Page 67 of A Duke for Stealing
“Me?” She asked.
“His Grace was mightily concerned,” Mrs. Mulberry replied, “Said you likely caught it from your fall in the lake. It broke last night, though, and the physician said you should be fine.”
Rose’s confusion grew.
“I saw a physician last night?” She asked.
“Every night, Your Grace,” Edie answered, “And nearly every other hour of each day. The Duke insisted on it.”
Every night??? Each day???
“How…how long have I been asleep?” Rose asked.
“Nearly three days, Your Grace,” Mrs. Mulberry answered, “And we are so very happy to have you back with us.”
Rose’s mind spun at the news. Three days? She had been asleep for three days?!
She hurried out of bed, and the spinning grew worse.
“Easy, Your Grace!” Edie implored as she and Mrs. Mulberry steadied Rose. “You have taken some broth these last few days, but you need the opportunity to get your strength up. Let us put you back to bed and bring you a proper meal.”
Rose shook her head, not at all tired.
“I am well,” she assured the well-meaning servants. “I want to see the twins.”
She also wanted to see Everett. She had a fuzzy memory of a dream where he held her in her sleep and brought her great comfort- but she was not going to share that with them.
“They are lunching right now with His Grace in the dining room,” Mrs. Mulberry informed. “Perhaps after you rest a little more and have some lunch yourself, you could visit them in the nursery.”
“No,” Rose replied, getting her bearings back. “If I make haste, I can join them. Would you be so kind as to help me dress?”
Though Mrs. Mulberry and Edie looked as if they wanted to argue, they both kept their lips pressed together and did as they were told. After Rose was dressed in a simple, light pink day gown and had her hair up in a twist, she went downstairs.
“When can we see Lady Rose?” Rose heard as she approached the dining room.
“Soon,” she heard Everett reply. “But we must let her rest. We want our Lady Rose all better now, do we not?”
“Yes, Uncle Everett,” the twins replied in unison.
Rose’s heart swelled at what she’d just heard, and she smiled as she entered the dining room. Both girls looked up before she could greet them, and gasped.
“Lady Rose!” Both exclaimed, then jumped out of their seats.
Everett’s head shot up as they did so, and a look of pure relief covered his face as his eyes met Rose’s. She barely had time to nod at him before the girls clung to her legs.
“Hello girls,” Rose said cheerfully, bending down to accept their tight hugs.
“Are you better?” Diana asked.
“Uncle Everett said we could not disturb you, that you needed your rest,” Leah added. “Uncle Everett read our stories to us since you could not.”
“We were very good,” Diana added. “Uncle Everett said if we were very good, you would get better faster. Did it work?”
“Yes,” Rose answered with a laugh, “I could tell you both were very good as I feel better than I have in a very long time.”
“Yayyy, we did it!” Diana crowed.
“We made you better!”
