The Last Kiss

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Slipping out from under the blankets Ashton tried his best not to stir Lindsey, since he knew she had difficulty falling asleep. Sitting up, he turned back and looked at her face, she looked so beautiful almost angelic. He could see that all the strains of the world had not torn her completely down to nothing. Instead she was a strong woman, despite all that had gone wrong in her life but yet she still showed hope.

In all the years that he had walked the earth he had seen what a hard life could do to a person, most showed nothing but bitterness and great hate. That was not the case with Lindsey. She was the type of person that would still hope for love and happiness no matter what and damn it all he would do his very best go give it to her. Feeling the heat of a new dawn coming to life, Ashton would have to hurry before the sun welcomed the world to a new day.

Quietly he rushed to find the stray clothing that had been tossed in various places the night before.

Finally finding his shirt, he scrambled to pull on his breeches and then just slipping his shirt on, not worrying about buttoning it up. Quickly making his way to the door, he opened it just a bit then turned back to get one last glance at Lindsey, thankfully his rummaging around the room hadn’t awoke her. With a deep sigh he stepped out and shut the door taking great care that it closed softly. Then as if lighting had just struck, he turned and started to run down the hall. At breath-taking speeds Ashton quickly reached the painting at the end of the hallway, pulling it open exposed a hidden stair-well.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ashton stood for just a moment, thanking his long-ago friend on the advice of making this type of hide-away. Now he was safe, there were no windows, only cold stone walls and the stale air that surrounded him. Ashton took his time walking down the steps and let his thoughts wonder back to the woman laying in his bed.

***

Awaking the next afternoon, Lindsey found herself curled under the blankets, alone. Glancing around the room she saw that it was daylight and knew that Ashton would be sleeping right now. For a few moments she debated on if she was truly hungry or just a tense ball of nerves making the fluttery movements in her tummy. Making its own opinion her stomach started to growl. Pushing the blankets back Lindsey swung her legs off the bed and then noticed that Ashton’s shoe was still lying on the floor. Looking around the room, she quickly saw pools of clothing that didn’t belong to any woman.

Taking a closer look Lindsey saw that it was Ashton’s vest and his overcoat from the night before. He must have left in a hurry she thought, since his clothing was still laying in the same place he left them in. Wrapping her house-coat round her she smiled, tying the knot loosely. The thought of how they came to be on the floor sent shivers through her body. But the other events of the evening rushed into her mind as well. Like when he had told her that he loved her, the smile left her face. What was she to do now?

The man she could have only dreamed about was very much real and in her life. No longer just some fantasy she would create to help her through the hard times, to help take away the pain that Robert left in his wake. Ashton was real, well what seemed to be real anyhow. She wasn’t even sure about that, since he was a vampire. Did he even have the feelings of a human? He had told her that he loved her but was he even capable of having those feelings?

"Oh," she sighed, "how did my life come to this mess before me."

Sighing once more she plopped down into the chair and started to rub her fingers over her temples, just the thoughts running through her head was enough to give her a pounding headache. Something that seemed to come on strong and last for what seemed like forever. As it happens, she thought, they had somewhat disappeared for awhile, just about the time that Ashton came into her life. But, she groaned, they were coming back as she closed her eyes in efforts to easy the pain.

The flutters she had felt only a few moments ago were now gone and even the mere thought of food made her stomach churn. She stood to try and make her way back to the bed but it didn’t work. Taking a few unsteady steps, her eyes began to betray her making the room look like it was spinning in fast circles. Blackness swept over here in a flash, as she felt her body falling and then finally hitting the floor.


The loud thud seemed to echo out into the hallway startling the maid that was dusting. Pausing for a moment, the heavy set woman rushed over to the door and started to knock. Waiting a brief moment for an answer, she decided it best to go ahead and open the door, not sure of what she might find once inside. Pushing the door open, slightly at first, she saw nothing but an empty bed. Opening it a bit further she saw a woman laying on the floor and began to panic.

Turning back toward the hallway she yelled out, "help here, I need help, someone come quick."

Then rushed over to the side of the woman she turned her over so that she was facing up. She had known her employer had a houseguest but she had been gone when they arrived and hadn’t yet seen the woman. From what she thought the woman was very pretty but at the moment she was very pale and most very unconscious. Feeling of the woman’s head with the palm of her hand she could tell there was no fever, instead it was very cold.

The butler was the first person of many to rush into the room.

