Do not leave me, my old friend. You are not allowed to leave me. I forbid it.
The pallor of Arthur’s skin bespoke ill tidings and Duncan’s heart thudded in his chest as he slid to his knees and prayed for his friend’s recovery. Duncan was not sure how long he had been kneeling in prayer or at what point he had fallen asleep when he was awakened by the thud of running footsteps. As he opened his eyes the blurry outline of a person approaching cleared to reveal the beautiful countenance of Miss Eliza Bolton.
“Eliza,” Duncan whispered disregarding decorum altogether. He had given her permission to use his given name, but she had not returned that permission, so he had not done so. Now, as he knelt looking up into her warm brown eyes, he cared not for propriety. He was simply glad to see her.
“How is he?” Eliza knelt down beside him and placed her hand upon Arthur’s forehead. She pulled back the blanket and lifted Arthur’s shirt to examine his wounds. “He has lost too much blood, and this wound looks inflamed.”
“There was an incident…” Duncan began. He could hear the worry and fatigue in his own voice.
Eliza laid a hand on his arm to stop him, “Mr. White informed me of everything. You did the best you could in the situation you found yourself in, Duncan. You have done everything you can to keep him alive, now it is time for you to rest and let Dr. Burns and I do what we can.”
“Did the doctor come with you?” Duncan asked looking behind her towards the door.
“Yes, he should be along any moment,” Eliza confirmed. “The children are with Mr. White getting a bite to eat. I felt it best if I assessed their brother’s condition before they saw him.”
“A wise choice,” Duncan agreed. “Thank you for coming back.”
Eliza smoothed the sweat from Arthur’s brow, then turned to look into Duncan’s eyes. “I will always come whenever either of you calls. We have been through a great deal in the short time we have known each other. It has broken down barriers of class to forge a bond of friendship that is rare in our society. Had you told me a week ago that I could count not one but two dukes among my closest acquaintances I would have questioned the soundness of your mind, but here we are.”
Duncan smiled and taking her hands in his he kissed the back of each of them in turn. “To friendship,” he murmured.
“To friendship,” she agreed squeezing his hands in reply. “Now go lie down and get some rest. I will wake you if anything changes.”
“Thank you, Eliza,” Duncan bowed over her hands then arose and left his dressing room with the intention of going to lie down in the blessed comfort of his own bed. He passed Dr. Burns in the doorway. “Doctor,” he greeted courteously but seeing the physician did not bring the same sense of relief and reassurance that Eliza’s presence had brought.
“Yer Grace,” Dr. Burns greeted and rushed past him to tend to Arthur.
Duncan stood in the doorway watching Eliza and the doctor work side by side to cleanse and rebandage Arthur’s wounds. Eliza bathed his body in an attempt to bring his fever down, and Dr. Burns forced some sort of concoction down his throat. When they had done all they could, the doctor arose, leaving Eliza with a supply of medicinal powders to mix with water. Duncan bid the physician farewell and continued to stand watching Eliza’s care of Arthur.
She was so gentle and kind, cooling his brow over and over again dipping a cloth in a basin of water. I love her, his mind whispered the truth. The realization swept over him like the droplets of a waterfall cascading down over his soul in a rush of emotion that left him breathless. I love her.
A groan from Arthur’s feverish form caught Duncan’s attention. It was the first sound he had uttered since passing out upon the floor. Arthur groaned again, and Duncan went to step forward to call his name but stopped in his tracks when he saw the look in Eliza’s eyes as she looked down upon Arthur’s face.
Arthur’s eyes opened, and he looked up into Eliza’s face. Duncan watched as Arthur’s hand raised to caress her cheek, and she leaned into his palm a single tear rolling down her face to disappear against Arthur’s skin. A quiet sob escaped her lips when Arthur’s eyes closed once more, and his hand fell away. A stab of fear raced through Duncan’s heart, “Arthur!?”
A ragged breath caused Arthur’s chest to rise and fall allowing them to know he still lived. “Thanks be to God,” Duncan sighed leaning against the doorframe in relief.
Eliza looked up to meet his eyes in their shared joy at the realization. The dark chocolate depths pulled him forward to extend his hand assisting her up from the floor. “He’s alive,” she whispered tears causing her eyes to glisten.
Without giving a single thought to proper decorum, Duncan wrapped his arms around her crushing her to his chest. “Yes, he is,” he whispered into her hair, “and it is all due to you. You brought him back to life.”
In more ways than you will ever know.
Eliza moved out of Duncan’s arms with a smile and knelt once more pulling the blanket back up over Arthur’s body and continued to bathe his forehead. “Eliza, I…”
“Yes,” she asked looking back up at him in inquisition.
He wished to say so many things to her, but could not bring himself to do it with the image of his dearest friend’s hand upon her cheek. He could not take what was not his to have. “I will just be in the next room if you need me for anything,” he said instead.
“Thank you,” she accepted with a smile then turned back to Arthur.
