The Devil's Good Intentions (17 page)

“
What kind of concoction?” he said menacingly.

“
Natural herbs, I swear! I myself have the same dose when me nerves are shot!”

“
And who told you to do this?” he growled.

“
No...nobody” She stuttered out.

He could only growl as his fists tightened around her arm.

“
The poor lamb looked such a fright when you brought her here. She was even scared to let me help with her bathing! I only thought to soothe her My Lord! No harm intended.” She explained as tears started to pour down her cheeks.

He only glared at her.

“
No harm did come to her did it?” She asked as though she was trying to make a valid point.

“
You drugged my wife. Is she supposed to see double? Feel outside of her person? Break out into a cold sweat or clench at her stomach? Not have the strength for her eyelids to remain open or to keep her conscious? Is that the kind of soothing effect you decided to bestow on her?” He growled out.

She stood there crying hysterically for her safety while his wife was drugged in his very bed. He slapped her to quiet her hysterics. She cried out and then looked at him in shock. He had never raised a hand to a servant, but then again he had never had the need, until now.

“
I swear she was only supposed to feel relaxed. I did not intend any of those things!” She cried out in her defence.

“
Pack your bags and get the hell off of my estate - Now!” He boomed as he threw her towards the door.

When he turned his head to make sure she had left, he noted several male servants that had shown up and were standing at the door with looks of confusion and concern for Abigail written on their faces.

“
She drugged my wife who is now sick.” He explained, even though he didn’t owe them any explanation. He did not feel bad about his rough handling of the maid nor his decision to banish her. What he really wanted to do was choke her and thought she should be grateful he chose the latter.

“
Get me Sarah and tell her to meet me in my study - Now!” He growled out as he stepped over Abigail who was still on the floor where she landed and wailing at the top of her lungs. “And get rid of her!” He yelled while pointing his finger at her.

He stormed into his study and poured himself a drink.

He didn’t care that Abigail had the best of intentions, if she was telling the truth. Just the thought of his wife taking ill at the hands of another boiled his blood. This was his home and was supposed to be her safe haven. How could he protect her if his own staff couldn’t be trusted? She had not been home for an hour and already she lay passed out in their chamber, poisoned at the hands of the one person who he entrusted to care for her needs when he was not able to. Abigail should have known that not everybody reacts the same way to herbal remedies, especially mixed with liquor. And on top of that, this was not the night that he had planned for her and not a very good welcome home. If by morning she was not well, he would need to send for the doctor, but would make for certain that she was not made aware that she was drugged on purpose – good intent or not.

“
Come in” He barked out at the knock on the door.

Sarah poked her head in and then flinched when she saw him.

He must look like the devil himself and knew he needed to swallow his anger. Sarah had done nothing wrong and he could not take his anger out on her. However, she would be made to understand more clearly than Abigail understood just how he expected her to behave around her new charge.

“
Come in and shut the door” He ordered as he stood to pour himself another drink.

She complied and then stood there like a deer staring down the barrel of a gun.

“
Sit” He pointed to the chair opposite his desk as he went to rest in his own chair. He figured hovering over her while he was in a dark mood such as he was could not bode well for this interview.

After she had seated herself, she sat there meekly with her face bowed down and her hands tightly clenched in her skirts.

“
You are to be Katherine’s personal maid. Do you understand what those duties entail?”

She looked up horrified and nodded slowly.

“
Katherine is not like the women of the ton, she is an innocent. You will go out of your way to ensure that her needs are met and that she is to be made welcome here among the staff. Do you understand?”

She nodded and then bowed her head again.

“
Now, the part that remains between you and I.” He waited for her to look at him.

“
You will keep an eye on her. If she receives any visitors I want to know about it. If she says anything that I should know about then I want to know about it. If you suspect she is with child you will tell me before you make her aware of her condition. If she goes missing for long periods of time I want to know about it. If she goes to the stables in her riding attire without a chaperone, I want you to immediately notify me. Do you understand? Get the picture?”

She nodded.

“
I want my wife to be happy and I never want her to feel threatened in any manner. Any troubles that come up will be dealt without her knowledge. You will not engage in conversations with her revolving around subjects that will upset her such as Allison or any other shadows in my past. You will not relay any rumours about me to her whether they are true or not. You will not consider using any herbs in her food or drink to soothe any ailment or illness without my consent. We will also not discuss the events of this evening with her; she is to believe that she was ailed by her drink and nothing more. Are we clear?”

She nodded again.

“
Good. Your duty will start first thing tomorrow morning. Do not disappoint me. You are dismissed.”

When she left, he downed the remainder of his drink, informed Henry to make his staff aware that not a word of this evenings events were to reach his wife’s ears and then returned to his chambers. Katherine was under the covers sleeping deeply and she looked a tad, to his relief. He snubbed the lantern and held her close to him.

