Come Midnight by Veronica Sattler Read Free Book Online

For how could he, with him not seeing anyone? But it wouldn't matter, I'm sure, if you were to help his son. And he's a man of great wealth, Lord Ravenskeep is. Not at all the niggardly sort, either. I'm sure he'd pay handsomely for your help." She placed a hand on Caitlin's sleeve. "Oh, won't you at least try?"
    Caitlin felt buffeted by the pull on her emotions. A wee lad, given up for lost. The mother dead, the father clearly grieving for his wife, in despair over his son. It all sounded so hopeless. What could she, a mere folk healer, do?
    Still, she'd never been one to quit before even trying. And there was always the power of prayer. Those she treated didn't know it, but she prayed over them as much as she plied her skills from Crionna.
    And, of course, there was the matter of her rent. This lord would pay well, the housekeeper said. With a weary sigh, Caitlin slipped on her half boots, grabbed her wet cloak and turned to the bag she'd set beside the door. It held her herbs and simples. "Take me t' the lad," she said.
    ***
    Jepson eyed the waiflike creature standing beside Sally Hodgkins with great misgivings. God knew, he loved little Lord Andrew as well as the rest of the staff did. The lad had a way about him. And they'd long felt sorry for him, what with that cold marchioness for a mother. Not to mention his lordship being away so much during the war, and then so brooding and distant since his return. But Sally was clearly grasping at straws here. Irish Angel, indeed! The so-called healer was little more than a child herself.
    "What makes you think you can succeed where a physician and a renowned surgeon have given up?" he asked Caitlin.
    Taking in the stone-faced butler's forbidding demeanor, Caitlin gathered her courage. "Perhaps that's just the trouble, sorr."
    The butler arched a brow at her. "Explain yourself, miss."
    "They've given up," Caitlin told him. She glanced at the housekeeper. "But Mrs. Hodgkins here hasn't, and neither should you, I'm thinkin'. Perhaps too many have given up on the lad already," she added, recalling the father who'd apparently abandoned himself to grief.
    A reluctant smile tugged at Jepson's lips, though he kept it in check; he was not a man given to smiles. But the girl's words hit home. Were, in fact, what he'd been thinking himself. To hear it from the mouth of this callow lass, fresh from the Irish countryside.... Perhaps she wasn't as young and inexperienced as she looked.
    Jepson sighed, and met the housekeeper's eyes, his features still unyielding. "I needn't remind you, Hodgkins, his lordship's a difficult man in the best of circumstances. Adding to that, his distress over the child, I hardly think—"
    "Is he still in his chambers?" she broke in.
    Jepson shook his head to the contrary. "Oddly enough, his lordship repaired to the library sometime during the night. I saw light coming from under the door when I—"
    "Well, that's ideal, then!" she cried. "A blessing, in fact. The Angel here can steal in to see the boy without—"
    "Beggin' yer pardon, Mrs. Hodgkins," Caitlin put in, "but I'd scarcely feel right, seein' the lad without his da knowin' it. 'Twouldn't be honest, d'ye see, and I'm that, if nothin' else."
    Jepson's opinion of the girl rose another notch. Most in her circumstances would jump at the chance to make some easy money, and nothing more. He ran his eyes over her slight form. Though neat and clean, if damp from the storm, her garments were worn; they showed several patches and neatly mended tears. Another of Ireland's poor immigrants, without a doubt. Yet she scrupled to refuse a potentially lucrative engagement, as she feared it would be dishonest! Intrigued, he found himself pondering how he might persuade her to accept.
    "Miss O'Brien," he said carefully, "I understand your principles entirely. And normally I would agree with you. But you must know this is not a normal situation. I collect Mrs. Hodgkins has told you of his lordship's ... ah, retreat, in the