Page 118 of Bound By the Duke
Lady Scovell shifted on her feet. Though her back remained straight, Percival could see the crack in her composure.
“She is resting,” she said curtly. “The physician assures us she will recover.”
But her reassurance fell flat. It barely touched him. It bounced off the grief in his chest before falling to the floor.
His hand tightened around Aurelia’s, his thumb brushing over her fingers with a silent prayer.
“What happened to her?” His voice was deadly quiet now, a storm contained within a whisper. “I want the truth. All of it.”
Lord Scovell hesitated. His eyes flickered to his wife. But then the truth came out anyway, the weight of it too heavy to hide.
“She escorted her younger sister to a suitor, but then an incident happened,” he revealed. “While trying to escape, the cad tried to attack them. But… But Aurelia tried to defend herself. She tried to protect Nora. It’s so unfortunate. She fought them with her own hands. If not for her?—”
“Cornelius,” Lady Scovell cut in sharply, silencing him. Her lips thinned, and her eyes narrowed with reprimand.
The silence that followed was heavy as they exchanged a look.
Percival eyed them, and he could almost sense what they were communicating to each other. That he wasn’t supposed to know that. That he wasn’t supposed to know his wife had embarrassed him by throwing fists. That she hadn’t acted like a duchess.
“She fought them,” he spoke, not wanting that part of the truth to be buried, “and you dare call that misfortune?”
Lady Scovell lifted her chin. “You know as well as I do that such… unladylike behavior is unbecoming of a duchess. It was an unfortunate display, one best forgotten.”
“Unbecoming?” For once, Percival couldn’t hide his confusion. Couldn’t deny the fact that his in-laws could be so suffocating. “She protected her sister when no one else could. She risked everything, and you have the gall to speak of decorum?”
Lady Scovell pressed her lips into a tight, bloodless line, saying nothing.
But when Percival returned his gaze to his wife, his voice cracked with grief. “No… If anyone has failed her, it’s me.”
His thumb brushed across her hand again, trembling, reverent.
“I pushed her away,” he whispered, half to himself. “I made her believe that she was unwanted. And now… now she lies here because I was too much of a coward to give her what she deserved.”
The fury that had carried him here, the steely armor of his pride, all fell away at that moment. What remained was nothing but raw, aching regret.
Lord and Lady Scovell simply watched him. They said nothing.
There was nothing to say.
As silence pressed down heavily on them, he felt a faint movement. Aurelia’s fingers twitched beneath his.
Percival froze. His heart slammed once, twice, painfully against his ribs. “Aurelia…”
His head turned toward her, his blue eyes wide with desperation.
Her lashes fluttered faintly. Her lips parted, and a tremulous breath slipped free.
Relief and dread collided inside him all at once.
She was waking up.
Her lashes fluttered again, like delicate wings breaking free from slumber. Then, her brown eyes opened. Unfocused at first, but real andalive.
The faintest sigh escaped her lips. It was such a small and fragile sound, yet it made everyone halt.
Percival remained on his knees, still watching her with disbelief. Lord Scovell straightened quickly, and Lady Scovell pressed her fingers to her mouth as though she was witnessing a miracle.
As for Percival, relief washed over him, so fierce that it nearly stole his breath.
