A Lesson in Forgiveness (9 page)

“My father was a baron with an estate in the town of Bridgewater, in Somerset. My three sisters and I grew up there until I was nineteen. My mother had died when my youngest sister was born. Then my father died many years later without an heir. His cousin was all too ready to take over the title and estate. We were not welcomed by his family. Since I was the oldest, I became a governess for a family connected to a neighbor of ours. Our town vicar and his wife took in my sisters and continued their education. Two of my sisters are married and my youngest sister has only just turned seventeen.”

There was a knock on the door. Several maids began to enter the room and fill the tub behind the ornamental screen. After they left, Ginny sat in the tub and washed away the grime. She thought about Sarah's story, so Jane Austen-esque. All that remained for Sarah was to find a rich gentleman who would keep her from ever having to work again.

Once her hair was washed, Ginny began their conversation again. “I'm sorry to hear that Sarah. Perhaps Lord Whitmore can help you find a better position. You shouldn't have to take that woman's abuse, as well as the abuse of her spoiled children.”

“No one said life was fair.”

“Indeed. But if you're not happy, you are the only one who can change your life. If that's a possibility, wouldn't you want to try?”

Silence fell over the room again like a blanket. Ginny finished in the tub and went about drying her hair. Tabby quickly pinned it up and got her re-dressed so Ginny could check up on the boy. “You are welcome to hide in here, Sarah, if you'd prefer. But you can't hide forever.”

Walking up the stairs, Ginny quickly found the nursery. It was easy enough to find Gerard's room, it was the loudest. Entering the room, there were children everywhere. A rock concert couldn't compete with the noise level. There were seven or eight children running wild and one very harried maid in the center of it all. When the maid spotted Ginny, she begged for help with her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny shouted at the top of her lungs, “SHUT UP!”

Every child stopped at once and stared at her.
Okay, now I have their attention
, she thought. “Who is related to Gerard?”

Two girls came forward, maybe twins, although they could just be close in age, and stuck their chins in the air. “We are his sisters. Why do
you
want to know?” Ginny didn't have the patience for their practiced snootiness.

Turning first to the other children, she said, “The rest of you, out. Go back to the classroom and learn something.” When the kids didn't move, she screamed again, “NOW!”

Five little bodies left with all undue speed. Turning to the maid, she said, “You had better keep an eye on them. You've undoubtedly heard the mischief they got themselves into earlier.”
The maid did a small curtsy and left the room. Now she could address the young Rodendales. First she walked over to Gerard, lying quietly in bed. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I fell off my boat and then I woke up next to you.”

Ginny smiled. “I had to go in and get you. Does this seem like something you ever want to do again?”

Gerard's eyes grew to be saucers. “No, miss. Not ever again.”

“Good. Then I expect that you won't be making anymore boats and trying to sail them unless you learn how to swim. Now, which one of you little monsters came up with the idea to lock your governess in the closet.”  Gerard at least had the brains to hang his head in shame. His two sisters, on the other hand, smiled as if to say:
What are you going to do about it?

Ginny grabbed the snootier looking of the two girls and promptly walked her to the closet and tossed her inside. The girl was so shocked that she didn't even fight back. After years of torturing their staff and getting away with it, they felt immune to any punishment. If they did something wrong, they would simply lie and their mother would believe them over the staff. Well, Ginny didn't care because she wasn't going to lose her job.

Closing the door and locking it, she then turned to the other two. The girl in the closet was screaming bloody murder while Gerard and his sister continued to stare. Gerard's sister finally sputtered, “You... you can't do that... I'm... I'm... going to tell Mother!”

“What are you going to tell her? That one of Lord Whitmore's esteemed guests, a young lady who he has spent a great deal of time, was torturing your sister by locking her in a closet. The same closet that that same little girl probably locked her governess in while her little brother went out to nearly drown in the lake. Is that what you would tell your mother?”

The girl was speechless, which could not be said for the girl in the closet who continued to scream. Finally, finding her voice and sticking her chin in the air in a practiced haughtiness, she said, “No, I shall tell her that you came up here just to be mean to us because you are jealous of us.”
Aaaah, the delusions of youth... how refreshing.

