Chapter 7: Healing

November 1825

Sir Jonathan was thoroughly drained. He came from the Carters’ house where he had stitched and dressed Richard’s stab wound and Lucy was waiting for him when he entered the door. Not trusting his voice, he whispered.

“Richard is alive. He’s wounded, but not badly.”

“Thank God!” Lucy whispered, also overcome with emotion. “And Finney?”

Mister Wilkes cleared his throat and found his voice again.

“Dead. Took a riposte right through the chest. Not a thing I could do. He was dead within a minute.” His voice cracked again. “Poor Richard took it hard. He is right devastated over killing the man.”

“Oh dear, the poor boy!” Lucy exclaimed. Then she rushed into her husband’s arms, needing the comfort. For a minute or two, they stood, finding comfort in each other. Then, Lucy sighed.

“I better tell Ellen. Maybe she’ll stop crying then.”

She rushed upstairs and barged into Ellen’s room. A split second later, her scream made Jonathan Wilkes’s blood freeze. He ran upstairs, taking two steps at a time where he found his wife holding up the already limp body of their daughter as high as she could. Jonathan Wilkes jumped to his wife’s help. With shaky fingers, he found a pen knife in his coat pocket and cut the shawl. Another precise cut, and the part around Ellen’s neck fell apart. Together they placed her on the bed and Sir Jonathan checked her breath with a mirror. Nothing! Taking her face in his hands and stretching her head back, he drew a deep breath, placed his mouth over the girl’s and exhaled. He saw her chest move and repeated the process. He was rewarded with a violent cough by Ellen, followed by a rasping breath and another cough. Still, it took a minute before Ellen opened her eyes. Seeing her stepparents she began to cry.

“Why did you do this? I can’t live when Richard is dead. Please, let me die!”

Her voice was hoarse and her words barely intelligible.

Lucy shook the girl. “Ellen, he is alive! Yes, Richard is alive! He is at home resting. He was slightly wounded, but he will recover. There is no reason for you to kill yourself.”

Ellen looked up. “But you said he was stabbed through the chest,” she cried at her father.

“That was Finney,” he said gently.

“Richard killed him?”

“Yes, and he does not take it lightly I’m afraid.”

“It’s all my fault! The whole affair was caused my stupidity.”

“No, Ellen. It was Finney’s own doing. He wanted to punish Richard for foiling his scoundrelly schemes,” Sir Jonathan said reasonably.

“I shall prepare something calming for you, Ellen,” Lucy said. “You need to sleep now. In a few days, when everyone has calmed down a little bit, you will make your apologies. I imagine that poor Richard also needs to sleep after his ordeal.”

“That reminds me, Lucy,” Jonathan interjected, “Harriet asked whether you could prepare something for Richard to help him sleep. Perhaps, the same for Ellen. She did not sleep for days, did she?”

Ellen shook her head.

“Ellen, will you be all right whilst I go over to the Carters? Can I trust you not do anything desperate again?”

Ellen was quiet. Did she want to live? Richard had survived. However, another man had died as a consequence of her carelessness. Her doubts must have been evident, for her father gently took one arm and then the other and tied them securely to the bed frame. Then he did the same with her feet. Lucy looked her question.

“Just making sure, dear. Things will look different for her when she’s had some sleep. Ellen, we shall leave the door open. Try to sleep. If you need anything, call. Lucy and I shall try to be with you as much as possible.”

“Lucy, can I ask you for something?” Ellen asked meekly.

“Yes, of course.”

“Can you ask if I may see Richard? Just for a minute. I must beg his forgiveness.”

“Ellen, I shall try my best. It’s not just Richard, though. In fact, Richard will be easy compared with Harriet. Is this so urgent to you?”

“I need to see him, please!”

Lucy nodded and left the room. When she reached her kitchen she had to sit first. The shock of seeing Ellen hanging from the ceiling finally got to her. After a few minutes, she collected herself with an effort. She gathered a few ingredients and mixed herbs to prepare a calming tea and a mild sleep potion. She contemplated taking her husband’s coach but decided against it; she needed the exercise of walking to clear her mind. It would be difficult to persuade Harriet to allow Ellen a visit to her home. She thought of ways to convince her friend but she remained dubious.

She arrived at the Carters’ house and was met by a red eyed Harriet who hugged her violently.

“Oh Lucy, I am so relieved! My son lives.”

She began to sob in Lucy’s arms who patted her back soothingly.

“I can’t express how happy I was when Jonathan told me,” Lucy whispered. Then she remembered what had happened next and she began to cry herself leaning heavily into Harriet.

“What is it, Lucy? You are so pale! Tell me please!” Harriet looked at her friend with worry.

“Right after Jonathan told me about Richard I went up to Ellen’s room to tell her the good news,” — here, Harriet’s eyes became hard — “the girl had neither slept nor eaten for two days. I came into her room,” Lucy’s voice became a hoarse whisper, “and she had hanged herself.”

To Harriet, these words came like a physical blow. She could hear herself accusing Ellen the morning before when she had vented her anguish and fear. Before she could say a word, Lucy regained her voice.

“I screamed the house down and held her up. Then Jonathan came running and cut her down. She did not breathe anymore, but Jonathan blew into her mouth and she began to cough. Oh god, Harriet, it was so horrible!”

“She’s alive then?” Harriet whispered.

Lucy nodded.

“Why did she do that?”

“She must have listened in on what Jonathan told me about the duel, but she did not hear it all. She only heard that somebody had been killed and she assumed it was Richard.”