Duncan turned to leave. He paused in the doorway and stopped himself from turning back around to gaze upon her once more. He stared into the loneliness of the shadows that lay before him. The short distance into his bedchamber suddenly felt as if it were a never-ending chasm that once he crossed he would never be able to return. His knuckles turned white as he clutched the dressing room doorframe. His muscles bunched with tension nearly ripping the seams of his shirt.
His heart thudded in his ears as he resisted the need to take her in his arms once more. She is not mine to hold, he firmly chastised himself as he released his hold on the door frame and resigned himself to move forward into the darkness alone. As he lifted his foot to take the first step, his heart cried out in rebellion of the motion. He could not have stopped the confession that fell from his lips had his entire dukedom depended on it.
“I love you,” he whispered softly then walked away.
Chapter 15
Eliza exited the carriage assisting the children down after her. Mr. White greeted them on the drive and ushered them swiftly inside. “How bad is it?” she asked the butler.
“It looks rather ominous, Miss Bolton.” Mr. White quickly filled her in on the details of the night’s events. Before the words, “His Grace has not awoken since,” had barely left his, lips she was racing up the stairs for Duncan’s dressing room.
“Will you please care for the children, Mr. White?” she asked as she mounted the stairs.
“I will get them a bite to eat immediately, Miss Bolton,” she heard him call from behind her.
Eliza ran down the hall, through the door to Duncan’s bedchamber, and into his dressing room. There she found the Duke of Rosenhill lying upon a couch as pale as death itself.
“Eliza,” Duncan whispered from his place kneeling next to the Duke.
“How is he?” Eliza knelt down beside him and placed her hand upon Arthur’s forehead. It was hot with fever coated in a sheen of sweat. She pulled back the blanket and lifted Arthur’s shirt to examine his wounds. Even his torso was paler than usual with the exception of an angry looking knife wound.
She looked at Duncan and saw the concern on his face. “He has lost too much blood, and this wound looks inflamed.”
“There was an incident…” Duncan began. She could hear the worry and fatigue in his voice and wished to save him the trouble of explaining something she already knew.
Eliza laid a hand on his arm to stop him, “Mr. White informed me of everything. You did the best you could in the situation you f
ound yourself in, Duncan. You have done everything you can to keep him alive, now it is time for you to rest and let Dr. Burns and I do what we can.”
“Did the doctor come with you?” Duncan asked looking behind her towards the door. Eliza was a bit embarrassed when she realized she had left the doctor standing below stairs.
“Yes, he should be along any moment,” Eliza confirmed hoping she was telling the truth. “The children are with Mr. White getting a bite to eat. I felt it best if I assessed their brother’s condition before they saw him.” She dare not admit the sense of panic she had felt upon hearing of the serious nature of the Duke’s condition.
“A wise choice,” Duncan agreed. “Thank you for coming back.”
Eliza smoothed the sweat from Arthur’s brow, then turned to look into Duncan’s eyes. The bond she felt with both men was unexplainable, but real. “I will always come whenever either of you call. We have been through a great deal in the short time we have known each other. It has broken down barriers of class to forge a bond of friendship that is rare in our society. Had you told me a week ago that I could count not one but two dukes among my closest acquaintance I would have questioned the soundness of your mind, but here we are.”
Duncan smiled and took Eliza’s hands in his. He bent over and kissed the back of each of them in turn. “To friendship,” he murmured his warm breath upon her skin. The way he was looking at her made her feel as though he might have meant more than he spoke, but she shook it off as a figment of her imagination.
“To friendship,” she agreed squeezing his hands in reply. She found his touch comforting. He looked utterly exhausted with dark circles under his eyes and worry lines creasing his forehead. “Now go lie down and get some rest. I will wake you if anything changes.”
“Thank you, Eliza,” Duncan bowed over her hands then arose and left the dressing room.
Dr. Burns entered the room a moment later, and he and Eliza worked diligently to reduce the Duke’s fever. They worked side by side cleaning and bandaging his wounds. Eliza bathed his body in an attempt to bring his fever down, and Dr. Burns administered one of his curative agents. Before he departed, Dr. Burns left her with all of the medicine she would need to provide Arthur’s care and instructed her on their uses and frequency of consumption.
Eliza swabbed the Duke’s forehead, face, and neck in an attempt to bring down his fever. She hoped that the doctor’s medicines would begin to work to work their magic soon. She was startled when the Duke groaned, moved his head a bit, then groaned again opening his eyes to look at her.
His hand came up to caress her , and she leaned into his palm. “Your Grace,” she whispered a tear escaped her lashes and rolled down her face.
“Arthur,” he whispered back encouraging her to use his given name. “You have saved me once more, Miss Bolton.”
“Eliza,” she whispered back. “It was your friend, Duncan who saved you.”
