"I told Mother I was fine, and she insisted on this anyway," I said to Doctor Merrick as he stuffed his stethoscope into his case.

"It is always better to be safe than sorry, Master Nate. Over thirty years in this profession has taught me as much, although it is safe to say that, on this occasion, you were right." Doctor Merrick snapped his case shut and unrolled his sleeves. He looked between me and Joseph. "You both appear to be fine."

"Try convincing Mother of that. She's no doubt going to be keeping an annoying close eye on me."

"After the stories I have heard, that is hardly surprising. Perhaps it would be for the best if you didn't go running into any more thunderstorms."

"I have no plans to do so."

Doctor Merrick laughed, taking his case from the floor and making sure he had left nothing behind. "Now, Mr Collins says there is another patient I am to see?"

"Alice will take you to her," Father said, appearing in the doorway of the drawing room. Alice stood behind him and did not say a word. She had been given a task, and that task did not include speaking unless she had to. "I must speak with Nathaniel."

With a slight nod of his head, Doctor Merrick left the room with Alice, leaving Joseph and I alone with Father. I thought Father may send Joseph away as he did not find it proper to scold his son in the company of staff, but he did not. Instead, he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, cutting us off from anyone outside and eliminating any means of escape from the confrontation that was sure to follow.

I glanced at Joseph, who kept his gaze firmly on the ground in front of him. He gripped the bottom of his shirt, which he had yet to tuck back in after Doctor Merrick's examination, and his chest moved a little faster than usual. Everyone in our household, including the staff, knew better than to get on Father's bad side, and this meeting did not come across as a nice one. Father had said he wanted to speak to me about Rebecca, but I did not think he would include Joseph in that meeting.

It may have been true that Joseph knew of Rebecca's existence, but Father didn't know that. I was the only one who knew for certain that Joseph had been aware of Rebecca in the woods. For all Father knew, Joseph had been on a different errand in the middle of the storm and the two of us had just happened upon Rebecca. Whatever Father's reasoning for keeping Joseph in the room might have been, I was determined to make him see reason. Joseph had done nothing wrong.

Father crossed the room, his shoes squeaking on the wooden floor. He took a seat on one of the chairs, not saying a word but refusing to take his eyes off us. The clock ticking loudly on the wall and the sound of our breathing was all I could hear whilst the scent of the flowers on the table filled the room. It would have been possible to cut the tension with a wooden spoon.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Father spoke.

"I want to know everything that happened last night, and I mean everything." He turned to Joseph. "What were you doing in the woods last night?"

Joseph's knuckles turned white as he gripped the bottom of his shirt even tighter. "I-I." I could almost hear Joseph's heart beating in his chest.

"One of the horses knocked the water bucket over," I said, "Joseph went to replace it."

"I wasn't asking you, Nathaniel," Father said sharply. "Tell me the truth."

"I went to find Miss Rebecca, Sir" Joseph's voice was soft, a contrast to Father's. "I knew she was out there, Sir, and I went to find her to get her out of the storm."

"You knew she was out there and you told no one?"

Joseph shook his head. "I wanted to tell Master Nathaniel, Sir, but I couldn't. I should have, I know I should have, but when I tried to I just couldn't find the words, Sir."

"And how have you been keeping her fed all this time? I know you do not get enough time off to purchase food from the village." Father's eye twitched.

"I didn't steal anything, Sir, honest." Joseph's voice shook. "I would take my own supper plate."

"That is as good as stealing, Joseph. That food is not yours to take, nor is it yours to hand out at any opportunity. I trusted you when I took you on Nathaniel's word that you would be good for this household. You assured me that you had a strong work ethic and would follow the rules and expectations we have in place for our servants. You have demonstrated to me that you have no regard for the way I run this household. You have lied, stolen, and harboured a stranger under my nose. That behaviour will not be tolerated."

I could have heard a pin drop.

Joseph took a deep breath, but it was shaky and uncertain, the two of us knowing full well what was to come once the silence had passed. Father had tolerance for very few things, and an untrustworthy servant was not one such thing. More than that, I had been the one to bring Joseph into our household and he had taken him in on my word and my word alone. I promised him that Joseph would be a wonderful asset to the stable hands. I had meant every word, but that had all unravelled.

I looked at Joseph, taking in his pale face, white knuckles, heaving chest, and the silent tears that rolled down his cheeks. Just looking at him sent a wave of anger through my body, whilst a small slither of guilt built at the back of my mind. If I had just sent Joseph back to the stable after we had found Rebecca, he wouldn't be in this situation. Joseph didn't deserve to be dismissed for something so small or to be accused of stealing. It wasn't fair.

"You cannot dismiss him, Father," I said, trying to keep my voice steady and my rising anger in check. It wouldn't do Joseph any good if I lashed out.

"I can do what I wish, Nathaniel. Joseph is under my employment, not yours, and his behaviour has been unacceptable."

"Would you have believed him had he told you about Miss Rebecca?" I said. "You did not believe me when I told you I had spotted her the other day. If Joseph had told you what I had, would you have believed him?"

Father narrowed his eyes at me, his left eye twitching harder. "Whether I believed him does not come into play here. He did not inform anyone of her presence when he first noticed her and instead decided to keep her hidden, stealing from our table, and sneaking around the grounds. Need I remind you that it had been your idea to take Joseph on? You gave me your word that he would be a servant of good standing, and I trusted you. It is clear I made a mistake."

