Page 55 of Taming a Beastly Duke
It was another two days before Adelaide could stay awake upon waking from her slumber. During those two days, she spent every moment in which she could fight off sleep waiting for word about or from Marcus. Each time she awoke and there was no word, her deep despondency worsened. She did not know if anyone came to see about her well-being while she slept. However, why had no one left a note about Marcus?
When she was certain she would remain awake, she sat in the chair beside her window, not bothering to dress. She had slept for so many days that she did not know how much time had passed since the constable had dragged her from the manor with Marcus’s wounded eyes following her out of his chambers. She desperately longed to see him. However, with not even a note left for her to indicate the progress of his recovery, she could not know if he had improved at all, or if she had lost him. If she had, she was unsure whether she was ready for such news. Nor could she bear the news that he did not wish to see her.
When Sophia entered her chambers, however, Adelaide hurled herself into the maid’s arms.
“Oh, Sophia,” she said. “What do you know of Marcus? Has he… Is he…?”
Sophia held her mistress tightly, sobbing lightly into her shoulder.
“Miss Barrett, I was worried for you,” she said, pulling away and looking at Adelaide with a relief that only days of fearing the worst can provide. “I am at your service for whatever you need.”
Adelaide shook her head, pushing the maid gently away.
“What news of Marcus, Sophia?” she asked. “I am fine. I must know about Marcus.”
Sophia took a deep breath, her gaze filling Adelaide with cold dread.
“He slips in and out of consciousness,” she said. “One day, he seems to be improving. The next, he does not awaken at all. Mr. Fairfield seems uncertain about the duke’s recovery.”
Adelaide collapsed back into her chair, burying her face in her hands.
“I cannot lose him, Sophia,” she said. “I will perish if he does not survive.”
Sophia embraced her, rocking her gently.
“Come,” she said softly. “Let me draw you a bath. It will surely make you feel better.”
Adelaide opened her mouth to protest, but for the first time in her years as Adelaide’s lady’s maid, Sophia narrowed her brown eyes and pressed her lips together as she shook her head.
“You must regain your strength before you worry about His Grace,” she said firmly. “You cannot help him if you are weak and unwell.”
Adelaide sighed, giving the lady’s maid a gentle smile.
“Very well,” she said, leaning into Sophia’s grasp. “Thank you.”
The bath was invigorating, as she quickly found, the warm, lavender-scented water washing away the grit and stale air of the cell she inhibited,which she was still certain she could feel on her skin and in her hair until Sophia helped her out of the tub. The lady’s maid escorted her back into her chambers after her bath, choosing her favorite green day dress and some diamond encrusted combs to pin up her hair.
“Let us get you feeling beautiful, milady,” she said gently as she began helping Adelaide dress. “The lovelier you look, the better you will feel.”
Adelaide nodded, though she felt less than lovely. She silently allowed her lady’s maid to dress her and pin her hair into an intricate Grecian Knot held together by the combs. When Sophia was finished, she glanced at the looking glass. Her face was pale, and her eyes were shadowed as though she had not slept in a fortnight. However, for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime, she looked a little like her old self.
As she looked in the looking glass, she noticed a piece of paper beneath the door to her chambers. Memories of the warning notes made her heart begin to beat frantically, even as she slowly crossed the room to retrieve it. Her hands trembled so badly that she could not unfold the letter. Sophia took it, looking at her mistress with grave concern.
“Allow me to read it to you,” she said softly with a sweet smile.”
Adelaide nodded, holding onto the door for support. However, as Sophia read the note, Adelaide’s heart stopped.
Come to Marcus’s room at once. It is urgent.
The message was simple and short, yet the meaning was unclear. Did the conciseness of the request mean that Marcus himself had her summoned? Or was the worst happening, and she was being brought there to spend his last moments with him?
It mattered little to Adelaide. She was being invited to Marcus’s chambers, and she would go immediately. She was out the door and down the corridor before Sophia could call after her. She did not stop running until she reached the door to Marcus’s chambers. The door was firmly closed, so she was granted no glimpse of what awaited her inside.
She entered, staring wide-eyed when she saw him standing by the window. His frame was once more imposing, if a little more gaunt than usual, and he appeared to be completely free from the horrible tremors that once consumed him. He turned when he heard her enter, looking at her with wounded eyes. Did he still believe she was guilty of harming him? Had he summoned her there to send her away?
“Adelaide,” he said, breathing her name with a strength she had not heard in too long. Another look into his eyes revealed the same heated intensity she had seen during their night in the library. His face showed evidence of the poison’s ravages, yet his eyes were as intense and blazed as ever, and they instantly stole her breath.
When he finally moved toward her, she saw that his typical grace had been restored, no more unsteady steps or near collapses. Overwhelmed by his presence and his newly recovered strength, she backed away from him.
