Somerset, England  -  1845    The sound of men's hushed voices filtered into Catherine's consciousness. At first she couldn't make out their words, then slowly they began to make sense.
    "Her condition is serious," one of the men said, concern in his tone. "I won't know everything until she comes around."
    Another man huffed angrily. "You don't recognize her either, do you?"
    "No," the first answered. "I've never seen her before. You say she claimed someone was trying to kill her?"
    "Not that I believe a word of it," said the second man with great disdain.
    "Well, something convinced that young woman to leap from a cliff."
    "Bah," the second said. "Money is what she was after." Catherine couldn't help but hear the bitterness in his voice. Fear gripped her. Perhaps he wouldn't help her, then. He may just send her back to her uncle.
    The first man speaking cut into her thoughts. "Not all women are bad, James. Just because one of them wronged you-"
    "Enough," the second man said, his voice raising a bit. "As soon as she awakens and tells me her name," he continued, lowering his voice again, "I'll send for her family to come and get her."
    At this, Catherine sat bolt upright in bed, inhaling sharply at the sudden force of pain overcoming her. It felt as if someone had taken a sword and impaled her through her lungs, while at the same time knocking her over the head with a hammer.
    She lay back down, panting shallowly, attempting to catch her breath.
    The man she recognized as the first she'd heard was at her side in an instant. "Lie down." He reached for a glass on the bedside table, adding something from a small brown bottle before helping her drink it.
    She looked into kind brown eyes, silently pleading with him to take away the pain.
    He seemed to understand. "Try to relax, my dear," he said, stroking her hair back from her forehead. "Lie as still as you can. I've given you some laudanum. It will only be a moment."
    After what seemed an eternity, she took her first full breath. "My shoulder," she groaned, trying to escape the pain.
    The doctor clucked his tongue and shook his head. "I was afraid of that. I'll need to wrap it."
    As the doctor worked on her, she noticed for the first time the other man she'd heard in the room.  He was assessing her silently, his face like stone and his blue eyes cold as ice. What had happened to this man that had turned him so angry?
    "Sir," she said to him through gritted teeth as she endured the pain of the doctor's ministrations. "I must ask you not to look for my family. It would surely mean my death."
    The man said nothing for a moment, only stared at her. "It is difficult for me to believe your own family would wish you dead. More likely you've come here under some pretense to gain my wealth."
    She jerked forward and flinched in pain. "Please, sir. I don't know what you mean. I don't even know who you are."
    He rolled his eyes. "I find that hard to believe."
    She was finding his arrogance grating, but knew she would have to depend on him for the time being, until she was recovered. "I promise you, I want nothing from you. Only a place to stay until I'm healed." She studied his face for any sign of compassion. For a moment she thought she saw something flicker in the blue depths of his eyes, but couldn't be certain. The laudanum was beginning to take hold. "Please."
    He shook his head and paced to the window. He said nothing at first, then turned back to her. "If you'll tell me your name, I'll let your family know where you are."
    She lifted her chin. "I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot do that."
    His brows drew together and jaw flexed. "Then I shall place an advertisement in the paper, letting them know that a young woman was found."
    "If you do, I shall leave here now, broken bones or no."
 The doctor cut into their exchange. "I wouldn't recommend that, my dear."
    "If I do not, then I will be dead."
    She heard the other man's snort of disbelief. "You are a fool woman to suggest such a thing. If anything happened to you now, you're family would demand a sizeable sum. I refuse to pay for your foolishness."
    "James," the doctor said, warning in his voice. "This woman is in no condition to be moved. Even if you did find her family, she would need to stay here for at least another four weeks."
    "Four weeks!" the man nearly bellowed.
    Catherine lay back on the bed now that the doctor had finished with her. "Please, doctor," she managed before drifting off to sleep. "Don't let him reveal my presence."
    With the doctor's reassuring pat to her cheek, she lay back and fell asleep.
    "Four weeks," James said miserably.
    Dr. Woolrich turned to him with a scowl. "And she'll need your attention, James. The laudanum will need to be administered at specific times, as well as keeping her calm so she can recover."
    James tried to push away the sinking feeling in his chest. "You're telling me to keep quiet, aren't you?"
    The doctor's face looked concerned as he ran a hand through his gray hair. "I don't know if she's telling the truth," he said, piling things back into his black case. "But what harm can it do to keep it to yourself for awhile? She has to be here anyway."
    James paced the room, scowling at the beautiful young woman lying on the bed. "I don't have time for this and you well know it. I've properties to look after, tenants, mines. What am I supposed to do about those?"
    The doctor smiled knowingly. "I've been telling you for ages you needed some time off. Now is as good a time as any."
    James looked from the doctor to the girl. He couldn't just hand her over in any case, not without getting to the bottom of matters. "All right," he sighed. "Give me my instructions."
    The doctor smiled, his eyes twinkling in delight. Scribbling quickly on a piece of parchment, he handed him a bottle of laudanum with it. "Just a few drops into some water for the pain."
    James turned the small brown bottle over in his hand. "I'm no good at playing nursemaid."
    "It'll do you some good. Perhaps this girl is a blessing in disguise."
    "Blessing, my foot," he grumbled, watching the doctor walk out the door.
    He turned back to look at the girl. Four weeks. Blast it all.
To be continued