Page 24 of A Scandalous Love for the Enticing Duke
Nicholas did not understand a thing of what was going on. He could hear the words Deborah spoke; he simply could not understand them. Or maybe, he was simply refusing to. He reached for the maid’s shoulders and held them as he shook her lightly.
“Deborah, what do you speak of? What ails Father?”
She looked up at him with wonder in her eyes as though he had just gone mad.
“My Lord. What is this? Do you not know of His Grace’s illness? Four moons now, he has been bed ridd’n. I hear the physician is not positive at all.”
Nicholas’s head reeled at this. His father, bedridden? How come he knew nothing of this?
“Where is he? Where is my father?”
She looked as confused as he was. “In his bedchamb’rs. Where els’? His physician, Mr Wimpletton is up there too. Says he needs be examined again.” The confusion vanished as the sadness returned. Bowing her head, she pouted. “All these proddin’ and pryin’ I only want My Lord to get some rest and be healthy aga’n.”
Nicholas barely heard the last part. He was already racing up the staircase in a wild chase. His heart thudded with fear at what he might find in his father’s bedchambers.
A few minutes later, he arrived, and the sight he met shook him. Deborah’s words had been true. The maid had not only been blabbing after all. There on the king-size poster bed, he almost could not see his father until he stepped closer. Even as he did, he could not recognise the man he saw there. This man was a shadow of the man he called Father. The man he loved. The man who had taken him on his first hunt, taught him how to shoot birds in the sky. The man who had bought him his first books, hired the best tutors, and invested in his dreams. The man on this bed bore no resemblance.
His father had a thick build, he was tall, his skin was bronzed from many months at sea, under the sun. This man, this man was white as a sheet, lean, pale, and frail. As he stepped closer, his heart broke further. By the time he got to the edge of the bed, he could hardly feel his heart beat. It sounded far away, so far away. Tears pooled in his eyes, but he willed himself not to shed a single one. He was a man. Men do not cry. He felt the seven pairs of eyes on him, but the only one that mattered was his father’s.
“What is this?
Nicholas hoped. He hoped that his father would tell him this was some sort of play, that he had lost a wager and had to perform theatrics; alas, that was not the case. When his father spoke, even with a strained smile on his face, his voice sounded so broken.
“Ahh. Nicholas. You finally find out the secret we have been keeping for months. I told you he would, Elizabeth.” His mother broke into a sob then, and he glanced at her for a brief moment before returning his gaze to his father. Right now, his old man was all that mattered.
“What secret? What is this? I met you only four days ago,Father, you looked as healthy as a horse. Tell me this that I see with my eyes is untrue and is nothing but a cruel trick.”
“Come,” Henry Stamford beckoned, taking great pains to lift his hands in a summons. Nicholas moved again until he was by his father’s side and holding those hands. The tears he had fought against dropped then, and he did not even bother to wipe them away.
Smiling, his father addressed the doctor.
“Are you done, Wimpletton?”
So this was the man Deborah had spoken of, Nicholas wondered as he took in the tall, lanky man in a white coat, a stethoscope around his neck.
“Yes, My Lord. I shall return tomorrow to check on your health. These medicines should offer you some improvement. Now that we know for sure what ails you, we have hope to battle and win this. You shall have these relapses, occasionally. I pray thee, do not hesitate to send for me. They are only to be expected, but I would still like to be kept informed about every change. I hope to meet you in better health tomorrow, Your Grace. With your permission, I shall take my leave.”
“We are eternally in your debt, Wimpletton. Our gratitude knows no bounds. We shall do as you say. You may go. Everyone else, leave us.”
One by one, servants and physician, they bowed and curtsied before turning to leave, until it was only himself, his father, and his mother left in the room.
“Take a seat, Nicholas. I would rather prefer it if you were not standing over me with tears in your eyes. I live still; this is not my coffin.”
Aghast, he stared at his father, contemplating if he had heard well. How could he make such jokes about his death, so easily? How could he throw the heart wrenching words around so freely?
“Father, I am certain I do not find that amusing. However, since I understand what you are trying to say, I shall do as you wish.”
“Ever the charming and obedient son. You have made me proud, Nicholas. Through and through If I am to indeed leave this world, I require only one wish from you. It happens to be that which you are already on your way to fulfill.”
Everything fell into place then, every piece of a puzzle he had not even known existed, and he finally understood. The sudden interest in a marriage for him. The flu his father had used as an excuse when he enquired about his health. It had all been because of this.
“I met with Deborah. She informed me that this has been going on for four months. Why did no one think to tell me? Did you not consider for once that I would love to know that I may lose my father soon? That I would be grateful to spend last moments with him? How can you be so cruel?” His voice too sounded so broken that he almost didn’t realise it was coming from him. He had no strength to be angry. No strength to shout. Taking this in was draining every ounce of energy in him. He had known his father would not live forever, but never had he considered that he would be gone so soon. To think that no one had deemed it fit to tell him. He felt betrayed.
When they remained quiet, he demanded,“Will no one give me answers? Do I not at least, deserve that? To think if I had not decided to call on you this morning, I would never have known. When were you hoping to tell me of this?”
It was his mother who answered, and for the first time that morning, he saw her. She too had lost a few pounds of weight. She too looked so frail, so fragile. It was clear that she suffered just as much. His heart softened as he imagined what this would be doing to her. He knew that his mother and father loved each other dearly. To lose a loved one to death, to never see them again... He only had to contemplate the possibility of never spending his life with Eleanor to feel his heart ache. That, was nothing in comparison to this. It paled greatly.
“We did not want to trouble you, Nicholas. It did not seem fair. You are so young and living your life. There was no sense in dragging you into this.”
