Page 87 of The Scarred Duke's Bride
Why did I not make sure to take her home myself? What was I thinking?
But he knew what he had been thinking. He had been more concerned with not seeing her leave him forever than making sure she got home safely.
What a useless husband I am. She will be better off when she is rid of me.
He arrived at the door of the guest room to find his mother and the local physician consulting. “What is happening?” he asked.
His mother looked him up and down, seemingly unimpressed with his disheveled appearance. “Mr. Stein has examined your wife. He says she took a bad knock to the head.”
“But never fear,” Mr. Stein broke in, “the baby is quite all right.”
Eric felt the ground shift beneath his feet and had to look down to check that the floor was not moving. “I beg your pardon?” he whispered breathlessly.
“The baby is fine, Your Grace,” Mr. Stein repeated.
There were spots in front of his eyes, and Eric feared that he might just faint. “H-how is she?” he whispered faintly.
“The Duchess?” Mr. Stein asked. Eric found that he really did not like the man.
“Yes, the Duchess. My wife.”
“She is still knocked out. Of course, we have to watch her closely, but for now, we have done what we can for her. We just have to wait for her to wake up— if she does.”
“What do you meanif?”
The physician shrugged. “Head wounds are unpredictable. We just cannot be sure of anything. But as far as I can see, she’s doing well. Her color is healthy, and she’s breathing well. She has had no paroxysms. So, I am cautiously optimistic.”
Eric made a frustrated sound and pushed past the physician. He opened the door to the bedroom and rushed inside, coming to an abrupt stop as he caught sight of Freya. He took a deep shuddering breath, noting that Freya was just as pale as the white pillow she lay on. There was a darkening bruise on the side of her head, and one eye was swollen shut. She looked as if she had been beaten up.
Eric made a sound of distress as he went down on his knees by the bed and took hold of her hand. He pressed his face into her hand, trying his best not to burst into tears. He wanted to apologize profusely for how he acted and beg her to be all right, but he was aware of his audience by the door.
He heard the door close and looked around to see that he was alone with Freya.
“Oh my God, why did this happen to you?”
She lay so still that Eric was honestly afraid. He did not want to think that she could die, that she would leave him alone. He put his hands on her belly, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the baby?”
He recalled the last conversation in painful detail, gleaning the answer for himself.
“I understand. If it were I, and you were saying such things while I knew I carried your child, I would have left too. Without a word. How can you ever forgive me? I hope you don’t. I don’t deserve forgiveness.”
He put his head in his hands and let the tears fall. He couldn’t recall any other time in his life when he had felt this miserable. Not even after he woke up and realized that he would live his life in pain and that he looked like a monster.
“Please God, please let her wake up. I will do anything. Just don’t let her die.”
Suddenly the door burst open, and Isabella was there, her face looking stricken and tear-streaked. “Freya!” she cried with despair and fell to her knees.
Eric wanted to tell her to stop being so melodramatic but only because her distress was feeding his. He wanted to roll around on the floor too and scream and cry. But he was a man, so he had to always maintain his composure.
“Isabella,” he said tiredly, “you can stop now. It will do her no good for you to be wailing and gnashing your teeth. We must be strong for her. She needs us now more than ever.”
Isabella instantly fell silent, sniffing loudly as she walked slowly towards the bed, her eyes on her sister. “Where did she go? Why didn’t she tell me she was leaving? What’s going on?”
Eric shook his head. “It’s my fault. I told her we could separate. I assumed that she would stay here until morning and then you would go back to your home. I didn’t expect her to just leave in the middle of the night.”
Isabella was looking at him with horror. “You told her you would separate? But why?”
