Page 44 of Trapped with the Forbidden Duke
“Enough. Stop right this second, you—” the Duke barked, but he clamped his mouth shut when a subtle yet unmistakable sound rang out.
Crack.
Edwina froze.
The sound of cracking glass seemed to reverberate through the room, and her heart stopped when she realized what it was.
“Nicholas,” the Duke asked quietly, “what is in your pocket?”
No.No, he cannot find out.
“I am sure it was nothing,” Edwina interjected hurriedly, panicked. “Nicholas, come. Let us get you to bed?—”
“Turn out your pockets, Nicholas, or I shall do it myself.”
Nicholas glared at the Duke, silently stubborn.
“Fine,” the Duke growled and shoved a hand into his pocket.
And took out shards of what Edwina knew was a dark bottle of laudanum.
Chapter Thirteen
“Of course,” Lucien whispered as realization dawned on him.
Several realizations, in fact. For, given Lady Edwina’s reaction, he realized that she knew—and she knew exactly why her brother disappeared in the night.
“Laudanum. The opiate they prescribed you when you were injured,” he added, louder this time.
“Get off me,” Nicholas snapped, jerking away from him, but he stumbled back, catching himself on the arm of the settee. He wrenched away when Lucien reached out to steady him. “I do not need your help!”
The broken bottle was empty, and his pockets were dry, which could only mean that he already had his fix.
Lucien could spot the signs now. The rough appearance, the weakened state, the unfocused look in his eyes. He had thought it was some sort of mental illness or alcohol dependency, but laudanum was another subject entirely.
Nicholas was addicted. To laudanum.
It was why he was drowning in so much debt, why Edwina’s distress had grown at the thought of receiving help, and why she had always been so reluctant to answer Lucien’s questions.
“How long?” Lucien asked, trying to keep his voice calm despite the anger he felt at being betrayed.
Nicholas could not meet his eyes. He only looked away, keeping silent.
So Lucien turned his glare on Lady Edwina. “Howlong?”
Still, nobody answered him, and the air became unbearably thick with tension.
“Let me help you up,” he muttered, hauling Nicholas up with one deft tug, giving him no room to protest.
Nicholas swayed, knocked off balance by the sudden movement. He looked pale as his eyes tried to focus on something, but they were heavy.
“Brother, are you hurt?” Lady Edwina rushed to her brother’s side. “You could have cut yourself.”
Nicholas remained silent as he shook his head and took off his jacket, which was dusted with more glass shards and tiny specs of dust.
“You cannot go silent now,” Lucien told him, struggling to keep the anger out of his voice. “You had plenty to say when you found me with your sister.Speakto me, dammit. We were friends once—what stops you now? Is it your shame?”
At the mention of the situation Nicholas had walked in on, the Earl’s focus sharpened once more.
