Chapter Fourteen

 

Doctor Cook stared at Lucy, unblinking, as he rested a finger on his chin. If the purpose of this test was to try her patience, he was doing a splendid job of it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he leaned back in his chair and gave her a warm smile. “I am pleased that you have had no regression, that is, loss of more memory. I did hear back from my London colleague and he informed me that the only bit of advice he could offer at this point is exactly what Your Grace has been doing already. Simply continue visiting places the two of you have frequented in the past and hope that something prompts her memory.”

As he was speaking to Andrew and not directly to her, Lucy did not respond. Andrew, however, did. “Thank you, Doctor. I am unsure how the idea came about, but I am glad I did. Hopefully we will see more progress in the near future.”

Oh, how that man sparked her ire with his devilish grin. However, when he placed a hand on her shoulder, she felt a flush run through her body, a heat that surprised and shocked her. For a moment, panic threatened to overwhelm her and she found breathing difficult.

“Your Grace?” Doctor Cooke asked, his voice etched with concern, “Are you well?”

“Y-yes,” she replied as she took the glass of water Andrew offered her. The cool liquid seemed to calm the strange malady that had overtook her, and she felt her body return to normal. “I am afraid I just became a bit overwhelmed with everything that has happened. It all feels so strange, and I find myself quite frustrated at times knowing I should not be feeling this way, that all this should be familiar to me.”

“Well, I do not want you to do anything taxing for the next few weeks,” Doctor Cooke said as he stood. “You are to continue with the outings, of course, but I believe that should be the extent of your exertion.”

Lucy looked up quickly at the doctor, her mind whirling. This could be the excuse she could use to not accompany Andrew to Crookhorn. It was not her intention to be rude, per se, but according to Andrew, they had dined with the Skinners on more than one occasion, and she could not imagine seeing people she barely knew and pretending she recollected previous conversations. “But what of our journey to Crookhorn?” she asked timidly.

“If it is not a part of your regular outings, and if you believe it will cause excessive distress, then I would recommend you not making that journey. Your well-being is much more important than a dinner.”

“I do wish I could join you, Andrew, but I believe it will simply be too much for me to bear.” Andrew sighed and she batted her eyelashes at him. “However, if you feel you need me to be there…” She let her statement trail.

“No, of course not,” Andrew replied. Lucy did not miss the slight narrowing of his eyes before he turned to Doctor Cooke. “Lucy shall remain here to rest, then.”

“Very good,” the doctor said as he picked up his bag and headed to the door. “I will return in one month’s time to check on our patient’s progress.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Lucy said politely. She did like the man but a small part of her felt his visits were unnecessary. If there was nothing he could do, then why should he bother to visit? However, even the thought made her feel guilty; it was not the doctor’s fault she could not access her memories.

When Andrew returned, Lucy was donning her gloves. He did not look happy. “So, you found a way to weasel your way out of the visit to Crookhorn?”

Lucy feigned surprised. “How dare you!” she argued. “I simply told him the truth of how I am feeling. It was he who suggested that I stay here rather than risk traveling. Who am I to repudiate the doctor?”

Andrew narrowed his eyes. “Yes, but you are not ill.”

“Oh, very well, I did not want to go on a silly trip with you,” she snapped. “I would rather stay here and rest and have time to myself. But I also admit that the thought of a long journey tires me just thinking about it.”

Andrew let out a heavy sigh. “Very well. I understand.”

Lucy smiled as she watched him walk to the door. Then he stopped and turned back to her.

“Your friends will be coming Monday for tea, correct?”

“Yes,” Lucy replied. “Why do you ask?”

The smile that crossed his lips made Lucy shiver. “I thought I would entertain myself. You would not mind if a few of my friends came to visit and share in drinks and business discussions?”

Lucy’s jaw dropped. “You would not have them over on the same day?”

He gave her a thoughtful look. “Perhaps I will,” came his reply. “We shall see.”

Before she could respond, he was out the door leaving her fuming once again. Monday was to be her day, and she refused to allow him to ruin it.

***

Andrew hurried down the hallway and out the front door in hopes of catching the doctor before he left the grounds. Dark gray storm clouds threated rain at any moment as he made his way to the stable. Relief washed over him when he saw Doctor Cooke taking the reins of his horse from one of the stable boys.

“Doctor Cooke,” Andrew called out before the man could mount.

“Your Grace,” the doctor replied with a quizzical look on his face. “Is there a problem?”

Andrew gave the stable boy a pointed look and waited for him to leave before engaging the doctor in conversation. “There is no problem,” he replied as he attempted to level his breathing from his rushed exit from the house. “I only wished to share with you what I have been doing, but I could not tell you in front of Lucy for fear of ruining everything.” The doctor nodded but said nothing, so Andrew continued. “What I told you was true, I have been taking Lucy to places we have visited before during our courting. However, I have also reverted to my behavior of that time, playacting if you will. I thought that if I did so, we would have a better chance of her recalling those events.”

