The Rakehell Regency Romance Collection Volume 2(42)

She made Alexander as comfortable as possible given she was not quite sure what she was dealing with. She was vastly relieved when Dr. Gold arrived a short time later.



"Jenny told me your cousin just got back from the war, and is very ill," the older man with silver hair said without preamble.



"He has terrible headaches, and just now he seemed to be in pain and pitched forward. He cut himself on the edge of the pianoforte."



"I see. What have you given him?"



She told him. Then she said, "He had a headache when he arrived here last evening. The vinegar and brown paper seem to have helped."



"I see."



He examined his head and eyes, and shone a light into them. She could see the pupils react.



"Doctor, his eyes..."



"What about them? They seem fine to me. He couldn't have hit himself that hard if all he did was fall forward while he was seated. They aren't black."



"But he's blind."



The doctor looked stunned. "Surely not. Did he say that before he collapsed?"



"Not just say it, acts like it. He is blind."



The doctor re-examined Alexander more carefully, but still found nothing to indicate any condition which could result in the symptoms she had described.



He motioned for her to come into the hall with him. "He was in the war, you tell me?"



"Yes."



"Any idea what happened to him?"



"Not very much, I'm afraid. He has no memory, and is blind."



The doctor shook his head. "What physical injuries?"



"His back is badly scarred. Strips of flesh... And of course the scar near his eye."



"It looks like a deep cut, or even a burn with something searing hot. A piece of shrapnel, for example."



"I don't know. All I know is he's not well now, and can't see, or even remember his own name."



"Then how did he find you, come home?"



"He had papers identifying him, and that led him, um, home to us."



Dr. Gold stared at her. "It's a most extraordinary story. How long ago was he injured?"



"About two years. He told me the monks in Spain looked after him, and he had to learn how to walk and talk all over again."



The doctor nodded. "I'll do what I can for him, Sarah, but there are many things about men injured in war that we don't yet understand." He went back into the room and opened his case.



"Here, give him some laudanum for the pain, a couple of drops in some brandy, but no more, and only a couple of times a day. Here is a concoction of herbs I use for brain fever. This bottle will help him with his eyes, and I would suggest washing them with arnica and chamomile.



"As for his back, a good soak in Epsom salts, once each day would be most beneficial. If you can get him up to Bath that would be most efficacious for him."



"I had planned to," she admitted. "As soon as he was feeling better and I could arrange everything."



He nodded approvingly. "I'll look in on him tomorrow. I would recommend you get a couple of other helpers from the village to help tend to his needs. Caleb and Jenny are the best of people, but they're a bit elderly, and not as strong as they once were."



"The eldest Miller boy and girl are bright, and discreet."



"Very good. I'll tell them to come on my way home."



"Thank you, Doctor."



She let him out, and returned to her anxious bedside vigil. Alexander just had to wake up. He just had to. The prospect of not being able to talk with him, laugh with him, seemed almost unbearable even though they had only known each other a day.



She stroked his dark wavy hair back from his brow, took his hand, and prayed.





Chapter Nine



Sarah and her four helpers kept watch over Alexander all night, hour after hour. Jenny and Caleb had insisted they wanted to stay to help the hapless man. The young Millers were lively and efficient, and helped Sarah keep her spirits up.



Alexander never regained consciousness, though she did nothing but hope and pray, bathing his brow, speaking to him in a low tone, touching his handsome face, his exquisite hands.



The clock ticked incessantly, until Sarah began to despair. A thousand questions raised themselves in her mind, but she ruthlessly quashed them. It didn't matter who he was, where he had come from, so long as he lived.



But he lay so still, Sarah had a dreadful feeling that if she left him for even just one moment, she would lose him. And that she could never allow to happen. She needed him. He completed her in every way.



She realized with a jolt that she was falling in love Alexander. A complete stranger, with no name and no memory, whom she had only just met. It was completely illogical. But she knew it was love all the same.