Molly Wishlade - A Most Improper Proposal

‘Please, James. You can go on.’

‘I found myself… in a tavern, one frequented by women of ill repute.’

‘You will not be the first man to do so my dear,’ Lady Watson reassured him, ‘nor will you be the last.’

‘But it was uncharacteristic of me, Aunt Lydia. I had never frequented such a den of iniquity before, though I know that this does little to pardon my visiting such a place then and it does not excuse my behaviour. There is no excuse for what I did.’ His head sank into his waiting hands and he pressed hard against his temples.

‘James, please…’

He shook his head, he could not allow her to comfort him. He did not deserve it.

‘James…’

Lady Watson was unable to complete her sentence for at that moment there was a loud scream and a heavy thud.

Chapter Six

Isabella fell to her knees at Henrietta’s prone figure. ‘There, there. Hush now,’ she soothed, stroking the girl’s forehead.

‘What is it, my dear?’ Lady Watson had made her way over as quickly as she could.

Henrietta’s face was bleached of colour and her eyelids were closed. Lord Crawford knelt to fully assess the situation.

‘Hush now,’ Isabella continued to soothe the unconscious girl.

As she whispered further reassurances to Henrietta, Isabella said, ‘Apologies, my lord, there was a spider.’

James Crawford frowned at her. ‘A spider?’

‘Yes, my lord. Henrietta is… she’s absolutely terrified of spiders.’

‘Has she done this before?’ Lord Crawford questioned his aunt.

She nodded in reply, her grey eyes filled with concern. ‘But not for some time. She… it has its roots in her time at boarding school. Apparently some of the girls there played a trick on Henrietta when she was very young and she has had the most awful phobia ever since.’

Lord Crawford shrugged off his jacket and balled it up, tucking it beneath Henrietta’s head, and then took hold of her shoulders.

‘I am aware that some people do have such… fears… but to be so afraid that one faints is quite… unusual.’

Isabella stared at Henrietta. The colour was already returning to her cheeks and her eyelids flickered. Her poor friend really was truly terrified of arachnids, although she did wonder whether, at times, Henrietta enjoyed the drama of the moment a little too much.

‘Should we send for the physician, Aunt Lydia?’

‘Yes, dear, tell Henry to send for him. Though,’ she shook her head, her white hair sticking out messily from under her cap, ‘I am not sure that he can do anything. Henrietta does tend to faint at the sight of a spider then fall into a deep sleep. It does not seem to cause any lasting damage but I do feel for her. It must be awful to be so afraid of something.’

Isabella pushed herself to her feet with Lord Crawford’s swift assistance, then hurried out into the hallway where she called for the butler. It would be wise to get Henrietta checked out, just in case she had bumped herself as she swooned.

When she returned to the room, she stood for a moment at the door and watched as Lord Crawford, now satisfied that Henrietta was not in danger, tenderly took his aunt’s hands in both of his and whispered reassurances to her. He even wiped a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb, an affectionate act that revealed a deep bond between aunt and nephew. His tenderness made Isabella breathless. She suspected that Lady Watson’s tears were due to his presence rather than Henrietta’s episode as their young companion had experienced such losses of consciousness several times before. Strangely, they often occurred when Lady Watson had guests.

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