NoRegretsColeNC Read Online Free PDF Page B

at Hattie who stood nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the
other.
    “Perhaps
the letter got lost, sir,” she suggested in a quiet voice.
    “Lost?”
The man nodded. “Why, yes, you’re probably right. Letters do get lost all the
time, don’t they? That would certainly explain why Mrs. Morse hasn’t come to
see her son.”
    Relieved
that the doctor had so quickly accepted the idea, she smiled and bobbed a
curtsy his way.
    “If
there’s nothing else, Dr. Kellerman, I’ll be on my way now.” She motioned
toward the door.
    “No,
nothing else on my mind. As for our patient, I hardly think it’s necessary for you to sit with him all
night now. If you’ll check in on him from time to time, that should be
sufficient.”
    “All
right, sir.”
    “It
would do you good, I think, to get a bit of rest, Miss Richards.”
    “Yes,
I’ll do that.”
    “And
tomorrow,” he said, his gaze never wavering, “post the letter to his mother.
She deserves to know.”
    Hattie
pressed her lips together and made a hasty retreat. How had the doctor figured
her out so easily? Obviously she had no skill at deception.
    As she
reached the doorway, she stopped, her heart thudding with dread. What must he
think of her? Overcome with guilt, she spun around and burst into the library
again. Dr. Kellerman looked up from his book, one eyebrow rising in surprise.
Hattie clasped her hands together. “Dr. Kellerman, let me explain, please.”
    “What’s
there to explain, Miss Richards?” He directed her to a chair, but she shook her
head and remained standing.
    She
reached into the pocket of her skirt and slowly withdrew the letter. With
trembling hands, she gave it to the doctor. “He asked me not to send it, sir. I
should have spoken to you about it, but it was quite early that morning. I
didn’t think it right to disturb you then. I meant to discuss it with you later
in the day, but…”
    “Somehow,
you forgot? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
    Hattie
fought back tears as she looked up. “Yes, but I can’t get the words to come
out. I’m terrible at telling lies, Dr. Kellerman. Please, don’t think I’m in
the habit of being untruthful. I was raised to always tell the truth. Honesty,
you know—”
    “—is
the best policy,” he said along with her. “Indeed, it is. You should have come
to me.”
    “Yes,
sir, I realize that now. But he begged me not to do it.”
    “And
you willingly agreed?”
    “I did,
sir.”
    Dr.
Kellerman turned the letter over in his big hands, and then gave it back to the
distressed young woman standing before him. “Watch your step, Miss Richards.
I’m concerned that this letter was never posted, but I’m even more concerned by
how easily Willie persuaded you to go against your better judgment.”
    “It
won’t happen again.”
    “You’re
young, you’re inexperienced, and you insist on seeing the good in people. That
latter quality might be counted as a virtue, but combined with the former two,
I’m afraid it might be very dangerous.” He tapped the letter in her hand. “Do
the right thing, Miss Richards.”
    “Yes,
of course. I’ll post it first thing in the morning.”

 
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
     
    He’d
been there over a week, Willie reckoned. It was hard to keep track of the days,
especially since he did little more than sleep, but the rest was doing his body
good. He was growing stronger now, staying awake more often. Hattie Mae was
giving him fewer doses of laudanum, too.
    As he
stirred from dream to consciousness, Willie perceived a presence in the room.
He kept his eyes closed. Since being laid up and barely able to move, his
various senses had grown amazingly keen. Not only could he detect a presence,
he could tell at once that it was not Hattie. She had a
lightness about her, an ethereal quality that made him think of gossamer
wings and morning dew.
    By
contrast, this was a dark, heavy presence.
    Willie
let out a breath and opened his eyes.
    “A
message