Charles swallowed and looked around the kitchen. Surely someone would know what to do, how to make her pain go away. It killed him to hear her whimpers, to feel the way her body shuddered. “Shhh, Ellie,” he said in his most soothing voice. “Look, the jam is washing away. See?”

She looked down at her hands in the water, and Charles immediately wished he hadn't asked her to. Her skin was a bright and angry red where the jam had washed off.

“Get me more ice,” he barked at no one in particular. “The water is growing too warm.”

Mrs. Stubbs stepped forward even as three maids scurried to the icehouse. “My lord, I'm not certain that you have chosen the best course of action.”

“The jam was still boiling hot. I had to cool it down.”

“But she's shaking.”

He turned to Ellie. “Does it hurt as much?”

She shook her head. “I can hardly feel anything.”

Charles bit his lower lip. He wasn't at all certain as to the best way to treat a burn. “Very well. Perhaps we should get you bandaged.”

He allowed her to lift her hands from the bucket, but it was only ten seconds before she was whimpering in pain again. He plunged her hands back into the water just as the maids returned with ice. “Something about the cold water eases her pain,” he told Mrs. Stubbs.

“She can't stay there forever.”

“I know. Just another minute. I want to be sure.”

“Would you like me to prepare a special burn pomatum for her?”

Charles nodded and returned his attention to Ellie. He held her tightly and placed his lips on her ear, whispering, “Stay close to me, darling. Let me pull the pain out of you.”

She nodded.

“Take a deep breath,” he instructed. As she did so, he looked back up to Mrs. Stubbs and said, “Get someone to clean this up. I don't want to see it. Throw it all away.”

“No!” Ellie burst out. “Not my jam!”

“Ellie, it's just jam.”

She turned her face to his, her eyes clearer than they'd been since she'd been burned. “I've been working all day on it.”

Charles breathed an internal sigh of relief. If she could focus on the damned jam, maybe she could pull her mind away from the pain.

“What is going on here?” came an awful screech.

He looked up to see his aunt Cordelia. Good God, this was all they needed. “Someone get her out of here,” he muttered.

“Has she been burned? Has someone been burned? For years, I have been warning all of you about the fire.”

“Will someone remove her from the kitchen?” he said more loudly.

“The fire will consume us all.” Cordelia began waving her arms wildly in the air. “All of us!”

“Now!” Charles roared, and this time two footmen appeared to escort his aunt from the room. “Good God,” he muttered. “The woman is completely unhinged.”

“She's harmless,” Ellie said shakily. “You told me so yourself.”