Page 88 of The Fortunes of Ashmore Castle

‘More like ten. Afton couldn’t reach the hole at full stretch. Did the child say anything to you while you were treating him, about what happened?’

‘He didn’t speak at all. Shock, I think. He must have been very frightened, quite apart from the pain. The leg should heal normally. Your man did a good job of splinting it. I wish everyone understood first aid. The times I’ve attended accidents where well-meaning people have made things worse. What I’m more worried about is that he got so cold, and was without food for so long. I’m afraid he might take a fever. Better have someone sit up with him tonight.’

Afton and Mrs Webster went to the nursery after locking up, and found Miss Kettel anxious. ‘He woke screaming a little while ago. Didn’t know where he was – thought he was still in the hole.’

‘He looks feverish,’ Mrs Webster said. The little face was flushed, and he moved restlessly. As they watched, he opened his eyes, glassy with fever, and made a hoarse sound, before closing them again.

‘Dr Welkes left a draught to give him. Can you help me?’ said Miss Kettel.

‘I will,’ said Afton. He raised the boy and Miss Kettel managed to get some of it down the unwilling throat. Then he laid him down again and drew the covers over him.

‘You’re very good at that,’ Mrs Webster remarked.

‘Oh, I like children,’ he said. ‘I used to help with the little ones at the workhouse.’

Miss Kettel threw him a curious glance – no-one but Mrs Webster knew about his origins – but had no thoughts to spare just then. They watched as the child slipped into a heavier sleep. ‘I won’t leave him tonight,’ the governess said, as if to herself.

Arabella appeared in the doorway in her nightgown. ‘Is he all right?’ she asked, in a small, plaintive voice.

‘Go back to bed, Arabella,’ Miss Kettel said automatically.

‘Is he going to die?’

‘No, of course not.’

She stared past the governess at the small shape in the bed. ‘He said nobody wanted him. It’s true, isn’t it?’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Daddy’s dead, and Mother’s gone away. She never wants to see us. One of the boys called him a beggar. We’re both beggars, aren’t we?’

‘Take her back to bed,’ Afton said quietly to Miss Kettel. ‘I’ll stay with the boy.’

When they were gone, he said to Mrs Webster, ‘It’s true. Nobody wants them, poor creatures. I know a bit about not being wanted. How can their mother abandon them like that? I suppose my mother was destitute, but Lady Linda—’

Mrs Webster put a warning hand on his arm. ‘Not our business to wonder. And I have warned you about mentioning the workhouse.’

He sighed angrily. ‘I think I was better off, when all’s said and done, than this scrap. Lord Cordwell, indeed! At least I knew what I was from the start.’

Mrs Webster did not want to discuss imponderables. ‘It’s a nuisance, Lady Stainton taking the nursery staff to London. There’s no-one in the house used to looking after children. Miss Kettel oughtn’t to do it alone.’

‘I’ll sit up with him,’ Afton said. ‘Miss Kettel and I can relieve each other.’ Mrs Webster hesitated, as if wondering whether she should volunteer as well, but he said, ‘You need your sleep. Go along. A valet gets used to sitting up – all those late nights waiting for the master to come home.’

Having taken the earliest train, Richard arrived the next day while the doctor was still upstairs. He was talking to Giles in the hall when Welkes came down.

‘How is he?’ Giles asked.

‘He’s very ill,’ Welkes said. ‘His fever is increasing and he’s not aware of his surroundings. The governess says he woke crying out several times in the night. I’m afraid it may turn into pneumonia. He got so cold and damp down in the cellar that it opened his body to extreme infections.’

‘Infections?’ Giles said. ‘Should he be isolated?’

‘I don’t think he’s a danger to anyone but himself,’ said Welkes.

‘What’s the treatment?’

‘There’s nothing that can be done, except for expert nursing. The governess has no medical training, and she has the little girl to look after.’

‘Should I hire a trained nurse?’

‘You would need a day nurse and a night nurse,’ Welkes said. ‘He must be watched twenty-four hours a day. It will be expensive.’

Giles flushed slightly. ‘The expense does not signify,’ he snapped. ‘Please put it in hand at once.’