Page 48 of Taming a Beastly Duke
“Be careful, Adelaide,” he rasped, grimacing as he tried to move in his bed.
Adelaide placed a finger on his lips.
“Hush, darling,” she said, rubbing his arm gently. “Do not try to move. Everything is all right.”
Marcus shook his head, grabbing her hand and gripping it with surprising strength. The heat of his skin burned hers as she smoothed back his sweat-dampened hair, and Adelaide realized it was a wonder he was still alive with a fever so high.
“Promise me that you will be cautious,” he said, his gaze focused and intense, despite the illness trying to claim him. “They are dangerous. You must be cautious. Trust… no one…”
Adelaide nodded fervently. She did not know who he meant, or if he was sure who he meant, either. But she understood it was important to him that she agreed.
“I promise, darling,” she said. “I will be cautious.”
Marcus nodded, relaxing back against his pillow.
“Thank you,” he said. “Charlotte… that night… murdered her.”
Adelaide froze. Was he about to confess to the murder Adelaide had convinced herself he could never commit?
“Hush now, my love,” she murmured, hoping to coax him back to sleep. If he was about to give such a confession, she never wanted to hear it. She could keep believing he did no such thing. If he admitted it to her, however, just as with their intimacy in the library, there could be no return.
Marcus shook his head again, tightening his grip on her hand.
“Thomas, he…” he paused to draw a raspy breath. “He knew. He knew the secret. Charlotte knew… they tried…”
Adelaide steeled herself for what she was sure was coming. She patted her lover’s hand gently, knowing that what he said next could shatter the fragile bond they had.
“Tried to what, Marcus?” she whispered, regretting the words the moment she spoke them.
Marcus squirmed in obvious discomfort. She thought he would seize again, but he settled soon after.
“Tried to warn me,” he continued. “They knew… Saw Charlotte tonight. She told me… Edwin was… they knew something I did not… Charlotte paid the price…”
Adelaide had never felt so simultaneously relieved and horrified in the same instant. Marcus was not confessing to Charlotte’s murder. He was trying to tell her that Charlotte knew something she was not supposed to know, something he did not know, and that was what got her killed. She thought she understood who he was saying was guilty, but his delirium-induced words became more jumbled and unclear until the fever claimed him, and he fellunconscious. She did not understand what he meant about seeing Charlotte that night. That was not possible. Yet she knew the words meant something, which was enough for her.
The strange and threatening notes under her door suddenly made sense. They were from the person who had killed Charlotte, and Adelaide was now certain they were not written in Marcus’s penmanship. However, the pattern was clear to her, even without a definitive suspect. Someone would go to any lengths to protect their secrets, and Charlotte’s fate proved that.
Chapter Twenty-two
Adelaide did not sleep for a single moment all night, yet her thoughts kept her occupied until the first light of dawn streaked the sky. Marcus was worryingly still, but with careful observation, she finally saw the shallow rise and fall of his chest as he took slow breaths. She kissed his forehead, which was hot and covered with sweat. She bit her lip, desperate to try to find answers to his splintered rantings but not wanting to break her promise to him.
Marcus’s body tensed and tremoured, and for a moment she feared he was going to have a seizure again. But he quickly stilled, groaning and lolling his head. His eyes fluttered, opening only for an instant before closing again. She knew she had to do something, and that she could help him better if she could find some answers.
“Darling, I must find you some help,” she said, putting her lips to his ear and speaking loudly and clearly. “I will be back, I promise you. But I must understand what is happening to you. Do not fret, Marcus. I shall not give up.”
She paused, watching her lover’s still face. She had no way of knowing if he had heard her, and she did not want him to awaken, however briefly, and find that she had broken her promise to stay with him. But just as she was considering sitting in the chair at his bedside again and hoping he awoke, he grabbed her hand, his eyes still closed but his jaw set with weak determination.
“Be careful,” he rasped. “Do not get caught. Do not let him find you. I love you, Adelaide.”
Adelaide’s heart stopped. She did not understand the first part of what he said. But she understood the last words. He had told her that he loved her. Perhaps, it was merely the fever. But perhaps, that meant it was the truth.
She kissed his hand before tucking it back beneath his damp blanket.
“I love you too, Marcus,” she said. “I shall return.”
Marcus did not stir again, so she slipped quietly out of his chambers. She prayed he would remember their brief conversation as she sought refuge in the library. She was still uncertain of her decision to leave his side. However, his feverish state had left her feeling helpless, especially with his strange statements.
Who was ‘he?’ What was he trying to tell her about Charlotte? Was there someone who would truly harm Marcus to cover up the crime of murderingher? Nothing had any practical logic. But Adelaide knew that to help her lover, she needed to make things make sense. And to do that, she started with the one place she believed she stood the best chance of finding answers.