“And you came here to help me with Richard? Oh, Lucy, I do not deserve a friend like you.”

Instinctively, Lucy seized the moment. “Harriet, will you do something for us?”

“Anything, Lucy; you know that.”

“Please wait before you commit yourself. Ellen asks for a minute with Richard. She wants to see him and apologise for her blunder.”

Harriet was torn between conflicting emotions. On one hand she wanted to protect her son against further hurt, on the other hand she felt horrible about heaping accusations on the girl, possibly driving her into her suicide attempt. Maybe it was not for her to decide.

“I shall speak with Richard; it is for him to decide. Not today though. He is awfully wrought up. Tell Ellen that I shall not oppose her visit and tell her I shall not blame her anymore.”

Lucy quickly hugged her friend. “You are the best, Harriet! This is why I love you so much.”

The two women spent a minute to repair the damage to their faces and hair and then went to the kitchen. Lucy left the teas and gave brief instructions for their preparation. To Harriet’s surprise Lucy turned to leave.

“Let us not disturb Richard with my presence. He will think of Ellen if he sees me. Just tell him that I was here and wish him the best, will you? I also need to look after Ellen.”

“Of course, Lucy. I shall ask him tomorrow and then send you a note.”

Lucy returned home and rushed upstairs. Jonathan was sitting on a chair beside Ellen’s bed and tried to coax her into eating a buttered toast. He was not overly successful. When Lucy entered Ellen looked at her pleadingly. Lucy sat at Ellen’s other side and took her bound hand.

“I did not talk to Richard. I thought it better to let him rest. I spoke to Harriet though. She will ask Richard herself.”

Lucy saw disappointment and resignation in Ellen’s eyes.

“Keep your hope up, girl. Harriet did not really mean it when she blamed you yesterday morning. She was fearing for Richard’s life. She asked me to tell you that she will try to persuade Richard to see you. She also said that you should not be afraid of her.”

Ellen looked at Lucy. “Did you tell her about me and what I did?”

Lucy nodded. “It came out. I did not plan to, but I had a little breakdown and Harriet asked me what had happened. She is my best friend and I could never lie to her.”

“Now she’ll think me a lunatic.”

“No,” Lucy shook her head, “she knows now how hard you took your small part in this affair. Ellen, tomorrow will not be easy for you, but it will give you a chance to face your responsibilities and put them into perspective.”

“Do you think I can ever heal?” Ellen asked.

“Yes, I do,” Lucy said with conviction. “People can recover from much worse experiences. Believe me, I know.”

“Can you untie me, please?” Ellen asked looking openly into Lucy’s eyes. “I promise not to try again.”

Lucy looked at her husband and sensing his approval she loosened the bound hand. Jonathan did the same with the other hand and her feet.

Later, Lucy persuaded her to eat two slices of buttered bread, and drink several cups of tea, but the latter did not have the desired effect. Ellen could not sleep for another night whilst she racked her brain over what to say to Richard if she ever got the chance.

With the dawn’s first light, Ellen rose and washed herself. She also washed her hair, hoping it would dry in time. It was a symbolic act. There was nothing she could do about the ugly bruises around her neck. She decided to wear a scarf to hide those. Then she walked downstairs and sat in the living room waiting for news from Lady Carter.

Evidently, Harriet Carter had made good on her promise as early as possible. It was only 10 o’clock when a messenger delivered a billet to Lucy. Ellen looked on intently as Lucy opened the envelope and read.

“Get your cloak, girl!” she smiled. “We have a visit to pay.”

Trembling, Ellen rushed for her cloak and was back in seconds, practically dragging Lucy out of the house. Too late, she remembered the scarf she had planned to wear. Yet, she did not care about the people on the street who stared at the angry blue-red bruises. They arrived at the Carters’ house thoroughly winded and Lucy knocked. Harriet opened the door herself. A long look was passed between her and Ellen and Harriet shook her head.

“You stupid girl! Killing yourself would have made nothing undone. Come in already!”

Ellen took a deep breath to start her apology but she was cut short by Harriet.

“Stop right now and save it all for Richard. He has agreed to see you. Oh my God, wait!”

Harriet had finally seen the bruises on Ellen’s neck. She rushed upstairs and to her room before returning with a beautiful blue silk scarf which she proceeded to wrap around Ellen’s neck.

“No need to upset him even more,” she mumbled. “What?”

Ellen’s hand was on her arm.

“Thank you,” she said earnestly. “You had every right and you still have it to be angry at me for letting my mouth get away from me. Please, please believe me — I didn’t realise what I would cause. I would never hurt Richard knowingly.”

Harriet looked into the girls eyes and nodded.

“I believe you. Now go!”

Ellen took a deep breath before she walked upstairs. At Richard’s door, she paused briefly before she knocked. His “Yes!” was loud and clear and she pressed down the handle. She walked quietly to the far end of the bedroom and faced Richard.

“Thank you for giving me a chance to apologise.”

“I told you that no blame attaches to you. You were the intended victim.”

“Yet I should have been cautious and not reveal what you told me.”

“Ellen, it would not have helped. He had already recognised me and he knew that I thwarted his plans with you. He wanted to punish me. Whatever you said made no difference. I talked about that with Father, and he agrees. He said that Finney wanted to get even. It is how the man was. He may have even fallen in love with you.”

“But I love you!” she blurted. “I was thrilled a little by his compliments, but I harboured no interest in him.”