“You stay quiet and conserve your energy,” he said, his voice rough with fear.

Mrs. Stubbs stepped forward with a small bowl in her hands. “Here is the pomatum, my lord. We need to apply it to the burns and then wrap her hands in a bandage.”

Charles looked at the sticky mixture dubiously. “What is in that?”

“One beaten egg and two spoonfuls of sweet oil, my lord.”

“And you're certain this will work?”

“It is what my mother always used, my lord.”

“Very well.” Charles sat back and watched as the housekeeper gently applied the mixture to Ellie's splotchy skin, then wrapped her hands in strips of thin linen. Ellie held her neck and shoulders stiffly, and he could tell she was trying not to cry out from the pain.

God, it broke his heart to watch her like this.

A small commotion arose in the doorway, and he turned to see Judith, closely followed by Claire and Helen. “We heard noise,” Helen said, breathy from having run through the house. “Aunt Cordelia was screaming.”

“Aunt Cordelia is always screaming,” Judith said. Then her eyes fell on Ellie and she asked, “What happened?”

“She burned her hands,” Charles replied.

“How?” Claire asked, her voice oddly scratchy.

“The jam,” he answered. “She—” He turned to Ellie, hoping that she might forget about some of the pain if he included her in the conversation. “How the hell did this happen?”

“The pot,” she gasped. “It was so silly of me. I should have noticed it wasn't where I left it.”

Helen stepped forward, knelt down, and placed a comforting arm around Ellie's shoulders. “What do you mean?”

Ellie turned to her new cousin. “When we set the jam to cook…we wanted it at low heat. Remember?”

Helen nodded.

“It must have been moved closer to the firebox. I didn't notice.” She stopped and swallowed down a cry of pain as Mrs. Stubbs pressed one of the bandages into place and began work on the other hand.

“Then what happened?” Helen asked.

“The handles were hot. It surprised me and I dropped the pot. When it hit the floor…” Ellie squeezed her eyes tightly, trying not to remember that awful moment when the purple liquid was everywhere, and then it was on her skin, and the burning sensation was awful, so awful.

“That's enough,” Charles ordered, clearly sensing her distress. “Helen, remove Claire and Judith from the kitchen. They don't need to witness this. And see to it that a bottle of laudanum is brought to Ellie's room.”

Helen nodded, took her daughters' hands, and left the room.

“I don't want laudanum,” Ellie protested.

“You don't have any choice. I refuse to stand by and do nothing to ease your pain.”

“But I don't want to sleep. I don't want to…” She swallowed and looked up at him, feeling more vulnerable than she had in her entire life. “I don't want to be alone,” she finally whispered.

Charles leaned down and dropped a feathery kiss on her temple. “Don't worry,” he murmured. “I won't leave your side. I promise.”