A slow smile crept onto Ginny's face. “And when she is forced to go to Lord Whitmore with your accusations, who do you think
he
will believe. You or me?”
The light bulb finally lit up over the girl's head as she understood her position. Lord Whitmore had spent a great deal of time with Bethany, which would be translated as nothing short of courtship in the young pre-teen mind. When her mother went to complain about the woman he planned on making his wife, Lord Whitmore would undoubtedly listen to what Bethany had to say and then dismiss her mother's accusation. In turn, the humiliation her mother would feel would then be transferred to the children in the form of their mother's unbridled anger. Seeing her position and recognizing the hopelessness of it, the girl relented by bowing her head in shame.

Ginny opened the door and the trapped girl came at Ginny with fingernails blazing. Ginny only had to turn slightly and put her foot out to trip the girl. Falling flat on her face, her sister quickly grabbed her up and held her back. She whispered into her ear and the little girl immediately calmed down.

“Listen up. That goes for you too, Gerard. Because of your antics, Gerard almost died today. If I hadn't been there, he would be dead and you would have that on your conscience, if you possess such a thing,” Ginny muttered the last part under her breath. “Learn from this. Learn that there are consequences to your actions. You may also want to consider how you treat other people. Your family may have money but that does not give any of the you the right to treat people, especially adults, without all due respect.”

Each of the children stared at her, each with a different expression: Gerard's was of awe, closet girl looked incensed and the one Ginny now presumed was the oldest looked resigned.

“Let me tell you about something called karma. Have any of you heard that word before?” Ginny voice had softened in the hopes that they would at least hear her out before completely ignoring everything she said. Each kid shook their head.

“Karma is a term meaning... What goes around, comes around.” Still, totally blank expressions. “When you do something bad, something bad will happen to you. Do you understand now?”

The girl from the closet, probably wanting to look superior to her siblings asked, “Who is going to do the bad thing?”

“Who knows,” Ginny realized that she'd chosen a tough topic to explain to children. “But today, one or all of you locked Miss Jones in a closet, presumably so you could go off and play and avoid learning something. That was a bad thing. You should be respectful of Miss Jones. She is here to teach you what you will need to know to succeed in life. The bad thing that happened to you was your brother nearly drowned. Do you see how what you did led to what happened to him?”

Two sets of eyes started darting around in shame. Closet girl simply lifted her chin and stared back condescendingly. “Our mother says we deserve everything we have. Everyone else is just jealous of us.”

“I'm sure she tells you that all the time and I'm not about to get into a discussion of what's wrong with your mother. All I'm saying is this: Do bad things and bad things happen to you. But, there is another side. Do good things and good things happen to you.”

“I don't believe you.”

Wow, this girl is messed up
. “You don't have to believe me. Eventually you'll see that I'm right.”

Just then, Whitmore and another man entered the room. Judging by the bag, Ginny assumed it was the doctor. He was smiling at her as he bowed to her. He was tall, over six feet, with deep, blue eyes and a patrician nose. He had long side burns, but no other facial hair. His hair was a sandy color, cut short as befitting the fashion. His smile was warm and friendly. She would guess he was in his mid to late thirties.

Whitmore took his cue and said, “Dr. Cummings, please allow me to introduce you to Miss Hamilton.”

Looking her in the eye, smiling warmly, he pronounced, “It is a great pleasure to meet you, Miss Hamilton.” The doctor then turned his attention to the bed, where Gerard was lying down. “Well, young man, it appears that you have a lot to be thankful for.”

Whitmore looked at Gerard's sisters and announced, “Girls, please follow me. Miss Hamilton, could you please explain to the doctor exactly what you did today. He is greatly interested.”

“Of course.” Ginny watched as Whitmore led the two girls out of the room. She hoped he was going to take a switch to their backsides. Pivoting to face the doctor, she asked, “What do you want to know?”

“I would like to speak to you after I examine the boy, if that would be fine with you.”

“Of course. I'll answer whatever questions you have.”

