Page 48 of Enslaved to the Seduction of a Lady
Chapter Seventeen
Luke slumped back to the hut after dark, his shoulders sagging and his lips in a frown. He was in turmoil; he had no clue how to remove the obstacles they faced, and he so desperately wanted to make it all better. The knowledge that Alison was willing to lose everything sent his heart in a spin. He loved her more and more each day—each minute of each day even—but to run away? She couldn’t know how difficult it would be, and he couldn’t just desert his family.
“Would you like something to eat?” Jenny asked brightly as he walked through the door.
“No. I’m going to bed,” he said, short and to the point.
“Where has Mr. Happy gone? You were full of joy this morning and now—”
“Now I just want to go to bed. I’m tired.”
“All right,” Jenny said, shrugging. “All the more for me and Jack, ey Jack?”
Jack smiled from his seat at the table, but Luke knew he wouldn’t eat more than his share. He barely ate his share, anymore. He would nibble around the sides of things or pick at bits of food, but he would never finish a whole meal, let alone someone else’s as well.
“Don’t wake me until morning,” Luke said.
He shuffled over to his pallet, not lifting his feet so they scuffed along the mud floor. He could feel Jenny’s eyes boring into his back, wondering, perhaps, or worried. But he didn’t have the energy for a conversation and even less for anI told you so.
He flopped down, not even bothering to change into his nightshirt, and he lay with one arm across his belly and the other across his forehead. His mind swam with everything Alison had said. Even the thought of her marrying the Earl made him feel as though his soul were being ripped in two, and it seemed more and more likely as time went by.
There was no way the Duke would change his mind. Luke knew that people like the Duke would never be able to see a groomsman as worthy, even though Lukeknewhe was. Luke didn’t blame the Duke; it was all he knew. He had been trained all his life to think like that. If only Luke could find a way to show him how untrue that was. For Luke, their social differences meant nothing.
He forced his eyes closed. He didn’t want to think about anything anymore. He pushed everything away, allowing his mind to shut down, and drifted into a fitful sleep.
“Jack?” Jenny asked.
The word penetrated his sleep, her voice alerting him to something. Unconsciously, he listened, letting the word float around in his dreams.
“Jack,” she said, more urgent, and the colors in his mind turned to reds and oranges. His breath quickened in his sleep.
“Luke! Wake up!”
Luke’s eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. The hut was pitch dark but in the corner, there was a flash of light as Jenny lit a candle.
“What? What is it?” He looked around in a panic, his heart thudding.
“It’s Jack,” Jenny said. “There’s something wrong. His breathing is all wrong.”
Luke leapt from his bed, as Jenny put the candle on the table and rushed to Jack’s bedside. She knelt on the floor and picked up one of his soft, weak hands. Jack lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
Their foster father’s face was white as pure snow and his eyes were watery and unfocussed. His breath rattled as he breathed.
“Jack?” Luke asked, taking a tentative forward, not wanting to make any sudden movements. “Are you all right, Jack?”
“Aaaaye,” Jack said, the word long and drawn out, a balloon letting out air. He turned his head to one side, the better to see them. “I’m near the end now,” he said in a slow and painful drawl.
“You can’t know that,” Jenny said, her voice quick, desperate. Tears gathered under her eyes. “There’s still time. There must be.”
“Come on, Jack,” Luke said. “Let’s get you sat up and I’ll fetch you some water.”
“I want nothing, Lad,” he said, his rasp tinged with annoyance—or fear?“Leave me be. Just listen to what I’ve got to say.”
“No,” Jenny cried, the tears now flowing freely down her face. She squeezed his hand tighter. “Keep your breath. Don’t waste it on us.”
“I must tell you,” he said. “The day I found you wandering the streets—”
“We know,” Luke said, “you’ve told us before.”
