Page 59 of The Duke's Stubborn Wallflower
Chapter Twenty
Revelations
Nigel whistled to himself happily as he wandered through the halls of the manor and made his way to his study. Guilt gnawed at him, and he knew that he needed to tell Olivia.She should know the truth.
He glanced at Dandelion, who was happily padding by his side, wagging her tail at him. “If only my life were as easy as yours.”
Dandelion snuffled in answer and let her tongue loll out.
Nigel reached down and stroked her affectionately, earning a tail wag from her. “I know. You’re right. There’s only room for one princess in this house, and I promise that won’t change, even when I’m married.”
Dandelion licked him and scampered away as a bell signalled her to dinner. Nigel laughed and entered his study. To his surprise, there was a fire lit and a figure sat at his desk, clearly waiting for him.
He gasped. He had not expected to find his mother, the Dowager Duchess Glassley here. She glanced over her shoulder and stood as soon as she saw him.
Nigel had inherited her sandy brown hair, her green eyes, and her kind smile. His mother was not a very old woman, but grief had aged her beyond her years. Yet to Nigel, she was one of the kindest and wisest women to have ever lived.
“Mother, it is so wonderful to see you!” Nigel embraced her warmly. “What on Earth are you doing here?”
“Are you not getting married in a few days? Did you really expect me not to come for such a special occasion?” Duchess Glassley shook her head at him, smiling kindly.
“Of course not, I just… well, I suppose I had not expected to see you this evening. I thought perhaps tomorrow at the earliest.” Nigel returned her smile sheepishly. “It really is so good to see you.”
“And you, my darling boy.” His mother looked at him appraisingly. “You look tired; are you not sleeping well?”
“It is nothing. You need not be concerned.” Nigel tried to sound nonchalant.
The Dowager Duchess gave Nigel a frank look. “It has started then.”
Nigel nodded. “At first it was only the sleepwalking. But now…”
Nigel looked at his hand, half expecting to see it shaking, but it was perfectly still. His mother was watching him, searching his body for other telltale signs.
“The palsy and the cramps. They are not constant, but… they have been happening with greater frequency.” Nigel tried to keep the fear from his voice, but it shook as he said the words. “I… I am scared.”
The Dowager Duchess took Nigel’s hands in hers and squeezed them gently. Then she brushed a lock of hair from his face, and he felt her looking for other signs of the curse.
“I… I had so hoped that you would be spared.” Her voice was full of anguish, and it broke Nigel’s heart. “Perhaps there is still time. You have been researching curses since you were barely more than a boy.”
“I do not think it is within my power to break this thing. I had… Well, it does not matter.” Nigel almost told his mother about his cousin’s promise to help him but remembered what Lord Briston had said about not wanting to raise people’s hopes.It iskinder this way — after all, I have heard nothing from him on the subject.
In truth, Nigel had not spoken to his cousin since his engagement had been announced. He had feared that it would be awkward and unkind to see his cousin when he had won the girl.I should try and make things right between us.It seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do.
He broke out of his mother’s grip and moved away, wiping a tear from his face. “Sometimes I worry I am being terribly selfish marrying Olivia.”
“You must care for her a great deal.” The Dowager Duchess voice was soft, a curious mix of what sounded like happiness and sadness.
“I love her. With everything that I am and ever will be, not that that is very much.” Nigel could not keep the bitterness from his voice.God, I would give her the world if I could. I would fight the devil himself if I thought it might spare her the pain she will have to endure.
“Do not say that.” Nigel’s mother moved towards him, her voice full of a familiar motherly sternness. “You are a most wonderful man. Kind, honourable. To be loved with such conviction, that is truly a gift.”
“But what does it matter how much I love her? It does not change anything.” Nigel ran a frustrated hand through his hair, the pain and guilt almost overcoming him. “I tried to stop this.To give her the future she deserves. She should not be bound to my fate. Forced to be with a dying man.”
“I have met Lady Olivia often at Glassley, and while I do not know her well, from what little I do know, I doubt that she would have agreed to marry you unless she also wanted this.” The Dowager Duchess smiled. “And she is a Rokesby, and I am quite sure they are the most headstrong family in the ton.”
Nigel laughed, but his joy was short-lived. He swallowed and could not quite meet his mother’s eyes as he said, “She doesn’t know the truth.”
There was a moment’s pause, and then the Dowager Duchess said, “Then you must tell her.”