“Duncan,” he murmured and attempted to sit up looking for his friend, but instead sank back down against the pillows. Eliza could not stop the sob that erupted from her lips as his eyes closed once more and his hand fell away from her cheek.
“Arthur!?” Duncan’s voice caught her off guard from the doorway. Eliza looked up to see his eyes filled with fear for his friend. The Duke took a deep breath, and Eliza felt herself relax in relief. “Thanks be to God,” Duncan expressed his own.
Eliza looked up to meet his eyes in their shared joy at the realization that their friend still lived. “He’s alive,” she whispered, tears in her eyes.
Duncan pulled her to him and held her for a moment. “Yes, he is,” he whispered into her hair, “and it is all due to you. You brought him back to life.” Eliza was not prepared for such a show of affection but knew that Duncan had been under a great deal of strain, so she allowed him the lapse in decorum. She stepped back with a smile of reassurance and knelt once more to pull the blanket back up over the Duke’s shoulders. She picked up the cloth and continued to bathe his face.
“Eliza, I…” Duncan began to say something to her then paused.
“Yes,” she asked wondering what he wished to say.
“I will just be in the next room if you need me for anything,” he informed her, as if it were so very important that she knew.
“Thank you,” she accepted the information with a smile then turned back to her patient. A few moments later she heard him leave the dressing room.
Eliza sat and watched the Duke’s chest rise and fall with every breath. She wondered if he had realized what he had said when he had awakened or if it had been in a state of delirium.
The way he looked at me as if… Surely it was delirium.
She studied his strong masculine features, the way the lamplight glistened off of his golden blond hair.
“Is Arthur going to die?” Charlotte’s voice asked from the doorway.
“I beg your pardon Miss Bolton, but Lord Gabriel and Lady Charlotte insisted,” Mr. White explained from behind them.
“Thank you, Mr. White, for looking after them while I tended to His Grace.” Eliza extended her arms out to the children from where she knelt on the floor, and they both moved forward to sit with her taking her hands in theirs. “Your brother is not feeling well at the moment, but he is not going to die,” Eliza promised. “Dr. Burns has every faith that he will make it through this.”
Gabriel laid his hand on his brother’s atop the blanket. Charlotte moved closer to Eliza’s side and laid her head on her arm. “I am glad we are here with him now,” she said softly.
“As am I,” Eliza admitted.
“I enjoyed making your family’s acquaintance very much,” Gabriel stated, releasing his brother’s hand to lay his head on Eliza’s other arm.
Eliza smiled. “I am pleased.”
“Arthur should join us on our next visit. He would like your family very much,” Gabriel decided.
Eliza smiled again. “And they him,” she agreed.
“Then I shall,” Arthur’s voice promised quietly from beside them.
“Arthur!” The children exclaimed in delight and wrapped their arms around him.
“Gently,” Eliza cautioned them.
Some of the color had returned to his cheeks, and Eliza hoped it was Dr. Burns’ medicinal treatments taking effect and not the fever causing him to be flushed. “Eliza,” he greeted meeting her eyes.
He remembered! Eliza blushed at the look he was giving her. “Arthur,” she replied. “How do you feel?”
“A bit like a stag after he has been shot, I think,” Arthur admitted. He groaned under the weight of his sibling’s embrace.
“Your brother needs his rest children,” Eliza cautioned. “Perhaps a bit of distance would be best?”
“Yes, Miss Bolton,” the children moved to obey sitting back upon the floor near his side.
“May we stay here for a while? I am not quite ready to leave him yet,” Gabriel asked his eyes pleading to be allowed to remain with his brother.
“Of course,” Eliza answered. “We have all been apart enough, I think.”
Arthur smiled at her remark. “I concur,” he replied. “I am pleased to have you all here with me. I caution staying away from the windows, however.”
“We have been warned,” Eliza frowned. “’Tis a terrible thing that transpired here during the night.”
“It truly was. I am relieved that you and the children made it through unscathed,” Arthur admitted. “I was concerned for all of your welfare. It is hard to say the lengths our villain will go to. I am hard pressed to protect you while lying flat upon my back.”
“That is why you have me, old friend,” Duncan answered from the doorway. “I heard the children’s voices and had to come and see them. I must say I am quite pleased to see you talking again, Arthur.”
“As am I,” Arthur replied smiling at his friend. “Glad I am to have your aid and protection during these trying times.”
“Trying times indeed. These attempts o
n your life must be brought to an end,” Duncan answered. “Unfortunately, we are no closer to finding the culprit than we were before with the exception of the given name Mark.”
“There are several Marks in the village,” Eliza replied.
“And many more county-wide,” Arthur agreed. “’Tis not much to go on I admit, but ‘tis more than we had before.”
“True,” Duncan admitted, “but as you say ‘tis not much.”
“Could it be a surname such as Marcum or the like?” Eliza asked.
“Perhaps, the man was dying when he said it and was not able to finish,” Arthur agreed thoughtfully. “We should certainly explore the idea.”
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