Page 79 of His Haunted Duchess
Frederic pulled on a shirt and a waistcoat, watching with amusement as Philip positioned the pillow with the top poking out.
“That doesn’t look like me at all,” Frederic said. “The proportions are all wrong.”
“You are an invalid.” Philip flipped the blanket, covering a pile of throw pillows. “You are supposed to have odd proportions.”
He went to the door and poked his head out. Frederic slipped on a pair of gloves. He was already beginning to tire. He slowed his movements, deliberate in his preparations in order to conserve his energy. He was going to need every ounce of it. Philip tilted the door shut, holding it just open with his finger.
“It’s all clear,” he whispered. “Take the back exit that leads to the stables. I’ll go to Carlyle and tell him you need rest. Which,” he said, looking accusingly at Frederic, “is true. Then I’ll meet you and help with the horses.”
Frederic clapped him once on the shoulder and limped down the hall. His body felt broken, but his heart was light. He would find her, even if he had to walk the whole way.
In the darkest moments, Caroline wondered if she had ever really been married. The last few months—had they been real? Frederic had been, in parts, but the woman she had been—that she had become—she had left her behind in broken pieces at Highcastle.
Caroline stood, looking into the mirror beside her bed. Her scars stood out against her pale, stained face like the trails of souls limping their way to the underworld, winding their way to pay homage to their queen. She smiled, a little sadly. Persephone had been queen of the dead. She had nothing more to lose. At least they had that in common.
The tears leaked out of her eyes again as they had frequently over the past span of time. She didn’t bother to check them. It was just more effort for her exhausted limbs to dab the salt from her cheeks.
What was she to do? She could live quietly, perhaps, a recluse here in— The faded wallpaper taunted her, speaking slow andcruel stories of long and futile years. She sniffed, choked, and cried.
How long had it been? She did not know. She did not need to know, she told herself, even has her heart pined for— Here, she would be firm. She would teach herself to forget him, to erase his name from her soul.
A set of solid taps echoed through the room. Caroline sighed but wiped her eyes. The taps sounded again.
“Yes?” she asked. Her voice sounded as if she had forgotten the feel of sunshine.
“Are you there, Your Grace?” Winifred’s voice floated through the door. “
Caroline’s back straightened. Broken, she might be, and downcast, certainly—but she was still—at least as far as she knew—a duchess. She rose and unlocked the chamber. Winifred stood outside the door, looking as if a stray dog had swiped one of the pies from the kitchen. Her eyes softened for a moment when she saw Caroline’s teary face but instantly sprang back to resting skeptical.
“Excuse me, Your Grace,” she said. “There’s a visitor here to see you.”
Frederic!Caroline’s heart leapt, but she restrained it. Even if it was her husband, she couldn’t—she wouldn’t see him. It wastoo dangerous for them both. Her heart moaned in complaint, but she ignored it. It was a habit that had to be learned, an appropriate punishment for not having learned it before.
“Who is the visitor?” Caroline asked dully. “I’m not inclined to entertain company at the moment.”
“It’s a lady, Caroline. A lady who—well. You’ll have to see for yourself.”
CHAPTER 24
“Caroline!” Felicity Flounters met her practically at the bottom of the red-carpeted stairs. “How ill you look this morning. Or should I say afternoon?”
Caroline nodded dully. It had taken nearly half an hour of preparation before she felt composed enough to present herself before company. Now, she wondered whether that time had been ill spent.
“I have been out of sorts of late,” she said. “I am only now just recovering.”
Lady Felicity simpered, clad in an effervescent pale pink walking dress and matching spencer. Caroline’s skin prickled uncomfortably.
“And your aunt? Is she not here today?”
“She had an important business engagement and will not return until the afternoon.”
Felicity motioned Caroline towards the front door.
“Do me the honor of walking with me around the estate, won’t you? There’s nothing so good for tears as warm summer air, you know, and I have been told that the grounds are particularly fine this time of year.”
Caroline curtsied.
“I’m not inclined to walk today, Lady Felicity. To tell you plainly, I have felt particularly out of sorts lately and would rather retire to bed.”
