Page 46 of Taming a Beastly Duke
Before she could think more on the matter, Lord Edwin entered as if answering some silent summons. Adelaide stared in shock as he and the physician took control of the situation. They spoke little, only in one-word communication back and forth which set her nerves on edge. By this time, servants had noticed the commotion and began shouting orders through the house. Soon after, the dowager duchess rushed into the room, her hysterical cries of anguish echoing through the room. Helena offered what little comfort she could, looking at Adelaide helplessly.
Edith soon appeared, collapsing into sobs. Adelaide hurried over to her, embracing her friend and patting her back gently, while her thoughts raced unbridled.
“Send the servants away until they are summoned,” Lord Edwin ordered, his calm, smooth demeanor unsettling Adelaide more than ever. “The footmen will help us get Marcus to his chambers. Everyone else settle in with some tea and calm yourselves. We must be strong for Marcus. Mr. Fletcher and I will handle Marcus’s care personally.”
Adelaide shuddered. She should have found solace in Lord Edwin’s confidence. Yet something about his manner was disingenuous to her, like the way his concern never reached his eyes. All his commands afforded her a growing sense of dread. Did he truly care about his cousin, or was there something sinister happening that she could not yet see?
Chapter Twenty-one
Marcus is standing where he discovered Charlotte’s body. The blood remains, red and ominous as ever. However, with a simple blink, her body has vanished, and Marcus is frightened and confused.
“Marcus,” says a voice from behind him.
Marcus turns to see Charlotte standing behind him. She is wearing her blue dress, but unlike the snow, it is no longer stained with her lifeblood. There is no wound, nor any indication that she has befallen any horrible fate. But Marcus notices something else; she is surrounded by a bright, golden light.
“Charlotte?” he asks, terrified to move for fear of watching her dissolve before his eyes. “I do not understand.”
Charlotte is within inches of him in an instant, and she places a finger on his lips.
“I have little time,” she whispers with a gentle smile. “You must listen. There is something you must know, and something you must do. You will die, Marcus. You must fight for your life and claim that which is yours.”
Marcus shakes his head, confused.
“I do not understand,” he repeats. “Who did this to you? How are you speaking with me? I saw you. You were dead…”
Charlotte shakes her head, silencing him once more.
“You are in grave danger, Marcus,” she says. “You must open your eyes and see things as they truly are. The answer is near, Marcus. See, Marcus. Before it is too late.”
Marcus glances around wildly, unsure what his ward means. There is nothing, save for the blood in the snow, which gives any indication of what she could mean. He turns to face Charlotte once more, but she and the golden light are gone. Not gone, he realizes as he faces the opposite direction. In the distance is a faint golden glow and a small blue streak. And on the edge of the light, something moves. It is fast and shrouded in shadow. But there is enough time to glimpse that it is a person. A man…
“Forgive yourself,” Charlotte’s voice whispers as if speaking directly inside his mind. “Save yourself…”
Marcus awakened with a start. He looked around the darkened room, relieved at first to find himself in his bed. However, Charlotte’s cryptic wordslingered in his mind. What did she mean by ‘the answer was near?’ What was he supposed to save himself from? He wanted to dismiss the dream as something conjured by his illness. But he could still hear her voice as if she had been sitting right beside him, speaking to him only a moment before. And how could he ever forgive himself? Her killer remained undiscovered. He could not afford forgiveness until he had brought the person who stole her life to justice.
Another fit seized him, and he trembled violently in his bed. His eyes fell shut, and his jaw tightened against the pain in his head and chest. When it was over, he stopped, abruptly and limply on his bed, coated in sweat and on the edge of unconsciousness once more. Before he slipped back into the black abyss, another voice filled his ear.
“Open your eyes, darling,” a voice which he instinctively knew belonged to his mother whispered fondly. “Open your eyes…”
***
It took all of Adelaide’s strength to wait until nightfall to slip away. Edith had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, and Helena was still sitting with the dowager duchess, trying to soothe her. Adelaide herself was on the verge of hysteria. But she knew that Marcus needed her. And she was sure that she would go madder than all the other women combined if she did not see him. She clung to the shadows of the darkening mansion as she sneaked through the corridors and to Marcus’s chamber door. She took a deep breath, silently encouraging herself as she stepped inside.
Finding Marcus collapsed in the library did nothing to prepare her for what she saw. He lay on his bed, his limbs splayed and trembling as if he was in the throes of another seizing episode. She rushed to his side, taking his cold, sweaty hand and squeezing it gently.
“Marcus,” she whispered, her tears threatening to burst forth from her like a broken dam. “Marcus, can you hear me?”
Marcus fell deathly still, and Adelaide’s heart dropped. However, after a long, agonizing moment, Marcus opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Mother,” he croaked, looking through her, rather than past her.
Adelaide’s heart ached. She knew his mother died when he was very young. For him to think he was his mother was a terrible indication of his heath.
“No, Marcus,” she said, choking back tears. It would not do to upset him, even if he did not know who she was.
He paused for a moment, and Adelaide watched his eyes regain focus. He struggled to remain with her, rather than slipping back into the darkness of the most dangerous sleep. She leaned closer, giving him a warm smile, despite the emotion that threatened to claim her.
“Adelaide?” he murmured, his voice thick with fever and unconsciousness, but filled with recognition and affection.