Ginny watched the doctor do what little was in his knowledge to do. When completed, he asked the boy a series of questions to gauge his mental capacity and then declared him very lucky. “You will need to rest a few days, son. I have little doubt you will be fit as a fiddle soon.” Tousling Gerard's hair, he again turned to face Ginny.

“Miss Hamilton, shall we?” he said while gesturing to the door. Smiling, she preceded him out.

In the hallway, they met Lord Whitmore and another woman. Lord Whitmore introduced her as Nurse Beggins. Apparently, she would care for the boy over the next few days.

Before the nurse could disappear into the room, Ginny offered a few suggestions. “I think it would be best if he slept sitting up tonight. Just in case he still has water in his lungs. Also, someone should be with him throughout the night to make sure he doesn't have any trouble breathing.”

The nurse turned to the doctor for confirmation. “A sound suggestion, Miss Hamilton. You seem to know a lot about medicine.”

“I read a lot,” was her only reply. The nurse entered the room and Whitmore offered Ginny his arm. The men exchanged some conversation on the way back down the stairs, obviously they had known each other a long time and socialized with the same people.

Whitmore directed Ginny to his study and pulled the bell pull. A moment later Pearce arrived and Whitmore ordered tea. Ginny sat in one of the armchairs across from the desk and the doctor took the other. When Whitmore was seated behind his desk, the doctor began his questioning.

“Where did you get the idea to breathe into that boy's mouth?”

“The idea was not mine, Doctor. An Englishman had suggested it over fifty years ago, I believe. I don't know if he was a doctor. I remember reading about it somewhere. It certainly couldn't hurt, so I gave it a try.”

“Fascinating. What made you suggest him sitting up?”

She was going to have to lie on this question. The other one was easy, she did remember reading once how a British man suggested mouth to mouth after doing it successfully. Ginny didn't want to reveal too much medical knowledge since that would lead to suspicion.

“I remember a friend having breathing problems growing up. She said it was easier to breathe while sitting up during her episodes. I used the same principle here.” That would have to do, and Ginny hoped the questions would stop.

“Interesting. A good plan, to be sure. Thank you for your suggestions.” Ginny was amazed. She didn't meet many doctors who took suggestions well, let alone at all.

“One more thing, Miss Hamilton.”
Uh oh, here it comes
. “Where did you hear about...'karma,' was it?”

What?
“I wasn't aware that you were listening.” Ginny looked at Whitmore, who was smiling back at her.

“Please don't be offended, Miss Hamilton,” Dr. Cummings seemed truly distressed over revealing their eavesdropping. “When Lord Whitmore and I walked up, we heard you talking and didn't want to disturb you. Once we heard what you were saying, I must say I was quite... impressed with how you handled the children.”

“Oh, well, karma is from India, I believe. Of course, to them, bad things transcend to new lives after reincarnation.”

“Fascinating. Miss Hamilton, perhaps I could come by tomorrow, in the afternoon and we could take a turn about the gardens together. I would so much like to hear more about your knowledge.”

Ginny tried to look serene, but was now flooded with doubts. Was she supposed to fall in love with the doctor? He was certainly handsome, but he wasn't titled. Didn't that make a difference? Meanwhile, she still had to nail down if Clarendon was the one. It was getting too confusing.

“I would be happy to answer any other questions. We could go now, if you wish.”
“I am sorry, but I have to attend the Widow Sheppard. She took a bad tumble a few days ago and I need to check on her. I was on my way there when Whitmore's footman waylaid me.” The doctor smiled in the direction of their host. “So, if you two will excuse me.”

The doctor bowed to Ginny. Before thinking, she stood up and thrust out her hand. Both men stared at her peculiarly. Ginny was about to retract her hand, realizing her mistake, but the doctor was quicker. Taking her hand, he kissed the backs of her fingers lightly. He smiled again, performed a curt bow toward Whitmore and left. Ginny sat back down as quickly as possible.

“I believe the doctor is quite taken with you, Miss Hamilton.”

Ginny regarded him for a moment, before saying, “What happened to calling me Bethany?”