Page 100 of Miss Vincent’s Vow

“You must engage another.”

“How? I have no money. Nothing, until the Navy pays up.”

“Then allow me to provide you with a manservant. In the meantime, you’ll have to share mine.”

“Pshaw. What’s the point? I have no use for one. My life is over. My ship was handed to someone else before I was on the surgeon’s table. I’ve been cast off, unqualified to do anything but that which was ripped away from me. I’ve no prospects. Nothing. At least I don’t have to deal with the disgust on Eugenia’s face. How much more painful it would be if she broke off our engagement now. No woman will ever look twice at the wreck of a man I’ve become. So you see, I have no need for a valet.”

Jethro leaned toward him and gave a visible sniff. “I hate to contradict you, Alexander,” he said, turning up his nose, “but your aroma says otherwise. You most definitely require a bath.”

One side of the captain’s mouth tilted up slightly. “That, I cannot argue with.”

When Alexander had finished his brandy, Jethro summoned Wilkes to help him upstairs.

“Goodnight, Captain.”

Alexander winced, as though the appellation bothered him, but bid his brother-in-law a curt goodnight and dragged himself up the stairs with the aid of Jethro’s man and the handrail.

Cassandra looked up as Jethro joined her in the drawing room.

“Where’s Xander?”

“He’s retired for the night.”

She put down her embroidery, and moved toward the door, but Jethro laid a hand on her arm to stop her.

“He might need me,” she said, trying to loosen his hold.

“I should have said that he’s gone for a bath and bed.”

“Oh. Yes. I should be decidedly in the way,” she said, retaking her chair. “Did he talk to you?”

Jethro wished they could speak of something else, but if she wanted to discuss her brother, he would do so. “A little. He told me how it happened.”

“Tell me. I should like to know.”

He relayed the essence of what Alexander had said. It was better coming from him, as it was not accompanied by the bleakness.

“Poor Lieutenant Taverner. It seems such a short while ago that he was in this very room.”

That was a night Jethro wished to forget.

“And Cottman gone, too. They knew each other as boys. It is a hard loss for him to bear.”

Cassandra chewed on her bottom lip and then lifted her gaze to meet his. “Do you…do you think he will recover?”

Jethro stared into her troubled eyes, longing to reassure her, but he had no such assurance to give her. “I’m no medical man. They saved his leg, so at least he can walk, though it pains him. I will get Dr Cooper to call tomorrow. He can advise us on the best treatment.”

“But what about his spirits? He appears so despondent.”

“Only time will tell. Even the most damaged men can recover something of their previous life, or start a new one, but it requires determination, and Alexander seems to have lost the motivation to try.”

“I hope he can find something to live for.”

“So do I.”

Dr Cooper called the next day to examine Alexander. Jethro ensured he was present, afraid how Cassandra might react if the doctor’s prognosis was poor.

“Well, Captain Vincent, there is good news and bad. After examining your wounds, I think there is a reasonable chance you will be able to walk independently in time, but the splinters in your leg are another matter. It’s a shame they couldn’t extract them all. I’m afraid the discomfort they cause might never go away.”