The Bride Price (27 page)

Christine sat with Sophie in the back of the
wagon as Stephen maneuvered it back to the house. Once he set the
brake, Christine held her head as Andrew lifted Sophie and carried
her through the front door, yelling for Nona. Stephen followed
close behind with his medical bag.

“Oh, no. Drew, what happened?” Nona bustled
into the foyer.

“Samson kicked Sophie and she won’t wake
up.”

Nona pointed to the stairs. “Please take her
up to her bedroom. It’ll be more comfortable to examine her
there.”

Andrew gingerly carried his burden up the
stairs and entered Sophie’s bedroom. After he laid her on her bed,
he stepped outside so that Stephen could examine her. Stephen
poured water from the pitcher into the bowl and found a soft cloth.
Christine loosened her clothing and then stepped back. Stephen laid
the cool, wet cloth on her forehead, making sure not to put any
pressure on her bruised temple.

Rummaging in his medical bag, he located the
smelling salts and Sophie jerked when he waved them under her nose.
Nona entered the room with fresh water steeped in ice, just as
Sophie tried to push Stephen’s hand away.

“Sophie. I need you to wake up for me. Can
you hear me?” Stephen lifted her into the sitting position.

“Sweepy. Want to sweep,” Sophie slurred.

Christine helped Stephen get Sophie up and
off the bed as she called for Andrew to help. Stephen lifted her
arm and settled it around his neck so that he could steady her.
“Sophie, you need to stand up. Can you try for me please?”

Andrew rushed through the door and moved his
sister aside in order to assist Stephen.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

Sophie slowly slid off the bed as Stephen and
Andrew held her from each side. She was confused, her head hurt,
and she felt sick to her stomach. The men lowered her onto the
chest at the end of the bed.

“Gonna be sick,” Sophie rasped.

Christine grabbed the bowl and put it under
her chin. Just in time.

She rubbed sore eyes. “I’m so tired. What
happened? I want to sleep.”

“Samson kicked you and you have been
unconscious. It’s important to stay awake. Can you do that for me?”
Stephen’s voice was soothing and brother-like.

“Samson kicked me? He wouldn’t do that. What
happened?” Sophie slurred.

“He got spooked. He didn’t do it on purpose.”
Andrew squeezed her shoulder. “Sophie? Sophie, wake up. You can’t
go to sleep.”

Stephen picked her up again and he and Andrew
started moving her around the room. Sophie stumbled. “But I’m so
tired.”

Andrew gripped her waist tighter. “I know you
are, but we need to keep you moving.”

As the men continued to walk Sophie around
the room, Christine made her answer questions. She became lucid
about fifteen minutes into their little exercise session and was
also able to hold herself up. Stephen took a moment to take another
look at her and felt that the danger had passed, however, she was
informed she needed to stay awake for the next four to five hours
to be sure.

“Can I at least lie down? My head is
throbbing.” Sophie grimaced.

“You may lie down, but don’t sleep.” Stephen
leaned forward. “Do you understand?”

Sophie nodded slightly, then groaned at the
motion.

“I’ll sit with her, Dr. Paxton. Perhaps we
can sit in the parlor. That way there will be noise to help keep
her awake,” Christine suggested.

Stephen paused briefly before nodding. “All
right.”

The men helped Sophie down the stairs and
into the parlor. Stephen got her situated on the sofa and went to
find her something to drink.

“I’ll check on Samson.” Andrew left
quickly.

Stephen returned with hot tea and a couple of
cookies, not happy with Sophie’s dazed appearance, despite
Christine’s vigilance. “Sophie, you need to wake up.”

Sitting up slightly, she rasped, “I’m awake.
I’m awake.”

“I have some tea and cookies for you.”
Stephen held a cookie out to her.

One hand went to her mouth, the other to her
stomach at the thought. “I don’t know if I could eat anything. My
stomach is churning.”

“I’m sure it is but I’d like you to try
please.”

“Your bedside manner sucks,” she retorted.
Stephen didn’t comment as he handed her the tea and stood guard
while she took a sip. She took a small bite of one of the cookies
but pushed the uneaten portion away with a grimace. “Where is
Samson now?”

Stephen set down the discarded teacup and
cookie. “Andrew went to find out. He bolted after he kicked you and
we’re not sure where he ran off to.”

