Page 30 of A Duke Under Her Spell
Leaving the room, Felix went and prepared for his guest. In all honesty, Lady Cordelia was the last person he wished to see after such a difficult night. He feared no matter how hard he tried he would not be a fit host for Her Ladyship. It was times like these that he wished he had a brother or sister to share the burdens of the estate with.
Disrobing, Felix slid into the bath that awaited him in front of the fireplace in his rooms. His valet waited to carry off the offending filthy garments. Felix sighed as he laid his head back and closed his eyes, allowing the warmth from the water to soak into his bones. Feeling himself about to drift off to sleep, he forced himself to sit upright and began scrubbing away the grime of the night from his person.
When he had completed his toilette, he descended the stairs to find Lady Cordelia awaiting him at the breakfast table. “Your Grace,” she stood, curtsying in greeting.
“Lady Cordelia.” Felix bowed in return. “How do you fare this fine morning?”
“Very well, and you?”
“It has been a sleepless night here at Arkley Manor, I am afraid.”
“Oh? How so?”
Felix proceeded to tell her of the night’s events. Her eyes grew wide as he told her of all that had transpired since her departure.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed with a mixture of anxiety, fear, and something else he could not quite identify. “I will admit, I almost did not come after what transpired during my last visit with the ghostly man roaming the halls. Hearing your tale, I am not at all certain that I should be here now. Perhaps we should postpone our breakfast together for another day and allow you to rest.”
“Yes, perhaps that would be best.” Felix had to restrain himself to keep from jumping up and running out of the room he was in such desperate need of his bed. Instead, he walked Lady Cordelia to the door and saw her off in her carriage before he turned to climb the stairs back up to his bedchamber. He hoped that everyone else within his household who had been awake the night through were already in their beds.
Passing his mother’s room, he saw that Mr. Wheatly had done as he asked and posted a guard outside of the room. Stopping, he entered the Dowager Duchess’s bedchamber to look in on her. The Duchess was asleep, as was Marybeth upon a pallet on the floor in the corner. He walked into the dressing room and found an armed guard standing watch over the hole in the wall.
“Once Her Grace has slept, the men will begin work repairing the walls,” the guard whispered so as not to awaken the sleeping ladies in the next room.
“Thank you,” Felix nodded his approval. “Wake me if you encounter the intruder.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the guard nodded and went back to staring at the hole in the wall.
Leaving his mother’s room, he entered his own bedchamber and fell gratefully into bed without bothering to disrobe. Within moments of his head hitting the pillow, he was fast asleep. His last thoughts were of Marybeth and how it had felt to hold her hand in his.
* * *
Marybeth awoke on the floor in the dark. She was uncertain what had wakened her, but given the events of the night she was hesitant to ignore the feeling of unrest within her mind. Rising from her pallet, she walked over to the Dowager Duchess’s bedside to ensure that her patient was sleeping peacefully. Laying her hand upon the Duchess’s forehead, she tested for fever. Finding none, she moved on to the doorway of the dressing room to see if it had been the guard who had awakened her.
Peering her head around the dressing room doorframe, she found the guard to be asleep.It does naught for our safety if our guards are unable to remain awake.She walked over to the hole in the wall and peered through the gloom. A chalky white face emerged directly in front of her causing her to scream and step back so quickly she fell onto the floor. The sound of her cries awakened the guard and caused him to stand bolt upright aiming his pistol at the now vacant opening.
“He was there. He was right there. I saw him with my own eyes,” she promised, shaking from her head to her toes. Her heart thudded heavily inside her chest at a rapid rate. It had been a terrifying experience to have the ghost like figure in her face as he had been.
The guard peered into the dark passageway but found nothing. “My apologies Miss Wright, but there is no one there now.” The guard helped her to her feet, and she looked into the hole once more, but this time nothing happened. She searched the floor for fresh footprints but found none.
“I saw him. I know I did.”
The Duke entered the dressing room, his clothes in a rumpled state of disarray. “I heard a scream. What happened?”
“I saw the intruder in the passageway, but now he is gone.”
“Why did you not apprehend the man?” the Duke asked the guard.
“I regret that I had fallen asleep, Your Grace,” the guard admitted hanging his head in shame.
The Duke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, presumably for patience, then opened his eyes and leveled a look at the man. “You may go and find your replacement among the footmen. We will discuss the matter later.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” The guard handed the Duke his pistol and scurried from the room.
The Duke walked over to the hole in the wall and leveled the pistol before peering into the space. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see through the darkness and cobwebs. “I do not see anything, just as it was before. How is he doing this?”
“I do not know, but I have had about enough of his antics,” Marybeth admitted taking a seat in the chair that the guard had vacated.
“As have I.”
