ANNE ASHLEY - A Lady Of Rare Quality

His straight-limbed and well-muscled physique clearly revealed a life of comfort, but certainly not one of overindulgence. A second and much closer perusal of his physiognomy did not persuade her to change her former opinion. His features, though undeniably regular, were too sharply defined for him to be considered handsome, though a generous breadth of forehead suggested strongly that he wasn’t lacking intelligence. Although her godmother, Lady Pelham, had mentioned that he had attained the age of thirty in recent weeks, there wasn’t a surfeit of lines about the eyes and mouth, which might well indicate, Annis thought, that he was a gentleman not given to smiling much. It did not automatically follow, though, that he went out of his way to be disagreeable or was totally lacking in humour, and it would be a mistake to assume that this might be so.

Leaning forward, she placed her fingers gently over that deep furrow between coal-black brows, further evidence, she quickly decided, of a serious bent rather than a frivolous one. But of nothing more, she reiterated silently, striving to keep an open mind.

Conscious all the while of the dry, yet not excessive, heat rising steadily through her fingers, she turned her head to gaze absently through the window at the slowly increasing pile of snowflakes gathering on the sill and the now totally white landscape beyond, before returning her attention to her patient, and discovering herself the recipient of a steady, albeit slightly puzzled, gaze.

‘Welcome back, sir,’ she said gently, while removing her hand and rising from the bed. ‘Do you recognise your surroundings?’

‘I do… But I cannot say the same for you, ma’am.’

‘Nor should you,’ Annis responded, instantly liking the husky timbre of the cultured, masculine voice. ‘Suffice it to say that you sustained a fall from your horse and it was I who took it upon myself to return you to your home.’

There was a slight grimace as he raised one of his black brows a fraction. ‘An angel of mercy, I perceive!’

Annis couldn’t forbear a smile at the thread of scepticism she clearly discerned. ‘I have been called many things in my time, sir, but an angel has never numbered amongst them until now.’ She became serious again. ‘How do you feel? As though you have been kicked by a mule, I dare swear.’

‘I feel as if someone is pounding my head with a mallet, certainly.’

‘How many fingers am I holding up?’ Annis asked, after raising one hand.

A faint look of boredom flickered over his features. ‘Three.’

‘And you can see me quite clearly?’

There was a slight pause while blue eyes, of a particular dark and striking shade, travelled over the mass of glossy chestnut curls that framed her face. ‘Perfectly.’

‘In that case I shan’t plague you further for the present.’ Reaching for a certain bottle in her case, Annis carefully measured several drops into a clean glass and added water before slipping her arm beneath his lordship’s broad shoulders. ‘Drink this,’ she coaxed, after successfully raising him slightly. ‘It will help you to sleep. Hopefully your head will feel better when you wake again.’

His lordship required no further prompting. He swallowed the liquid meekly, as though unequal to the task of putting up any form of resistance. He certainly seemed disinclined to attempt further conversation, and during those few minutes his eyes remained open he spoke not a word, though Annis had the feeling that he remained very conscious of her presence, before his heavy lids finally lowered.

A moment later the tranquillity pervading the master bedchamber was broken by the reappearance of none other than the butler, who delivered the welcome news that his mistress had returned safely, and was awaiting Miss Milbank in the parlour. Once again he took it upon himself to act as escort, even going so far as to introduce Annis very graciously, before leaving the two ladies alone together.

As she came forward to take the proffered hand, Annis was immediately struck by the strong resemblance between the Greythorpe siblings. Then her perceptive gaze registered the worry and puzzlement in the blue eyes that the brief and tentative smile of welcome could not quite disguise.

‘I do not know how much you have learned since your return, Miss Greythorpe,’ she said, coming straight to the point in her no-nonsense manner in an attempt to allay what she suspected must surely be the sister’s most pressing concern. ‘But let me assure you that, in my opinion, your brother is not seriously injured. In point of fact, he regained consciousness a few minutes ago, and was quite lucid. He betrayed no signs of impaired vision, though he did complain of a headache, which is perfectly understandable in the circumstances. Furthermore, there are no signs of a significant rise in his temperature.’

Annis took a moment to stare once again through a window at the increasing depth of snow covering the landscape. ‘In view of the fact that it is highly unlikely that the doctor will arrive in the near future, if indeed at all this day, I took it upon myself to tend to your brother’s injuries personally and administer a few drops of laudanum to ensure that he sleeps at least for the next few hours.’

The troubled look that followed this pronouncement was not lost on her either. ‘Do not be alarmed, Miss Greythorpe. My father was a practitioner. And an exceptional one, if I may say so. He saw fit to pass on some of his knowledge and skill to me, at least sufficient for me to do more good than harm.’

The concerned expression faded marginally. ‘Please forgive me, Miss Milbank. You must think me quite rag-mannered. Do sit down. As you can appreciate, I am sure, I am somewhat puzzled by what I’ve discovered since my return. I understand that you came upon my brother lying in the road, and that he had been shot?’

Annis didn’t doubt for a second that the tall, angular woman standing before her was finding it difficult to comprehend just why such a fate should have befallen the head of the household. No matter what others thought about Lord Greythorpe, his sister clearly considered him above reproach.

‘That is correct, ma’am. Perhaps, though, I should begin by explaining why it was that I, a complete stranger, should happen along at a most opportune time,’ Annis said, after once again making herself comfortable in the chair by the hearth. ‘It was with the sole purpose of seeking an interview with Viscount Greythorpe that prompted my visit to this part of the country.’

She could see at once that she had captured her listener’s full attention. ‘Although I am not acquainted with his lordship personally, I have been acquainted with another member of your family for very many years—your sister, Helen. In point of fact, her aunt is my godmother. And it was at Lady Pelham’s behest that I have made this journey into Hampshire.’

Although Sarah Greythorpe was clearly intrigued to learn this, her most pressing concern was to discover more about what had happened to her brother, as she proved when she said, ‘And so it was while you were travelling here to the Manor that you came upon his lordship lying in the road?’

Annis nodded. ‘Quite correct, ma’am. Naturally, never having seen him before, I had no notion of who he might be. It wasn’t until I arrived here that I discovered his identity.’

‘Yes, yes. I can fully appreciate that,’ she said, placing a slightly shaking hand to a forehead that was deeply etched, betraying a lingering anxiety. ‘I just cannot understand who might have wished Deverel harm.’

Although she could fully understand these concerns, Annis, being an immensely practical sort of person, considered the immediate future of far more importance.