Sophie grabbed his arm. “They won’t hurt him,
will they? They understand it wasn’t his fault, right?”

Placing his hand gently on hers, Stephen
smiled. “Yes, Sophie, I’m sure they understand. They will put him
back in his stall and you can visit him as soon as you’re feeling
up to it.”

Sophie nodded and went back to her tea. She
and Christine sat in the parlor and talked for over two hours.
Michael and Nona checked on her periodically but for the most part,
they left her to rest.

* * *

Andrew returned with Miriam for an early
dinner and Sophie asked Stephen to stay as well. She knew Christine
would never ask him and wanted to help in her own way.

“How’s Samson?”

“He’s well, Sophie. Your pet is back in his stall,”
Andrew assured her.

Sophie raised an eyebrow. “My pet?”

Andrew chuckled. “That’s what the men have begun to
call him.”

“Funny.” Sophie rolled her eyes.

“Which is
why
Jimmy and Frank spent four hours
tracking him down and coaxing him back to the barn.”

“Really?”

Andrew smiled and her heart swelled. She adored
Samson, and it would appear others had noticed and taken special
care to make sure he was safe. Sophie, feeling decidedly better
despite a nasty headache, needed people to stop hovering.

The nausea and sleepiness having finally subsided,
she convinced Christine to take a walk with Stephen, and Miriam and
Nona insisted she rest before dinner, so she reluctantly made her
way upstairs.

As she walked through the foyer, she heard a knock on
the door and reached to open it.

“What happened to your head, Sophie?” Jamie
growled. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Sophie, answer me, please.”
He walked in and quietly closed the door.

“Maybe if you’d been here, you wouldn’t need
to ask,” she snipped.

“Sophie, don’t be difficult. I want to know
what happened to your head.” She burst into tears and he pulled her
close as tears flowed unchecked down her face. “Sweetheart,” he
whispered. “Tell me.”

She gave a halfhearted shrug. “Samson kicked
me.”

Jamie cupped her face in his hands and leaned
down so that he was nose to nose with her. “What do you mean,
Samson kicked you? How did that happen?”

She pulled back slightly and took a deep
breath. “He got spooked while I was walking him—”

“Why were you walking him alone, Sophie?”
Jamie growled.

Sophie stomped her foot. “Because you weren’t
here!”

He dragged his hands down his face.

“Anyway, he reared. When he came back down,
his hoof grazed my head.”

Jamie scowled. “Who spooked him?”

“I don’t know.”

He continued to stare at her.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she
muttered.

“Did you lose consciousness?” She lowered her
head without answering, but he tipped her chin back up with his
finger. “Sophie Jane Wellington Ford, answer me. Did you lose
consciousness?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “Yes, I lost
consciousness. But I’ve been forced to stay awake for the past
three hours. Dr. Paxton was out at the arena when it happened, and
Andrew and Christine have been hovering.”

Jamie frowned. “Maybe you should be in bed,
resting.”

“But you just got home.”

“I’ll stay with you tonight.” He slipped her
hair away from her temple. “This does not look good. What did Dr.
Paxton say?”

“That I had to stay awake.”

Jamie smiled gently. “Anything else?”

She frowned and then shook her head. “Nothing
else.”

“Okay. Let’s get you up to bed, love. I’ll
let everyone know where you are.” He wrapped an arm around her
waist and led her upstairs.

She pushed open her door and took a deep
breath. “Oh! Going to be sick.” Pulling away from Jamie, she only
just made it to the pitcher.

“Better?” Jamie grasped her around the waist
and stroked her back. When she nodded, he lifted her and laid her
on the bed. Gently sweeping her hair away from her face, he leaned
down and kissed her forehead. “Sweetheart, you’re very warm. Are
you feeling all right? Can I get you anything?”

Staring up at him, she shook her head. “I’m
so tired. Sleep.”

Jamie sat back. “I don’t think you should
sleep, sweetheart.”

“I’m hot.”

He rubbed her cheek and sat up further.
“Sophie?”

Her words slurred and her eyes closed as she
whispered, “Jams, tired, sweep.”

“Baby, you need to stay awake.”

Her eyes fluttered and then closed.
“Sweep.”

