Who Brings Forth the Wind (Kensington Chronicles) (53 page)

pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all

deep places. He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends

of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the

wind out of his treasuries."

When Stacy finished, she set her Bible aside and began to

pray with her eyes on Tanner's face.

"I want him to know You, Lord," Stacy whispered. "I want

him to have time to come to Christ, but Your will is holy. Help

me to trust." Stacy could not go on.

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She was suddenly back at her grandfather's bedside, listening

to him tell her that he had believed in Christ. Stacy's

eyes slid shut with remembered joy. God had saved her grandfather

when he had just days left on this earth, and she knew

He could do the same for Tanner. As much as Stacy loved

Tanner, she knew God loved him more. This did not give her a

guarantee concerning his eternity, but as she'd said to Brandon,

God is only good.

"Don't let me forget that, Father."

The young woman standing before Stacy looked shy and a

little frightened as she stared up at the Duchess of Cambridge.

She had a very tiny baby in her arms, whose color was a healthy

pink. Stacy noted that both were clean, and even though their

clothing was coarse, it was well pressed and had no stains.

"What is your name?"

"Felicity, my lady."

Stacy could not immediately speak. Felicity had been the

name of the girl in Middlesbrough who had been Drew's wet

nurse. Stacy had prayed for wisdom concerning this decision

and now wondered if this might be God's way of giving her

direction.

"Do you feel you have enough milk for both babies, Felicity?

I would not want you to starve your own child."

'"e ain't never been able to drink all my milk, Lady Richardson.

A've always got plenty to spare."

"Your baby is a boy?"

Felicity's face lit with pride and joy. '"is name's Robert,

after 'is pa."

Stacy smiled, even as an ache filled her. She'd planned to

feed Alexa for at least six more months.

"Robert is a fine name. Do you understand that I would

need you to live here at Winslow, Felicity, and be on constant

call?"

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"Yes, ma'am."

Stacy nodded, feeling satisfied. "I have just fed Alexa, but

I'm certain she is still hungry. Hettie will take you to Alexa's

room, and she will be the one to tell you when you are needed

Is everything clear?"

"Yes, my lady."

They discussed a few more specifics before Hettie took

mother and son away. Stacy was tempted to watch and see how

she did with Alexa, but she didn't think she could deal with the

sight of another woman feeding her baby right now.

With a determined move, Stacy returned to the bedroom

and Tanner's side. Brandon was sitting with him and seemed

to sense that Stacy did not care to talk.

In the next hours trusted servants came and went. The

poultice was changed, the bleeding had stopped, and Tanner

was made as comfortable as possible. Both Stacy and Brandon

prayed that he would wake soon, but it was not to be. By

morning Tanner was still unconscious. A fever had begun to

rage within his body.

Forty-eight hours later, Stacy's hand shook with exhaustion

as she laid a cold cloth on Tanner's brow. His skin was so

hot it burned her to touch him, but at least the thrashing had

stopped. There had been times when Brandon had all but Iain

on top of Tanner to keep him on the bed.

Neither Stacy nor Brandon had slept, but at the moment

Stacy felt beyond sleep. Brandon had just left to get something

to eat, and Stacy now sat alone in the room.

Tanner's hand lay outside the covers, and Stacy reached

for it. He was so warm, but she held the hand gently for just a

moment and then began to grip it harder.

"I don't want you to die, Tanner," she whispered in some

desperation. "Do you hear me?" Again her grip tightened "I

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don't want you to die." Stacy's voice was still low but growing

almost fierce in intensity. She squeezed his hand. There was

still no response.

"Don't you die, Tanner," she now hissed at him. "Don't you

dare. You can drum up some of that orneriness that we both

know you're so capable of and fight this. Do you hear me,

Tanner Richardson?"

Stacy was nearly shouting now and shaking Tanner's arm

for all it was worth. A small groan came from his lips. Stacy

stopped, horrified over what she was doing,

"I'm sorry, Tanner," she began to sob. "I'm so sorry. I didn't

mean that. Please forgive me, Tanner. I'm so sorry." Her sobs

were uncontrollable now, so much so that she didn't even hear

Brandon come into the room.

"Come on, Stacy," he spoke gently. "Come get some rest."

"Please don't make me leave him, Brandon," she begged,

her crying still very harsh.

"All right," he crooned "Just come over here to the extra

bed. Price set this up for you, and you haven't used it. It's time

now, come on."

