Page 65 of Taken By the Broken Duke
Frances had pretended to switch her loyalties, but it had clearly been a strategy hatched with her mother. A last resort. When it had failed, her natural arrogance had meant it was impossible for her to contain herself. The venom had poured from Frances until her mother ended it with a slap.
The question was, what did they have planned for Juliet?
He left the room, trusting the servants to carry out his orders. Within moments, he was knocking on the door of Mr. Hall's rooms in the servant's quarters.
Entering, he saw Hall lying on a bed against the far wall. His face was pale and drawn. He was raising a brown vial of liquid to his lips.
“Hold fast!” Horatio shouted, rushing forward.
He snatched the vial from Hall’s hands and hurled it to the floor.
“Your Grace. I am happy to see you are well again,” Hall breathed, drily. “I, however, am not. May I ask why you have destroyed the only remedy that seemed to work?”
“Because Doctor Jackton was in the pay of the Godwins to weaken me. This so-called medicine is a drug to achieve that end. They gave you the same thing to keep you from protecting me!”
“But it was doing me good. I felt strong and...” Hall trailed off, eyes going wide, “the blackguards!” he whispered.
“I would wager it is something akin to poppy juice. Promoting a sense of well-being until it has left the body, leaving weakness and devastation in its wake,” Horatio confirmed, “I am still weak as a kitten myself.”
Hall struggled into a sitting position, shaking himself as though to throw off sleep.
“Well then. The Godwins and Doctor Jackton must be removed from the house forthwith.”
“Already done, old friend. Reverend Ainsworth too. It seems he is still jealous and angry from our school days together. He is part of the plot,” Horatio said, grimly.
“What are our next steps, Your Grace?” Hall began, attempting to stand.
Horatio went to him and put a hand to his shoulder, pushing him back to the bed.
“Yournext step is to sweat out Jackton's vile drug, recover your strength, and then take charge of Ravenscourt in my absence.”
“But where are you going, Your Grace?” Hall asked.
“To find Juliet,” Horatio replied. “Frances Godwin hinted that Juliet is vulnerable to their vengeance. I must reach her quickly and protect her from that.”
“Then I will come too...” Hall insisted.
“Your duty is here, old friend. Looking after Ravenscourt. I need a man I can trust here. Get some rest and then resume your duties when you are able.”
“At least take a carriage and a driver,” Hall pressed.
Horatio could not deny the fatigue he was feeling. A brisk walk, one hundred yards long across the castle had drained him. How would a distance of twenty miles affect him? He nodded soberly.
“I will take a driver and one of the coaches. But I will leave now. Do not try to change my mind.”
Hall nodded too, closing his eyes as though fighting his own fatigue.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Horatio watched the countryside roll by.
His driver had been given instructions to deliver him to Wetherby house posthaste. The team of two horses that drew the carriage had been chosen from the strongest of Horatio's stables.
Presently, he sat with his hands atop the cane that he still needed due to the weakness in his legs that grew by the hour. That was to be expected, however, he had been fed a drug that was clearly addictive in nature, forcing him to rely on the doses provided by Doctor Jackton. Now, he was denying himself that drug, and his body was reacting.
It would pass.
Hall had seen men addicted to the juice of the poppy and the sickness that seemed to wash over them when they were denied it. Horatio hoped that the feeling of sickness would pass soonalso. He sensed that it would be inadvisable to face whatever awaited him at Wetherby without his full strength.
