Page 123 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
Just for a minute, he let himself believe he was.
Adeline left the room a short while later to inform the rest of the house of his apparent recovery, and did not return for several hours. Mrs Minton and Alexei quickly swept in, Mrs Minton with her fussing and Alexei with his humour. For all his bravado and cheer, Alexei didn’t leave his side for the rest of the day, even sending Algernon away when he came to inform him that the Duchess of Montessa had arrived and wanted an audience.
The Duchess. The ball. Dimitri had almost forgotten.
“Has my father—” he started.
Alexei shook his head. “He said he’d be here by the end of the week, but at this rate, I half expect him to quit on his own ball entirely.”
Dimitri half wished he would. He knew seeing his father again would likely be awful, but there was always the twisting prickle of hope, that this time, it would be different.
Maybe he could speak to him about what the fortune-teller had said, and convince him that he would never, ever do such a thing.
Whatever it was.
Alexei read a few more pages of his book, but his heart didn’t seem to be in it. Dimitri was barely listening anyway. He stared at the door instead, waiting for Adeline to come back.
Alexei sighed, and folded down his novel. “Give her time. She’s barely left this room since you were brought into it.”
“I thought you didn’t want to encourage me?”
“I don’t. It’s still a terrible idea. I don’t want to see either of you hurt—”
Dimitri frowned. “Either of us?”
Alexei’s jaw tightened, and he hissed something unintelligible under his breath. “We spoke a bit, whilst waiting for you to wake.”
“You like her.”
“She’s a good sort,” Alexei said briskly. “She’s still just a maid, Dim.”
“She’s notjustanything,” Dimitri snipped. “And all jobs are important.”
“I didn’t say they weren’t, but regardless of her character, you must know that nothing more can happen between the two of you. It will have to end, at some point. And it will hurt.”
Dimitri glanced once more at the door.It hurts more when she isn’t here.
But he knew what Alexei was saying, and, with his father’s return imminent, he felt the shadows of society creeping in at the walls of his home, reminding him of the cages of his life, the expectations.
He could not marry a maid.
Alexei read to him for another hour or so, and then Dimitri feigned tiredness and asked to be left alone. Clarin was summoned with a fresh tonic, whatever good it did. Thomas came up with the dinner tray.
“Is Adeline all right?” Dimitri asked. He was certain, for some reason, that Thomas wouldn’t pry, or report, or judge. He seemed to already know and didn’t care either way.
“Sleeping,” Thomas reported. “Lords know seldom else would keep her from your side.”
Dimitri’s throat tightened. “She really didn’t leave?”
“Not for a moment.”
He was not accustomed to being cared for, and the feeling squirmed inside him. “Would it be insulting to suggest that she be compensated for her time?”
“It would. You might send another hamper to her family, though. They’re the ones that have been deprived of her company.”
“A good plan.”
“I’ve been known to have those.” Thomas grinned, gave him a wink, and left the room, returning half an hour later for the tray.