“Sophie?” No response. “Sophie, you need to
wake up.” Still no response. Alarm hit him as he laid her down
gently before leaving her to find either Stephen or Michael,
rushing downstairs. Stephen had already left, so Jamie made his way
to Michael’s office. “Dr. Wade?”

Michael looked up from his desk.

“Sophie’s upstairs in her room and I can’t
wake her.”

Michael grabbed the smelling salts and led
the way to her room. Neither one of them could wake her with verbal
stimulation, so Michael put the vinegar under her nose. No
response. “Lieutenant, I think this is much worse than we
originally thought. Her temperature appears to be rising and she’s
unresponsive. We must get her fever down and try to get her to wake
up.”

Jamie went to work immediately. He started to
unbutton her jacket. Michael left to find Nona, who arrived quickly
with Betty in tow and immediately shooed him out of the room. He
was left in the hall pacing and praying. Terrified she wouldn’t
wake up. It must have only taken a few minutes for the door to
open, but to Jamie, it seemed like hours before Nona stood in the
open doorway.

“She’s resting, dear. We’re going to get ice,
so you may sit with her if you like.”

Jamie went back into Sophie’s room and sat
down on her bed. Laying his hand on her cheek, he felt the heat,
and as he leaned over to kiss her forehead, tears filled his eyes.
The thought of her in pain was almost his undoing.

Michael returned, and Jamie coughed in an
effort to clear his emotion. They went to work, laying ice soaked
linens over her body and changing them every twenty minutes. On the
third change, she started shivering.

“This is a good sign,” Michael said.

Within minutes, Sophie began thrashing
around, trying to take off the strips of cloth. “Jamie, don’t leave
me.”

Tears streamed down her face and she appeared
to be in the midst of a dream. Her breathing was labored, which
concerned Michael, so Jamie climbed onto the bed and pulled her
into his arms. “Shh, Sweetheart, I’m here. I’m not going
anywhere.”

Sophie began to scream, “Jamie, please don’t
go. I promise, I’ll be nice, just don’t leave me again. Jamie,
where are you? Oh, God, Jamie, NO!”

She tried to sit up, but Jamie pulled her
tighter to his chest and whispered, “Sophie, honey, listen to my
voice. I’m right here. I’m not leaving you.”

As Jamie sang quietly to her and stroked her
back, she calmed, so Michael put more cold cloths on her forehead
and arms. Jamie wasn’t prepared to let her go, regardless of the
fact the wet compresses were soaking him.

It took several hours for her fever to drop,
and Jamie was forced to leave her once more so that Nona could
change Sophie’s bedding and nightgown. He hated being relegated to
the hallway and paced in frustration as he waited to be let back
in.

He turned as Andrew limped up the stairs and
stopped briefly. “Lieutenant. What’s happening with Sophie?”

“Her fever spiked and she’s been
unconscious.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow. “Did Nona kick you
out of the room?”

Jamie nodded and sighed.

Just then, Nona opened the door. “Drew, how
are you feeling?” Glancing to his knee, she frowned. “Did you
overuse your leg?”

Andrew shook his head. “I’m fine, Nona, thank
you. How’s Sophie?”

“Michael says she feels cooler, and her
bedding has been changed, which will make her more comfortable, but
she hasn’t woken up yet.”

Relief spread through Jamie as he pushed past
her. “Thank you. Excuse me, Nona.” Jamie walked into Sophie’s room
and over to her bedside. Laying his hand gently on her cheek, he
leaned down and kissed her forehead, grateful that she felt
cooler.

A knock came at the door, and Christine poked
her head inside. “How are you feeling?”

Sophie turned her head toward her voice.
“Much better now, thank you. What are you doing here so late?”

“I was worried about you, so I’m going to
stay here for a few days.” Christine moved further into the room as
she said, “I keep joking with Mama, that maybe I should move in
here. I seem to be here every day as it is.”

Sophie giggled again. “Ow.”

“Sorry,” Christine said, looking guilty. “Can
I get you anything?”

“I’m hungry. Am I allowed to eat
anything?”

Jamie patted her hand. “I’ll check with
Michael, sweetheart. Christine, you stay and visit.” He kissed her
again quickly and then stepped into the hallway. Andrew pushed away
from the wall.

“Lieutenant? I think someone tried to hurt
Sophie.”

“Walk with me.” Jamie motioned towards the
stairs. “What happened?”