Brandon was afraid that if he called someone to assist him,

Stacy would rouse and want to return to Tanner's side. Right

now she was nearly asleep on her feet. Wishing Sunny was

with him, he urged her onto the bed and covered her with a

blanket. He didn't bother with her shoes or anything else, but

stood by as she cried into the pillow and finally drifted off to

sleep. When he thought she wouldn't stir, he turned his back

on her and returned to the bed.

He was tired enough to sleep himself, and would soon, but

for right now he needed to make sure that Tanner remained

quiet for Stacy. He had tremendous peace that Tanner was

going to come out of this and be fine, but Stacy would be of no

use to anyone if she continued as she was. An hour later Price

came to relieve him, and with Stacy and Tanner still sleeping,

Brandon left that room to find his own rest.

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Another two days passed before Tanner's fever broke and

he awakened. Brandon sat beside him, holding Stacy's Bible

open to the book of Luke. It took a moment before he felt

Tanner's eyes on him.

"Welcome back," Brandon spoke softly.

Tanner licked his lips. "How many days?"

"About six."

"Stacy." It wasn't stated as a question, but Brandon knew

that it was.

"She just went down to get something to eat. I can send

Price for her."

Tanner's head moved on the pillow. "I won't be able to stay

awake that long."

"All right. Do you remember what happened?"

Tanner's eyes had slid shut, but he still answered "Yes. It

could happen to anyone, Hawk."

Brandon's relief was indescribable. "Be that as it may, I am

sorry, Tanner."

Tanner didn't answer then, but Brandon watched his hand

lift slightly on the cover and knew that he'd been understood

and forgiven.

"Did you read to me while I was unconscious?"

"Yes, every day, from the Bible."

Tanner continued to watch her. "You said something

about the wind"

Stacy thought a moment. "That was from Psalm 135-It

s a

psalm that praises God for His power and provision with the

way He brings forth the wind, rain, and lightning."

Stacy waited for a cynical look to cross his face, but it

didn't happen.

"Did you pray for me too?"

"Constantly," she told him.

"Thank you, sweetheart."(

With that, Tanner's eyes closed, but Stacy didn t move. She

sat holding his hand long after it went limp in her grasp.

"Would you like some more?" Stacy asked, holding a cup of

strong beef broth for Tanner. He'd sipped half of it, but Stacy

could see that he was flagging.

"No." The duke lay back, feeling rather spent. "I'm going

to sleep for a while. I hate this weakness," he commented. It

was the evening of his first day awake, but Tanner evidently

believed he should have been able to jump out of bed from the

start.

Stacy smoothed the hair from his forehead and then

leaned to kiss his brow. When she sat back, Tanner reached for

her hand and searched her eyes with his own.

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stacy saw brandon, sunny, rand, and chelsea to the

door. They had come to see Tanner that morning and stayed

for lunch.

Two more days had passed, but he was still feeling very

weak. The entire situation made him testy and frustrated.

Stacy was thankful that the visit from friends had worked to

take his mind off himself for a short time.

Stacy was finding that Tanner wasn't the easiest patient,

but she didn't complain. She had been very pleased to see the

Hawkesburys and the Gallaghers, as their presence offered

something new to her convalescing charge. He'd tried to get

out of bed twice but simply couldn't manage it. At those times

the staff cleared out because he was nearly impossible to be

around.

Nothing was right. The bed was too hard and then too

soft. His food was too hot and then too cold. Stacy had never

seen him this way, but she weathered it all without so much as

a word of protest. She knew it was nothing personal; he was

simply frustrated over being kept down.

Some of his ire had cooled during and after his visit with

friends, but by the evening he was his old cantankerous self.

He had complained to Stacy no less than five times about his

dinner, but she still said nothing, only fixed things the way he

wanted them and continued to eat her own meal.

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"Will you stop treating me like a baby!" Tanner finally

snapped at her. Stacy's fork stopped halfway to her mouth.

"I'm not treating you like a baby, Tanner," she said reasonably.

"Yes, you are!" he insisted in a foul humor. "You have this

tolerant look on your face as though you were dealing with

Drew and just waiting for him to get over his mood."

"Tanner." Stacy's voice was still calm. "I know you don't

care to be in that bed, but I'm not treating you like a child"

"Yes, you are."

Stacy sighed gently. "If Drew acted as you are, I'd put him

across my knee. So you can see that you're not being treated

like a child or you'd be feeling the pain of it this instant."

Suddenly they both smiled That small example of just

how self-centered Tanner was acting snapped the tension that

had built.

It was just what they both needed. The meal was finished

on a lighter note, and Stacy felt for the first time in days that she might be getting her old Tanner back. She was well

pleased with this, but the best was yet to come, and it would

happen the very next afternoon.

"This letter is from Noel and Elena," Stacy told him. "They