Heart's Content

Part Fifty-Seven

{'Miranda' by John William Waterhouse from Wikimedia Commons}

The haze of loss remained thick upon Genevieve and she struggled constantly to find her way through the confusion, fear, and grief that she felt. Her appetite was inconstant and hunger was just as quick to strike her as it was to abandon her to gasping sobs that soon found her hidden back beneath her bed clothes. So much of her time was spent awake that she wasn't sure if she slept at all and the days and nights merged in such a way that she was uncertain of how much time had even passed. She hardly left the room that was afforded her and never set a single foot outside.

Her continued reclusiveness concerned Laura and Mary, but they had been given little direction in regards to how they should treat her. In the note Nathaniel sent ahead of his arrival when he had first returned to Esece, he had simply stated that they were to prepare a room for his guest and nothing more. It had been a surprise that his guest was a woman, but what was even more surprising was the absence of attention or even consideration that he paid her beyond seeing to her accommodations. None of the caretakers of Nathaniel's property had seen the two together even once. Nathaniel dined alone at every meal and Genevieve's meals were brought to her room. What was even more puzzling for them was that the Captain never even asked after her.

"Captain Giullero?" Mary knocked gently on the open door of Nathaniel's study where he was busily shuffling through papers and selectively inserting them into a leather envelope for transport, "pardon the intrusion but it is in regards to Miss Sembroline."

"Yes?" He didn't look up from his work and continued moving about his study, selecting a few scrolls of paper that were inserted into diamond shaped cubbies along one side of the room, "what is it?"

The Montrose family who looked after Nathaniel's household consisted of Mary, her daughter Laura, and her husband Warrick who tended the grounds and acted as Nathaniel's driver. There was also Danny Laramie who helped Warrick with his work and was responsible for other odd jobs as Nathaniel required -- it was respectable and even expected for them not to get involved in whatever was going on between Nathaniel and Genevieve but as Mary and Laura noticed that the young woman's complexion had become wan and haggard and her frame thin and frail, they decided it would be best to intervene rather than allow Genevieve to waste away in darkness.

"'Tis her health, I'm afraid," Mary spoke cautiously and remained at the door as she watched Nathaniel tuck some of the rolled parchment into leather tubes after he had examined them, "she appears to be declining and I wonder what would you have me do?"

"Declining?"

"Yes, sir -- her health."

"I see... well I am sure 'tis nothing serious." He finished packing up his belongings into a single leather messenger bag and left the room, passing Mary in the doorway, "she was in good health when we arrived."

"I beg your pardon sir, but that was several weeks ago," Mary followed behind him on his path to the front door, "she barely eats and has rarely left her room. Shall I send for a doctor?"

"Yes, yes. Whatever you think is best," Mary collected his coat from the rack near the door and assisted him in putting it on before he retrieved his hat from a nearby shelf and donned it as well, "I leave her in your capable hands."

He gave her nothing more than an encouraging smile before he exited the house and closed the door behind him. He was so aloof to Genevieve's circumstances that Mary had to wonder why he would have invited someone to stay in his home when he evidently cared for them so little. The motivations behind his decision weren't a burden she needed to concern herself with, Genevieve was her concern at the moment and while she had suggested sending for a doctor to treat her, Mary wasn't exactly certain that a doctor was what Genevieve truly needed.