Page 79 of Her Duke By Accident
“Are you feeling well, Your Grace?” Miss Ayles asked with a skeptical look. “You seem… different.”
“Different how?”
“I am unsure,” the governess said. “Ah,” she called out, looking over Alicia’s head, “good morning to you, Ms. Crawford.”
Alicia looked over her shoulder as the housekeeper entered the room with a bow. “Hello, Ms. Crawford,” she greeted, excited to see someone who’d gladly talk to her. “Have you come for our chats?”
“Not this morning, Your Grace,” Ms. Crawford said as she handed her a sealed letter. “This arrived for you in rather a hurry.”
Holding her cup with one hand, Alicia took the letter, running a finger over the emblem on the wax seal. “It’s the Egerton emblem,” she muttered. Popping the seal, she unfolded the letter to reveal hurried writing.
“Come at once,” Alicia mumbled as she read the letter, her eyes moving so fast her brain could barely keep up. “Mother…” she whispered, “had a fall?” She kept reading till a gasp pulled itself out from between her lips, and her hand lost the cup as she backed away from the breakfast table.
The blue teacup shattered against the floor.
“Oh,” Alicia breathed, “I–I’m terribly sorry!”
“What did the letter say, Your Grace?” Ms. Crawford asked, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You look dreadfully pale!”
Alicia met the housekeeper’s eyes. “It’s from my brother. He says mother has had a grave accident, and I am needed at once in Mayfair.”
“How grave?”
“He didn’t say,” she whispered, her eyes scanning over the letter once more.
Ms. Crawford pressed her lips together with determination. “Do not fret more than you need to, Your Grace,” she said. “Let me tell your maid you must travel quickly to London. She can accompany you.”
“I–I need paper and quill, Ms. Crawford,” Alicia said as the housekeeper ran out the room.
The older woman was back within a moment with a piece of paper and a quill, already stained with ink. Before another word was said, Ms. Crawford quickly left the room again, going in the direction of Alicia’s bedroom.
Alicia collapsed into a chair at the table, trying to stop the shakes from taking over her hands. The fear and adrenaline of the situation rocked her with tremors, making it almost impossible for her to write a single word on the paper.
“Your Grace,” Miss Ayles suddenly said from beside her, “let me.”
“What?”
“Tell me what you’d like to say, and I’ll write the letter for you.”
Alicia stared at the governess in astonishment. “You would do that?”
“Of course,” Miss Ayles said with a sad smile. “Look at your hands! You can barely write with all the stress. Let me help in some way, Your Grace.”
Alicia breathed a sigh of relief, and passed the paper and quill over to the governess. “You are a lifesaver, Miss Ayles.”
“Who is the letter for?”
“The duke.”
The governess cleared her throat, holding the quill above the page. “Whenever you’re ready, Your Grace.”
Alicia stood from the table, pacing around the room as if to get rid of the energy that filled her veins. “Matthew,” she said, unable to stop the quiver in her voice. “Forgive me. I have received a letter from Owen that details my mother to be in a terrible state after a frightful accident.”
She paused, glancing at the governess.
Miss Ayles nodded. “Go on, Your Grace.”
“I must leave,” she breathed. “And I do not know for how long. I only ask—” Alicia stopped herself, glancing down at her hands as she searched for the right words. “I only ask that you do not forget me, or the night we had.”