"You cannot punish him for this!" I stood up, clenching my fists at my side. "Joseph did what any decent person would have done and looked after someone who needed help. It would reflect badly on you to dismiss someone who had tried to be helpful and offers a hand to someone. He has been an exemplary staff member for the time we've had him and you cannot dismiss him for one incident! It isn't fair."

Father stood up and before I could even register what he was doing, I felt the back of his hand collide with my cheek. My head snapped sideways, pain erupting on my left side from the collision. I looked up, my chest heaving with anger as I clenched my shaking fists at my side to keep from striking him back. He had struck me in the face before, but even I had to admit that the previous times had been justified. This had not.

"Joseph, return to the stables immediately. I will deal with you later."

Joseph shot to his feet and left the room without a second glance or a need for him to be told twice. Father and I stood facing each other, both of us breathing heavily after our confrontation. His arm was still raised. My check stung, but I tried to ignore it and I refused to let it show on my face. The last thing I needed was for Father to see that he had gotten to me.

Footsteps echoed down the hall along with the low hum of conversation, a male and female voice. Father lowered his right hand and took a step back. I turned my head away from the door so they would not see the red mark that I knew already formed on my cheek. We stood in silence, listening to each other's breathing and the ticking of the clock until the footsteps echoed into the room.

I turned my head a little to see Mother, Alice, and Doctor Merrick emerge. Doctor Merrick had his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, his white hair had become dishevelled, and he nursed a minor wound on his hand. If any of them saw the mark on my cheek, they didn't mention it.

"Well, she's an interesting one, Mr Thorpe," Doctor Merrick said. He removed the handkerchief from his hand to reveal a bite mark. "The good news is that there is nothing seriously wrong with her. She's a little cold, dehydrated, and malnourished, but that is nothing that cannot be fixed with a warm meal and some weak beer."

"Is that everything?" Father's voice was gruff, anger still laced into his words. Alice looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. They widened upon spotting the mark on my face.

"Physically, she has a lot of bruises in various stages of healing, and I'm more than certain that her fingers have been broken in the past and have not healed correctly. My recommendation is that she stays here for a few days to regain her strength and perhaps then you will be able to get more than a few words from her. My biggest concern, though, is what is going on inside her head.

"The smallest of events unsettle her, and she doesn't appear too pleased to be around people, especially older men. The physical we can heal, but the mind will take longer, especially as we are uncertain as to how she ended up in this state in the first place. I do not pretend to know anything about the mind, Sir, but hers is deeply unsettled, and I am worried about what she might do if we expose her to the general population before she is ready."

"So, what are we to do with her? Wait until she heals physically and then send her to an institution for the correct care?"

"In my opinion, institutions are not always the best place and they are certainly not the best place for trauma. No, my recommendation is she stays here until her physical wounds are healed and then we find someone willing to work with her or try to uncover what may have happened to her to end up this way. If we push her too soon, she will only get worse."

"Very well." Although he tried, Father couldn't hide the disdain in his voice at being told what to do by Doctor Merrick. He did not want Rebecca to stay in the house any longer than she had to, and Doctor Merrick was proposing an indefinite stay.

"Thank you, Doctor Merrick," Mother said. "I'm sorry about your hand."

"Not to worry, Mrs Thorpe, it happens." He laughed.

"Allow me to see you out."

Mother gestured to the door, and Doctor Merrick offered a warm smile. The two of them stepped from the room with Father following not long after, although I was more than certain that there was more he wanted to say on the matter. If I had managed to avoid being sent to my aunts beforehand, after our fight I would be lucky not to be on the first carriage to the city come morning.

I knew I had crossed a line by speaking up for Joseph, especially as Father hated to be told that he was making a mistake, but I couldn't stand by and do nothing. Even though I had fought for Joseph to stay, Father would still dismiss him. He had set his mind on something and that would not change at my word. He no doubt blamed me for bringing both Joseph and Rebecca into his house, but I didn't care. I had said what I had to say.

Alice stepped further into the room. She placed her hand on my chin and moved my head to a better angle so she could get a better look at the mark on my cheek. Her thumb lightly brushed over the bottom of the mark and I hissed at the content.

"Sorry," she said. "What happened?"

"Father is going to dismiss Joseph. I tried to stop him, but he backhanded me."

"That was a stupid thing to do, Nate, no matter what Father has planned." She let go of my chin. "You cannot stop him from dismissing Joseph, but you should look out for yourself, too. It is clear Father does not want Miss Rebecca here, and he knows you will be a force to contend with if he tries to have her moved. You cannot risk being sent to London."

"I know; my temper got the better of me."

"Keep it reigned in from now on. You will not be of any help to anyone if you are not here. For now, let's get some ice for that cheek before it turns into a bruise."

I nodded, feeling a lot smaller than I was as my younger sister offered me instructions. She was right, though. Father knew I would go to Doctor Merrick if he tried to move Rebecca before she was ready. I was the only reason she was still in the house, and I couldn't risk him throwing her out.

~~~

A/N - We are back with Chapter Eight! This is one of my favourite chapters to write so I hope you enjoyed reading it *fingers crossed*. 

Questions! Do you think that Mr Thorpe will dismiss Joseph? Was Nate right to stand up to his father? 

Comment below!

Dedication - There is no dedication this week so comment, vote, or interact with the story to earn a dedication!

First Published - November 22nd, 2022