a mother somewhere, he assumed the woman still lived, but they looked to Sally for the guidance and comfort a mother could bring them.
The elder girl chewed her lip, her tears ended, as the shock passed to be replaced by curiosity. “Is he in pain?”
“Not as much now, but I do think he finds the situation frustrating. He cannot express what he feels easily for fear of slowing his recovery and tearing the wound open again
. The mouth is a delicate area to heal. The risk of infection is great. That is why he remains in London, in seclusion from others. When he speaks it is very softly and not for many words at a time.”
He did not mention that Ford likely hid his injuries in darkness too and that he had driven away all but the bravest of servants with his endless pacing of the house. During his short visit, Felix had longed to tell the man to be still more than once.
The middle sister found her voice. “How were you able to speak to him? We were told he would not see anyone.”
He pointed to his epaulets on his shoulders, a decoration of his uniform that signified his rank as captain. “These and determination not to be turned away from the door. His nurse agreed I had a right to see him, though I believe Captain Ford disagreed with her decision fairly strenuously at first.”
Sally glanced around at the girls. “That is everything he knows, my dears.”
The girls held hands and then curtsied to him. “Thank you captain.”
“You are welcome. I am sorry I do not have better news.” He felt a pang of sadness at their long, tear-stained faces. “Your brother will come to see you as soon as he feels himself well enough for travel, I am sure.”
Evelyn and Audrey stared at him with large doe eyes, clearly hopeful that day would be soon. The eldest appeared lost in thought, no doubt caught up in imagining the difficulties her brother faced in his recovery and the future. Felix wanted to make things right for the girls, tell them exactly when they could expect a reunion, but there was nothing more he could do or say. William had complained to him that his recovery had slowed. He hoped the girls understood that fretting over their elder brother would do them no good.
“You said he had a nurse.”
“I did.” He thought a moment, recalling the brief encounter. “I do not think William called her by name, but she seemed a capable woman, a bit younger than your cousin.”
“Did she seem intelligent? Could she read or write correspondence?”
“I assume so.”
The girls began to whisper in each other’s ears, and then they turned to him, smiling broadly. “Thank you again, Captain. You have eased our minds greatly.”
They hurried away, leaving him alone in the garden with Sally. “I feel I have just landed that poor woman in the center of an ambush.”
“Most likely,” Sally said, brushing aside a tendril of fallen hair from her cheek. When it failed to stay back behind her ear, he clenched his fist to prevent himself from reaching for it. He had once wrapped his fingers in her wild curls while they had kissed the night away.
The girls were some distance away before Felix realized that once they passed through the arch ahead, he and Sally would be utterly secluded from casual view. Alone.
The girls left his line of sight, and with no witnesses to hide his real feelings from, he slowly turned to face the woman he had yearned for all his life.
Time stood still for him, as it did whenever he saw her. Only this time she saw him too, and unlike last night or earlier that day, she was not the least bit composed.
Now that the girls were gone, tears flowed down her cheeks and she hastened to wipe them away. “Thank you for your candor. We have worried so much for William, but the men of my family would never share the details with us.”