Page 114 of Bound By the Duke
But Sir Edmund’s fury was swift. With a growl, he grabbed Aurelia by the neck and shoved her away.
Her body flew back, hitting the back of the carriage. Her head slammed against the wood with a sickening thud.
“Aurelia!” Hyacinth’s cry pierced through the chaos, so loud that it froze the air.
Then she ran, rushing to where Aurelia crumpled to the ground. Her chest barely rose, and her eyes were closed.
Sir Edmund’s face twisted with panic despite his rage. “Enough,” he snarled to his men. “Retreat!”
The riders obeyed at once, climbing back on their horses.
Sir Edmund let go of Nora as he climbed on his steed. Then, with a thunder of echoing hooves, they disappeared into the trees.
An eerie silence fell over the path, broken only by the sound of Nora dropping to her knees beside her sister.
“Aurelia! No, no, no…”
But Aurelia lay still, slipping into oblivion.
It wasn’t winter, so the presence of snow couldn’t be blamed on the cold surrounding Whitmore Estate. If anything, it was something heavier. Something quieter.
Percival found himself wandering the corridors like a ghost. His boots echoed against the marble floor; the sound was impossibly loud in the stillness.
For days, he had buried himself in work, in duties, but tonight something fragile was calling him back to life.
Lottie. His little girl.
He realized with shame that he had barely seen her. That she had been left to nurse her longing for Aurelia alone.
Without a second thought, his feet carried him to her chambers. The door was ajar when he arrived, faint candlelight spilling into the corridor.
He hesitated, unable to muster the courage to face her.
“It’s all right, Sir Whiskerton,” he heard her whisper. He watched her stroke the cat’s back as she curled up on her bed. “She’ll come back for us. I know she will. She promised.”
The cat purred faintly, as though agreeing.
Percival’s chest tightened. And it hurt him to see that he wasn’t the only one hurting.
Even my daughter feels her absence like a wound.
He took a deep breath and finally knocked on the door.
Lottie lifted her head at once, her curls falling around her face. When she saw him, her lips curled into a small smile.
However, it wasn’t the radiant one that used to greet him. This one was tired, strained, as though she were forcing joy into her heart.
“Papa,” she murmured.
Percival stepped inside and crossed to her bed. The mattress sank under his weight. His eyes softened as he looked at her, but guilt shadowed them all the same.
“Have you eaten?” he asked gently. “Are you feeling well?”
Lottie only hugged the cat tighter, her eyes fixed stubbornly on his face. “When is she coming back?”
The question came impatiently, proving that she wasn’t ready to discuss anything else with him. And it sliced through him like steel.
“I want Aurelia,” she added.
