Page 29 of The Penitent Duke
“I – I am sorry, milady, but there is so much blood that I had to do something.” The maid took Rosalind’s hand in her own, pressing it. “We will get you back to the house soon.”
Rosalind could not say anything, for the pain in her head was too great. Darkness beckoned and, letting her eyes flutter closed, Rosalind gave in to it without hesitation, letting it take all of her pain and confusion away.
***
“Rosalind.”
Rosalind smiled gently as her mother came into her bedchamber. “Mama, you do not need to come to see how I am every half an hour. I am quite all right and, as the physician himself said, I will recover very soon.”
Lady Fairmont swallowed but came to sit beside Rosalind all the same, taking her hand. There were still stains of tears on her cheeks and Rosalind’s heart squeezed with the awareness of just how much her mother loved her.
“I am well,” she said again, as firmly as she could make her words to be. “It is only a small wound and a few scratches to my skin. I will be well recovered within a day or two.”
“Though, you are not to have your hair tied up for some weeks,” Lady Fairmont reminded her, a slightly trembling smile on her lips as she tried to bring a little light to the conversation. “I do hope the Duke will not mind.”
Rosalind snorted. “I hardly think the Duke will even care about my present circumstances, Mama, much less how I shall dress my hair!”
Her mother squeezed her hand, searching her face. “Are you sure you are quite well, Rosalind? You came in so very white and –”
“I am.”
Before she could give any other reassurances, however, the door opened and, to Rosalind’s surprise, her father came into the room. His expression was grave though quite why that would be, Rosalind did not know. He had only just left her and had been filled with evident relief that she was quite all right. Why had he returned?
“Lady Eleanor is here, Rosalind.” He cleared his throat, putting his hands behind his back. “And the Duke of Strathmore.”
Rosalind’s eyebrows lifted though she did not move an inch from where she was sitting up, propped up by pillows for fear that it would cause her head yet more pain. “The Duke?”
“He is pacing up and down the drawing room as we speak, practically demanding that I permit him entry along with Lady Eleanor,” her father continued, sounding just as astonished as Rosalind herself felt. “What say you, my dear? I know you will see Lady Eleanor but what of the Duke?”
Still overcome with astonishment that the Duke had made such an obvious effort to come to her upon evidently hearing of her accident, Rosalind looked to her mother who only smiled briefly, as though to say she could not tell Rosalind what she ought to do.
Rosalind let out a slow breath. “I suppose that I should see him,” she admitted, her stomach twisting with a sudden nervousness. “So long as he is with Lady Eleanor.”
“And Lord Radcliffe is with her, though I think he will stay with your mother rather than intrude upon you,” Lord Fairmont added. “He did want me to express to you his deep concern on hearing you had been injured.”
At this, Rosalind smiled and then nodded, wincing the second she did so. “I will see whoever wishes to come and speak with me,” she answered, as her mother rose. “Lady Eleanor especially, of course.”
“Of course.”
As her parents departed the room, Rosalind’s heart began to quicken. The Duke had clearly heard about what had happened to her – quite how, she did not know – but evidently, he had thought to rush over to her father’s townhouse to see her. That, Rosalind had to admit to herself, was most surprising. She had never expected the Duke to express any sort of concern in that regard.
“Rosalind!” Lady Eleanor peeked into the room and then, upon seeing Rosalind, rushed towards her, catching Rosalind’s hand. The Duke of Strathmore also came into the room, though he stood at the foot of Rosalind’s bed. “Goodness, whatever happened?”
“I – I do not know,” Rosalind answered, throwing a glance to the Duke but then looking back to Eleanor. “I was out walking in the park when, from what I recall, someone threw me back. It must have been quite unintentional for there was a shout with it, as though this person was being chased by another but, all the same, I do not clearly recall.”
“Goodness.” Lady Eleanor’s eyes were shining with withheld tears. “How unfortunate.”
Rosalind looked again to the Duke who was doing nothing but frowning at her, a heaviness in his expression. “I fell back and hit my head against a tree. The physician has come, and says that there is only a small wound though it has brought a lot of pain with it!”
“Thrown back?”
A little taken aback by the Duke’s gruff tone, Rosalind nodded. “Yes, that is so.”
“And you think it was accidental?”
“I do.”
The Duke’s jaw set. “Were it not, then I would go in search of whoever it was and make certain they understood just how foolish their actions had been.”