“I see,” the doctor replied before slipping into quiet contemplation as he rubbed his chin. “What is your opinion of the progress so far?” he asked finally.

“She is the same woman I knew eighteen months ago,” Andrew said. “What I mean by that is that her reactions are like they once were.” It was difficult to put into words what he meant and not appear a madman. “Let me explain. On our first outing together during our courtship, we had gone into town.”

Andrew explained how they had stopped at the same businesses, how he had acted just as he had before, and how Lucy had sneaked out the back of the shop. “You see, she did exactly the same thing—leaving the shop through the back entrance—as she had done a year and a half ago. What are your thoughts?”

The doctor once again stood rubbing his chin as he contemplated Andrew’s words. “At this point, I see no harm in continuing with your plan,” he replied. “However, my only concern is any undue stress. So, my recommendation would be to stop immediately if she appears to be overly distressed.”

“I will,” Andrew replied with relief.

The doctor mounted his horse and once he was settled, he looked down at Andrew. “I wish you continued good fortune in your endeavor.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Andrew said and then the horse trotted off toward the front of the house and soon disappeared down the drive. Then Andrew made his way to the gardens in hopes of enjoying a bit of quiet before the rain came in. As he strolled, his gaze fell on a patch of yellow hypericums, which was Lucy’s favorite color—or so she had mentioned before all this mess had happened. Was yellow still her favorite? He could not help but wonder if she was indeed the same person she had been when they first began to court. Her attitude was very much the same, but that did not mean the person she was, her likes and dislikes, were identical.

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Inside, he was reeling from the frustration he was certain he was causing her. Returning to his former ways had not been an easy task, for he did not approve of the old Duke, a man who was obnoxious and cared little for others.

“Why do you despise me?” a voice behind him asked.

Startled, Andrew opened his eyes and turned around. When his eyes fell on her, his heart sank. Lucy stood before him as beautiful as he had ever seen her. What was different, however, was the pain in her eyes and voice, and it pained him to see her thus.

“I do not despise you,” he said quietly.

“Then why are we playing these games?” she asked. “When I first awoke, you spoke of some love we shared between us. Yet, when I told you I did not feel that love, you became hard and cynical.” Her eyes narrowed for a brief moment. “Or perhaps you have always been so?”

Andrew wished to explain, to tell her that this was not the case. That this was only a scheme to help her remember. That he feared it was the only way she would love him again as she had before her accident. That her love was precious and he would do anything to have her returned to him. However, rather than voice these thoughts, he shook his head instead.

“There is love between us, and I know it is still there. As for my ways, I am a Duke. How is it you believe I should act? Like a merchant?”

Lucy shook her head and then walked over to a rose bush. She reached out a hand and traced a single finger on the petals of a flower. “I will go with you to visit the Skinners in Crookhorn if you prefer.”

He waited for her to follow up her words, perhaps with some sort of extortion. However, it did not come. “Why have you changed your mind?” he asked, taking a few steps forward so he could stand next to her. How he wished he could simply pull her into his arms and hold her as he had before her accident. He missed the feel of her body next to him, true, but he also missed their conversations together. Was he truly doing the right thing in recreating their life together before they were wed? When he saw the tears in her eyes, he knew he was.

“I chose to go with you for the same reason you are trying to help me remember,” she replied, still not looking at him. “I wish to remember my sister giving birth, to Charlotte marrying, and,” —she turned to look at him— “I wish to recall whatever it was that led me to marry you.” The first drops of rain fell on them as she wiped a hand across her eyes. “Let us keep this petty argument between us at a minimum,” she said.

A surge of joy rushed through him at her words, for they were the same words she had spoken to him on her second visit to his home when her parents accompanied her. Though the weather had been bright and sunny that day, and her mother had been standing under a tree just down the footpath with a ready eye, this had been the exact spot in which they had stood and she had said those words.

“Very well, then,” he said, reaching over to grab a rose.

Her hand, however, shot out and touched his forearm. He stared at her in bewilderment as she said, “We do not need you tearing your sleeve and embarrassing yourself again, do we?”

Andrew found himself unable to move, his shock was so great.

“What is it?” Lucy asked. Then she released his arm and gazed around her in shock, a hand over her mouth. “Your sleeve. My mother…over there.”

Andrew nodded. “Yes! You scolded me…” he said in an attempt to encourage her to remember.

The rain had increased in volume, but Andrew cared not. His love was remembering, and he would stand there for the rest of his life if it meant her returning to him whole once again.

“I remember no more of that day,” she said excitedly, “but I do remember you tearing your sleeve!” She jumped up and down like a child who had just received a wonderful gift and then swung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Andrew reveled in her embrace and closed his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest.

“Oh, Andrew,” she cried, “I remember something! It feels so wonderful!”

As Lucy cried tears of joy, Andrew allowed a single tear to escape his eye as well. The woman in his arms, his wife and, more importantly, his love recalled a single moment from the pages of times past. And though the story of their love was nowhere near complete, this memory was certainly a wonderful beginning.