Freeing Ebony

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

“Sorry to disturb you,” Little J said awkwardly as she came over to Henry with her stethoscope ready. She place the end piece on Henry’s chest and proceeded to listen to his heart. “Good, good,” she reported. She pulled a pair of scissors from the front pocket of her apron and then cut away the bandages.

“Little J, in all seriousness, can I still die from this?” Henry asked, his happy tone from before vanished. Little J meticulously removed the bandage covering his stitches and Ebony saw the sewn wound for the first time. She was surprised at how neat it was. The incision was seven or eight inches in length and tied together with neat, black stitches. The scar itself was very red but the surrounding skin looked quite normal.                

“Don’t talk like that, Henry.” Emilia hushed him, coming into the room with Henry’s father by her side. “You will be perfectly alright.” She tenderly touched his face while Little J inspected his wound.

“The truth is that you are still susceptible to infection which can result in death,” Little J told Henry firmly. Ebony thought she looked as though she were trying to hold in her emotions. It couldn’t be easy on her to keep a level head while her brother was in danger. “But this looks very good so far. I’m happy with your progress.” She checked his forehead for fever but didn’t say anything so Ebony hoped that meant his temperature was normal.

Emilia looked up to Ebony and smiled warmly. “I am sorry about how we were downstairs. I’ll introduce you properly now. This is my husband, Sebastian,” she said, gesturing to the handsome, older man at her side.

“It’s good to meet you, Miss Seaver, we’ve heard so much about you. We’ll have to hear you sing sometime soon.” Sebastian bowed his head to her politely.

Ebony blushed a little. “Thank you, milord,” she said bashfully. Eventually she’d like to attend an audition or two to get back on stage but that would be far in the future. Henry’s health and seeing Celeste would remain her top priorities.

“Come in, all of you.” Emilia motioned for the rest of the family to file into the small hospital room. Henry smirked as everyone began to peer at Ebony and Henry. What exactly had he been saying about her? “Kitty, my eldest daughter, and her husband, the Admiral of the Fleet, William.” She gestured to the brunette daughter and her handsome husband. “My youngest daughter Annie and her husband Reverend Joseph Preston.” Annie was the daughter who looked most like her mother. She had the same light hair and dark eyes. “We’re a large brood, but we’ve always room for one more.”

Ebony was a little taken aback. She’d never been welcomed anywhere before. And even though Henry’s wounds had been a result of his mission to save her they were still kind to her.

“It’s so lovely to know all of you,” she said sincerely.

“Are you at all hungry?” Kitty asked her. “Because I am and no offense but you look like you haven’t eaten in a while and you’re making me feel rotund. Let’s leave Little J to take care of Henry.”

Ebony self-consciously looked down at her hands and wrists and agreed with Kitty. They were quite skeletal. And she was quite hungry. She hadn’t eaten in two days. At some point her stomach was going to start eating itself. “I am quite hungry,” she admitted.

“It’s settled. Mama, we’ll go to Ethridge,” Kitty told Emilia. She came forward and placed a kiss on Henry’s forehead. “Get better or I’ll have one of my famous tantrums right in your ear,” she threatened.

Henry chuckled but then tensed. Clearly laughing was out of the question for someone healing from abdominal surgery. “You will come back, won’t you?” he asked.