"I heard yelling is something wro-," his words were cut off mid-sentence when he saw the hardly dressed body on the floor.

"She must have fainted. That would be my guess," the maid said, noticing that the butlers words had been lost. "No be a dear and hand me that blanket, lord knows we don’t want her to catch a cold."

Doing as the maid instructed he grabbed the closest blanket he could find.

"I will send for the doctor," he said, then rushed out of the room with a speed he had never used before.

Luckily, Judd had come back before any of the other servants and wasn’t as frail as people might have thought him to be. Using strength that the maid would have never expected he helped move Lindsey to the bed before anyone else could see her. Which was a good idea since before long there was a small gathering of servants standing outside the door all trying to catch a peek at the new house-guest. Ordering fresh water to be brought up the maid started to arrange the pillows and blankets to ensure Lindsey’s comfort, while the others still looked on.

With the exception of the one maid that went to fetch water the rest never moved. Even an hour later the servants were still standing outside the door, gossiping about all sorts of topics on this and that. But the topic on most of their lips was about the woman that lay still unconscious on the bed. The group was so involved with their chats that they hadn’t even noticed that another onlooker had joined them.

Just then a voice came from behind the onlookers, "there was no answer at the door," having all eyes turned to him. The doctor continued, giving a little cough to clear his throat, "so I let myself in."

The maid that found Lindsey, rushed to his side and wrapped her arm in his, "oh yes, yes, please come in. She is over here," she pointed out.

"Ok," the doctor said as he was practically drug across the room. Then glancing back at the herd of servants in the doorway that still stood there and he softly said, "I will need this room cleared if you don’t mind."

"Not a problem, doctor," she said then made her way to the door, swinging her hands in the air as if she were shooing cats away from milk.

"Go on now, you nosey lot. I know there is work to be done. Now get to it," and then shut the door in their face.

"Good. What happened?" the doctor asked.

"Well, I was dusting in the hall and I heard a noise," she paused for a moment. "Then I knocked on the door but there were no answer so I let myself in. That’s when I saw her on the floor."

"I see," he said looking back at Lindsey. "That would sure explain the bump on her head."

Looking over at Lindsey’s head, the maid saw what the doctor was talking about and knew that she would have a very nasty headache when she awoke. Taking a few steps back away from the bedside, she thought it best to give the doctor a bit more room.

Resuming his exam of Lindsey, he opened his bag that he brought with him. Pulling out his stethoscope he lightly placed it on her chest putting his ear close to the other end and began to count her breathing. Once he was satisfied with the way her chest sounded he then lifted each of her eyelids to check the pupils.

Turning to face the maid he began to put his tools back into his bag and started walking toward the door, "I believe it to be just a bought of dizziness. However, if she does not awake tomorrow call again for me. If she does wake, you might advise that she only drink tea or water. I’m afraid food might upset her stomach. Now if she happens to have a headache like I think she might," he paused to look back, "some laudanum might be best but only a teaspoon at a time."

Walking with the doctor the maid just nodded her head in agreement. Making sure she made a mental list of what he was saying so she might pass it on to Lord Manning. He would want to know every word the doctor said, she was sure of it. She might not had worked in the house as many years as everyone else but she knew enough about her employer to know that he would want every detail about this.

Reaching the base of the stairs the doctor turned and looked at the maid, "did you understand everything?"

"Yes, every word," she said somewhat annoyed.

"Ok, then I leave her health to you unless there is a problem," he said smoothly since he could sense her anger. "Don’t worry about me, I shall see myself out. Now go tend to your patient and don’t forget what I told you"

"I won’t and thank you again for coming so quickly,
I’m sure Lord Manning will appreciate your rush," she said trying to keep her boiling temper in check.

"Good day," he said as he started to descend the stairs.

"Good day to you too sir," the maid said as sweet as she could then turned and made her way back to the room, grumbling all sorts of words under her breath.

Walking back into the room, she glanced at the clock that sat on the mantle as she pushed the door closed.

"Good only a bit longer until nightfall, then Lord Manning will be in to see about you," she said turning her glancing over at Lindsey.

Knowing full well she couldn’t hear anything she said, nor was she going to respond. She went about picking up the clothing laying in the room and putting things back where they should be.

"Might as well get a bit of work done while you sleep, what do you say miss?"

"I would say that I have a monstrous headache," Lindsey said as she slowly pulled herself up onto the pillows.

