Page 35 of Marriage Most Scandalous
“Well, this one has had a serious consequence—no, no, he’s all right,” she quickly added when some of the color drained from Abigail’s face. “But he’s got a very high fever.”
Abigail frowned. “He’s had fevers before. Everyone gets the fevers, gel.”
“But Dr. Culden isn’t sure what’s causing this one yet. Douglas took a bad fall and gashed his head. But worse, he landed in a puddle of water, and who knows how long he lay there. The water probably wasn’t frigid, but there’s definitely a chill wind out there today with the rain we’ve been having.”
“You’re implying something. Don’t beat around the bush, gel. Spit it out.”
“This may not be a simple fever. He’s been unable to stay awake for more than a few minutes. He keeps passing out. And his vision was blurred, seriously blurred. He didn’t recognize me at first. And he didn’t recognize Sebastian at all.”
“Deliberately, d’you think?”
“Well, that’s certainly possible, but I really don’t think so.”
Abigail humphed. “Which doesn’t mean that foolish boy of mine will talk to Sebby when he does recognize him.”
Margaret was familiar with the nickname that only Abigail used for Sebastian, yet it was still jarring to hear it again, now that she knew the man. Sebastian Townshend was definitely not a Sebby anymore.
“Which reminds me,” Abigail continued. “Is Sebby back yet? I couldn’t find him anywhere earlier and I still have so much to talk to him about.”
“I’m sure he is—” Margaret paused when Abigail stood up and headed toward the door. “Wait a minute, Abbie. What about Douglas? He’s going to need constant attention for a few days, and distraction once he wakes, to keep him in bed. The doctor was adamant about that. He must remain in bed.”
“And?”
Margaret hesitated a moment, but it wasn’t the first time she had tried to mend the breach between mother and son. And this time she had a better reason for it.
“I think it would do him a world of good if you would visit him during his convalescence and actually speak to him, after he wakes, of course. Nothing to upset him, mind you.”
“Yes, yes, I suppose I can call a temporary truce and talk to that fool again—for now.”
Margaret hadn’t expected such easy compliance. But Abigail’s impatience was obvious. She probably would have agreed to anything just to end the conversation so she could go find Sebastian.
“That’s splendid, Abbie! We won’t want to upset him, though. Just trivial subjects. Nothing unpleasant.”
“You must be joking, gel. What other subjects are there around here but unpleasant ones?”
Chapter 19
SEBASTIAN WAS ABOUT TO INTRODUCEone of those unpleasant subjects to his brother right about then. Denton hadn’t been around after he returned from examining the site of the accident. He’d come back for the doctor’s evaluation, though, and before he could make himself scarce again, Sebastian put an arm around his shoulder and steered him outside where they could talk without interruption.
“Why do I feel as if I’m being forced to have a conversation with you, Sebastian?” Denton asked, staring pointedly at the hand still on his shoulder.
“Because you are.”
“You can bloody well let go of me now,” Denton replied stiffly.
“I was joking,” Sebastian said, releasing him when they reached the old tree on the side of the house where they’d made that tree house so long ago.
“Sure you were,” Denton said curtly. “Gone all this time, but you haven’t changed, have you? And where did you go? How many times I thought I’d see you in London, but I never did. Did you actually leave the country?”
“Yes, and I had no intention of ever coming back. I’ve been living on the Continent, no place in particular, really. I travel a lot, since my jobs tend to take me to all corners of Europe.”
“Jobs? You actually work for a living?”
Sebastian had to laugh at Denton’s appalled look, a typical reaction of the privileged gentry. “What did you think I was going to do to survive when I left here with nothing?”
Denton flushed with color. “I assumed, well, actually, I didn’t assume anything, but I certainly didn’t think you’d be taking on common jobs.”
“There’s nothing common about what I do. People pay me a lot of money to accomplish what they can’t manage to do on their own.”