Katherine may have tried to reassure him that she did not regret her past, but he sure as hell did, even though he was not the guilty party. He would shelter his wife from such evils in the world. Sure he was acting the over protective husband, but that’s what she needed, whether she knew it or not. He would spoil her with silk and jewels and offer her everything she would never think to ask for on a golden platter. She would argue with him that he was un-necessarily spoiling her and try and convince him she did not need such things, but he was determined. He could envision his Katherine shivering in the cottage while her stomach growled out for food day in and day out. She was better than that and if her father hadn’t drunk himself to death, he would have enjoyed killing the bastard himself for putting her in that kind of position. Katherine was under his protection now and he would strike down any man or woman who posed as a threat to her. Oxford was not the safest of havens and was full of piracy, smuggling and slavery. Katherine would not be familiar with such dangers and would not fully understand why she would be so well protected, even if he spelled it out to her in black and white. She was innocent and although she knew that evil existed, she obviously thought that she was immune to them, he knew better.

He had the same discussion with his staff that he just had with Sarah moments ago, prior to him leaving the estate to retrieve his bride. He trusted that they understood he meant for them to obey his orders without thought. Abigail didn’t per say disobey his orders and thought that she was doing her mistress a great deed; however the results were not to anyone’s favour. He didn’t think he needed to remind his staff that drugging his wife was not acceptable, but obviously it needed to be said. After tonight and the witness of how he dealt with disobedience, he didn’t think he would have any more trouble.

With a heavy sigh, he snuggled closer to Katherine and slowly fell asleep.

Katherine opened her eyes after an all too groggy sleep. She had the strangest dreams that made no sense and felt restless throughout the night. She groaned and clutched her head as she tried to sit up, and then slumped back down onto the pillow when the pounding struck her temples. She remembered bits and pieces of the prior evening. There was a lot of giggling and a fair amount of light headedness. She remembered Salvador teasing her about her drunken state and then feeling odd and not well. She must have passed out shortly after that. She was embarrassed that she couldn’t handle her liquor and cursed herself for being so weak. Salvador must have come to a dissatisfying conclusion about her and her weakness. She groaned as the room started to spin and then dashed from the bed and almost missed the chamber pot as the contents of her stomach came barrelling out of her throat like a raving stream. The sounds of her heaving echoed throughout the room, as well as the sounds of running footsteps.

“
Lady Katherine!” She heard an unfamiliar female voice gasp from behind her.

She heard the woman scramble about and then felt the wonderful feeling of a cool facecloth being pressed upon her brow.

She cleared her sore throat and croaked out a thank you as she slumped to the floor and tried to regain her breath. Luckily the spinning had stopped as well as the pounding in her head.

“
I will run you a bath” The maid exclaimed as she scrambled away.

“
I had a bath last night” Katherine called after her, sounding weak and ailed.

“
A bath will help you recover” The maid insisted as she started to fill the tub.

Katherine’s stomach muscles tensed and within seconds the remainder of what was in her stomach was being flushed down the chamber pot again.

The maid held Katherine’s hair back as well as the cool cloth to her brow until she was certain the spout was over. Helping Katherine to her feet and letting her find her balance, she guided her to the running water. Katherine instantly became aware that she was completely un-clothed and blushed.

“
I apologize for my current state, I seem to have misplaced my clothes” She tried at humour to lighten the moment.

“
Clothes? How can I bathe you if you are still wearing your clothes?” The maid brushed off her modesty as she helped her into the tub.

The water was still flowing as Katherine seated herself, which felt oddly soothing as the rushing water massaged her skin. The maid added in some scented oils and went to retrieve a towel.

“
Witch Hazel” Katherine commented aloud as she breathed the scent in and smiled.

“
I think the scent rather suites you and it is most relaxing is it not?” The maid replied a little hesitantly.

“
You are correct; this is indeed the oils that I used to bathe in many years ago.” She replied with an encouraging smile as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto the tub.

After she had emptied the contents out of her stomach, she started to feel more like herself. The bath was indeed soothing and just what she needed.

The maid shut off the water and proceeded to lather soap onto a cloth to prepare to wipe her down. Again Katherine blushed. She had never liked it when her nanny had tried to bathe her and had insisted that she attend to herself. Katherine was feeling a tad weak so in a way was grateful for the help, but still preferred for her bathing to be a private affair.

“
What is your name?” Katherine enquired while placing her hand on the maid’s arm to still her movements.

“
Oh! Gracious me, where is my head at?” She gasped out. “My name is Sarah; I am your new personal maid.” She responded with a welcoming smile.

“
What happened to Abigail?” Katherine enquired, not that she had anything against Sarah or any favouritism with Abigail.

“
Abigail is no longer employed at the estate Mistress. It was decided that I was better suited to attend you.” She said cheerfully.

“
Oh, well then I suppose I should thank you for assisting me this morning.” Katherine said in confusion, but decided to let the subject go. “But one thing that you will learn about me is that I am very private in my bathing affairs. Anything that I do in this room I would prefer to manage myself, unless of course you are blessedly holding a soothing cloth to my brow while I am in need.”