Benedict!’ She heard Mr Clare’s warning sound behind her.
‘My time is not up! You promised!’
She spun around and nearly collided with his hard chest. Behind him, two footmen stood with ropes dangling from their fingers.
‘No!’ Phoebe put out her hands and placed her body between Robert and the men. ‘I won’t let them pass. He will take it! Give him a chance! Give me this one chance!’
‘Stand aside, Miss Benedict! He must take his medicine. You had your chance and failed. My only consolation is that I was correct in my assessment.’
‘Ten minutes. I want ten minutes.’
‘You can see what Robert is like.’ Mr Clare nodded towards the bed. ‘Why are you intent on making him suffer?’
‘You are frightening him. Please let me try again. You didn’t give me ten minutes.’ Phoebe glanced at Robert. His mouth was set mutinously as his eyes flickered between them. ‘What harm will a few moments do?’
‘Miss Benedict! No one defies my orders in this house!’
‘Mr Clare! Someone should!’
She stood toe to toe with the man, aware that with one sweep of his arm she could be brushed aside. But she refused to allow her gaze to waver. Each breath she took seemed like an eternity.
Finally he bowed his head and took a half-step backwards. ‘Very well, a few moments. One more chance.’
‘I rescued a kitten earlier today,’ Phoebe said, speaking rapidly and praying that her words would provide a distraction. She kept her eyes trained on Robert, but every particle of her body was alert to Mr Clare’s movements. ‘Would you like to see it? Shall we see if your cries have made him wake?’
Robert’s mouth closed and he lifted a thin shoulder. Phoebe ran to where she had placed the basket and opened the cover. Despite the uproar, the kitten had gone to sleep.
Carefully she carried the basket over to the bed. The kitten gave a loud purr, but did not open its eyes. Robert put his fingers to his lips. ‘It’s asleep. I don’t want to wake him.’
Phoebe replaced the cover and placed the basket beside the bed.
‘He’s sleeping now. It would be a shame to disturb him. Shall I let him sleep here? We must be very quiet, the kitten has had an exhausting day.’
‘I will try, truly I will try, miss, but it is hard. Sometimes …’ He closed his eyes and his face became stiff with concentration. Phoebe forgot to breathe. ‘Will the medicine help me to be quiet?’
‘It helped my brother. Truly it did.’
‘Then I will take it…for the kitten’s sake. He looks tired. And sweet. I have always wanted a kitten.’
‘Good boy.’ Phoebe glanced back over her shoulder at where Mr Clare stood. He lifted one eyebrow. With a trembling hand she poured the liquid on to a spoon and held it out to Robert. He made a face, but swallowed it with one gulp.
‘Is the kitten for me? As a gift?’ Robert asked, wiping his hand across his mouth. ‘I have never had a cat before. We used to have a dog, but…he went with my aunt.’
Phoebe gave a slight laugh. ‘Cats can never be given. They choose their owner.’
Robert pursed his lips and nodded. His brow knitted together, but he remained quiet. ‘That makes sense.’
‘He is a wee thing and his mother has just died. I wanted to protect him. He is quite a lively thing when he is awake.’ Phoebe kept her voice light as she knelt beside Robert. The storm appeared to have passed. Somewhere her prayers had been answered.
‘My mother died as well. We can be friends, the kitten and I.’ He paused and his bottom lip trembled. ‘Will you protect me? I am not ready to go to heaven or to the other place. Mrs Smith says that I will burn for ever in the torment.’
‘Who says that you will die?’ Phoebe looked at him, shocked. How much had he heard of her whispered conversation with Mr Clare? How much about his condition did he know? ‘Did your papa tell you that? Or the doctor?’
‘They thought I was asleep—Mrs Smith and Gladys, the maid. I will go to hell because I am wicked through and through.’
Phoebe heard a growl behind her, but she held up her hand, stopping Mr Clare from speaking. She had to do this.
‘Sometimes you only think you hear things and really you are dreaming. It is best not to think on such things.’ Phoebe grasped Robert’s hand and his fingers folded around hers. ‘Shall I look after you for a little while? Your aunt would like that.’
‘You do not smell of barley water or peppermints.’ Robert’s lips turned up and he gave a tiny laugh. ‘And you have a kitten. I have often longed for a kitten. Do you think it might choose me?’
‘There is no accounting for kittens, but when you are stronger, I will introduce you.’ Phoebe did not dare to glance at Mr Clare. She could feel the heat of his gaze from where she knelt. Maybe he had learnt his lesson. He wouldn’t dismiss her as some silly woman who did not know how to run a sick room. ‘And you will only get stronger if you keep taking your medicine.’
‘Did…did my uncle say anything before you left? Did he send any message?’ His shoulders tensed. ‘He is not disappointed that I have had to come home from school, is he? I had promised him that I would stay at school, but they sent me home.’
‘Your uncle did indeed give me a message.’ Phoebe strove to keep her voice light. ‘He said that if you were to get well and strong, then he’d see about teaching you to drive a carriage, regardless of what your dear papa says.’
She ignored the outraged growl behind her.
Robert collapsed back against his pillows and all the tension eased out of him. ‘I want to get strong again. All my puff seems to have gone. The littlest thing appears to bother me.’
‘My cousin strikes me as a man who keeps his word.’
‘Uncle Brett does.’
‘And I will work with you to get you strong again.’ Phoebe gritted her teeth. Mr Clare would have to eat his words. She believed that she had proved him wrong. She would do all in her power to get Robert strong enough to drive carriages, with or without Mr Clare’s consent.
‘I will.’ Robert’s lashes fluttered closed. ‘I like you, Miss Benedict, you and your kitten.’
She watched him for another moment as his lips turned up into the sweetest smile and sleep claimed him. She pulled the blanket up to his chin and tiptoed out. A small glow of triumph filled her. She had succeeded. She could do this. This really would be a new beginning. All her debts would be paid and her stepbrothers would get the start in life that her father would have wanted them to have.
‘Very neatly done,’ Mr Clare said softly from where he stood watching her. ‘You seem to have a knack, Miss Benedict. It took Gladys and two strong footmen three hours to calm him last night. And the maid before her only lasted until Robert tossed a bowl of