Almost jumping off the floor the maid turned and faced Lindsey, who was now rubbing the fresh lump on her head. Putting the clothing she had in her hands on a near-by chair she walked over to the bedside and looked at Lindsey’s forehead.

"Yes, I thought you might. Shall I ring for tea?" she said as she looked at the lump and making note that it had gone down a bit.

"No, I don’t feel up to it just yet but," Lindsey said as she sank further into the pillows, "but if you would be so kind, tell me what happened?"

"You don’t know miss?" the maid asked. "Of course you don’t know or else you wouldn’t have asked."

Lindsey just gave a faint smile.

"You must have fainted or something of that sort. The town doctor just came by a moment ago," she said as she turned toward the door.

"He did?" she said almost sitting straight up.

"Yes, madam. He said that if you were to awake tonight that you might not be up to eating," trying her best not to seem too bossy she started to somewhat straighten the blankets around Lindsey.

"Oh, did he say I could have anything?" Lindsey said as she relaxed and sank back into the pillows.

"Yes, he said you could have tea, that is to say, if your up to it," she said this time looking directly into Lindsey’s eyes.

With a frustrated voice, Lindsey said, "I suppose that will have to be good enough for now."

"Yes, madam. I will get it myself," the maid said and then rushed out of the room as if she were trying to escape from something.

Not minding the way the maid left the room, after all she would use the time for other things. Lindsey tried the best she could to piece together the happenings of the afternoon. She remembered waking up and seeing Ashton’s shoes on the floor by the bed and the fact that some of his clothing was laying about the room, hers as well. After that it was all blank, not a single fragment of memory came back to her. It seemed her fainting spells had become something of the normal as of the past few weeks. This was not a good sign at all, it was much the same signs that her mother showed right before she passed on. She recalled the doctors saying it was just the sadness that drove her mother to her grave but she knew it had to be something more.

"I will not die as my mother did," she said aloud as if sending out a challenge to someone.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a big sigh trying to clear her mind of the thoughts from the past. Now was not the time to think about the stupid doctors that had tended to her mother. But she did need to find out why she kept fainting, it was becoming rather annoying and frankly she wasn’t going to let whatever it was win. She was stronger than Robert and she would be strong enough to deal with any problem placed in front of her.

"Now where is that tea," she mumbled.

As if on cue the maid came back in with one hand on the door and the other keeping the tray steady.

Setting it down on a nearby table she began to set the serve up and without even asking she went ahead and poured a hot cup of tea.

Without even lifting her head the maid asked, "milk or sugar, madam?"

"Yes, just a bit of both. Thank you," Lindsey looked at the maid as if asking for her name.

After stirring in the extras she picked up a cloth and laid it out on Lindsey’s lap and then handed her the cup.

"Thank you, Miss ?" Lindsey asked as she took a sip.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, madam. I am Miss Travis," she said with a sweet smile.

"And I am Lady Payton but you can call me Lindsey," she smiled and took another sip of the tea.

"Yes madam. I mean Lindsey. My given name is Wendy. Which I think is fitting since I tend to talk too much, like right now," she said with a laugh.

Lindsey laughed softly too. She thought the woman seemed very nice and very relaxing, it was very nice to see her mood change since she seemed a bit stiff before. If given the time, she could most likely become good friends with this woman.

Still giggling a bit Lindsey said, "I often talk too much too, my mother would complain forever about it. Always telling me I would never catch a husband if I kept my mouth open."

"Oh, good heavens," the woman laughed out.

Lindsey laughed even harder almost spilling her tea, "ops, I had better watch what I’m doing or I might spill my tea and where would I be then," she joked.

"No. No. We don’t want you to do that. Suffering from a lump on the head is enough for one day. At least I would think," Wendy said looking at it once more.
Setting the teacup to the side Lindsey lightly touched the bump, "its not too horrid is it?"

"Not at all," Wendy said truthfully, "you can hardly even tell its there."

"Truly?" Lindsey asked hoping she wouldn’t lie to her.

"Yes and I’m sure that if you fix your hair no one would ever be the wiser," Wendy said.

"Do you really think I could hide the bump. I really don’t wish Ashton to see it," Lindsey said, knowing she was telling her new friend way to much.

"No, I think you should be able to hide it with no problems at all but," she paused, "all the servants in the house already know that you fainted and that the doctor had been called. There is no way you could hide that."

Lindsey sighed, "true, but that doesn’t mean he has to know about the bump."

"Who doesn’t have to know about what bump," came a manly voice from the doorway, causing both women to jump in their sets.