Page 54 of Legacy of Succession

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

VICTORIA

I’m thrown into a dimly lit room by the man who swept me off my feet from my father’s vault. The door shuts, and a key turns in the lock. I scramble to my feet and try the handle, but to no avail, I’m locked in.

“Where’s Nicholas?” I shout but get no response. “Let me out!”

Nothing.

I kick the door — however, given that it’s solid oak, it hurts my foot more than it makes any damage, which could be used as a means of escape.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” I jump around holding my sore toe. “Nicholas,” I try again. What the hell is going on? I look around the room that I’m in and realize that it’s my bedroom at Oakfield hall. The secret passages! I run across the room at a hobbling pace but don’t make it to the door before it opens, and William appears. I fling myself into his arms.

“Oh, thank god. We have to go. You know these passages. We’ve got to get out of here. I need to find Nicholas.”

I pull back and look up at him. He’s pale, and he opens and shuts his mouth like a fish, looking for words.

“William. What is it?” My heart sinks.

“Words. They’re funny. Normally, I have loads of them.” He flicks his hand over his hair a few times. His other hand is against the wall and tapping repeatedly. “I can’t find them.”

“William. Is Nicholas alright?” He’s scaring me. I’m fearing the worst, and my legs feel like they’re sinking to the floor in defeat.

“He’s gone.”

“Dead?” I whisper, my voice breaking.

William shakes his head rapidly in the negative, and I suck in a breath of relief.

“Words, William, find them,” he chastises himself.

“It’s alright. I’m here.” I hold the hand that isn’t tapping.

“I wanted my brain to work properly, so I could be good enough to save him. He and you could run away. I’ll be what the Duke wants, but I was made wrong. Miswired and a freak.”

“Hush. There’s nothing wrong with you. I need you to calm down, though, and tell me what’s going on. Come sit on the bed.” I lead the man who’s almost the spitting image of his older brother, except for a bit paler, over to the bed. I settle him down, take hold of his hand, and allow him to tap his comforting rhythm onto my leg.

“Nicholas has gone.” William won’t make eye contact with me. It’s a sign of his condition but also a result of his agitation.

“You said he’s alive? Where’s he gone?”

“Scotland.”

“Scotland?” I question.

“To marry.”

“Marry,” I repeat with dumbfounded shock.

“He chose Elizabeth as his wife — she’s pregnant.”

The walls I’ve built around me, to stay sharp, tumble down. I stand up and pace. My head is suddenly all over the place, fearing the worst.

“Elizabeth’s pregnant.”

“The Duke wants them married as soon as possible.” William still can’t look at me. This time, though, I know it’s because of the shame that he’s feeling for his brother’s actions.

“Elizabeth’s pregnant,” I repeat, and tears start to fall from my eyes. I’ve been played by the society again. Now, I see it was all a game. Nicholas is no different than his father. He warned me he was the devil, and I chose not to listen. I allowed myself to fall in love with him. I’m the biggest idiot on the planet. He was after whomever he could get pregnant first. He never had any intention of changing.

---