Page 9 of Duke of Emeralds (Dukes of Decadence #2)

“ I think it is time we tell Mother, don’t you?” Leonard said as Hester alighted from the carriage.

Hester paused, her breath hitching slightly. “Oh, yes, of course. I was going to speak to you about it.”

The gravel crunched beneath her slippers, a sound that had always signified home, yet today it echoed with a newfound weight. She followed Leonard inside, her mind a whirlwind of emotions.

They found Patience in the conservatory, a serene sanctuary bathed in the golden hues of the afternoon sun. She sat on a bench, her delicate fingers deftly braiding the fringes of her shawl, a gentle hum escaping her lips.

Leonard and Hester exchanged a glance before sitting on either side of their mother. Leonard took Patience’s frail hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We have something to tell you, Mother.”

Patience looked up, her eyes curious. “Is it dinner time yet? Should we go get ready?”

Leonard smiled patiently. “Before dinner, there is something else you should know.”

He looked at Hester, giving her an encouraging nod. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest.

“I am getting married, Mama. To the Duke of Lushton,” Hester announced.

“Oh, that’s wonderful news,” her mother exclaimed, her eyes welling with tears of joy.

She pulled Hester into a tight embrace, her arms wrapping around her daughter with a strength that belied her frail appearance.

“Oh, my darling daughter. Now, I can finally rest, knowing you are getting married,” Patience whispered, pressing a tender kiss into Hester’s hair.

After a moment, she drew back and studied Hester. “Are you in love with him, my dear?”

“I… yes,” she lied.

“Oh, splendid!” Patience drew her back into an embrace.

Despite the guilt gnawing at her conscience, Hester nestled into her mother’s warmth.

The moment was fleeting, however, for Patience drew back, her eyes suddenly alight with a new purpose. “Oh, did you tell your father? We must tell your father at once,” she said, her gaze darting around the space as if expecting him to materialize.

Hester’s heart sank, and she glanced at Leonard, her eyes wide with alarm. The dread that had been lurking at the edges of her consciousness now settled heavily in the pit of her stomach. Before either of them could react, Patience sprang to her feet, her movements swift and determined.

“Benedict, darling?” she called out, her voice echoing through the conservatory as she made her way toward the door.

“Mother,” Leonard called after her. Hester followed hot on their heels, her entire body tense.

“Oh, Leo, this is splendid news. We must find your father,” Patience insisted, her steps quickening as she began opening doors, her search for their late father growing more frantic with each passing moment.

Leonard tried to intervene gently, placing a hand on her arm to still her movements. “Mother, we can always tell Father later,” he said, his voice calm and reassuring.

But Patience shook her head, her eyes wild with both joy and desperation. “Why, but we cannot have dinner without your father too. All the more reason to find him,” she insisted, her voice rising slightly.

“Oh dear,” Hester murmured, her heart twisting with sorrow and helplessness. She hadn’t meant for her words to make matters worse, but she knew all too well the fragile state of her mother’s mind.

Leonard sent her a reassuring glance, his eyes filled with a quiet strength that Hester clung to. He followed their mother into his study, a room that had once belonged to their father, and Hester trailed behind them, her steps heavy with dread.

Patience moved through the room, her gaze darting from one corner to another, as if willing their father to appear. When she came up empty, she turned to them, her eyes filled with confusion and distress. “Children, I cannot find your father in his study,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.

“How about—” Leonard began, but Patience quickly cut him off, her eyes wild with a mix of desperation and hope.

“Oh, I saw him going to the stables earlier. Perhaps he’s still there,” she said with a sheen forming in her eyes.

“Mother, Father is not in the stables,” Leonard said, his hand reaching out to gently grasp her arm, trying to still her frantic movements.

“Well then, where is he?” she demanded, her eyes darting around the room as if expecting him to appear at any moment. “I need to find him,” she insisted, her voice rising with each word.

Hester’s heart wrenched as she watched her brother struggle to gently contain their mother, his arms wrapping around her in an attempt to calm her. But Patience was growing more agitated by the second, her body trembling with the force of her emotions.

“Benedict!” Patience screamed. “The children don’t want me to find you,” she added, her voice breaking with betrayal and despair.

“Mother, Father is no more. He’s dead. Gone. And you know it,” Leonard cried out.

Patience let out a wail, her body shaking with the force of her sobs. “You liar!” she beat against his chest, clawing at his coat. “My husband is not dead. He’s very much alive. More alive than you’ve ever been. You liar!”

Tears rolled down Hester’s cheeks. My mother did not deserve this fate, she thought, her hands clenching at her sides. She’d only loved, and was it a crime to love so deeply?

Patience’s frenzied gaze suddenly landed on Hester, her eyes filled with a desperate plea. “Tell him, Hester dear,” she urged. “Tell your brother that your father is not dead. That death wouldn’t have dared take him from me.”

Hester stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to find the words. She couldn’t voice the truth, not when it would only bring more pain to her mother. But she hoped that despite her state, her mother could read the truth in her eyes.

And she did. Patience’s eyes filled with grief and rage as she looked at Hester, her body trembling with the force of her emotions. She gave another violent jerk in Leonard’s arms.

“You lying little girl!” she cried.

The commotion had drawn the attention of the servants, who began to appear in the doorway.

“What have we done to deserve such lying children, Benedict?” she wailed as Leonard scooped her into his arms and made his way toward her chambers.

The housekeeper, Mrs. Thompson, hurried after them. “My Lord,” she called out, breathless with concern.

Leonard turned to her. “Get her tea ready at once. We need her calmed,” he instructed, his voice was controlled despite the turmoil that was evidently within him. “And send for the doctor too.”

“At once, My Lord,” Mrs. Thompson responded, her voice filled with a mix of concern and efficiency. She turned to the maid who had followed them, her hands gesturing as she gave the young girl more instructions.

“Pardon me, My Lord,” Mrs. Thompson said. “I shouldn’t have let her out for too long.”

Leonard shook his head, his expression softening slightly. “God knows she deserves the air,” he said, his voice filled with a mix of sorrow and understanding. “None of us could have foreseen this happening.”

Hester could see the weight of their mother’s condition pressing down on Leonard, the lines of worry etched deep into his forehead.

He laid their squirming mother on her bed, his movements gentle and careful despite the resistance she put up.

Patience’s arms flailed, her body trembling with the force of her emotions.

But even in her distress, she managed to break free of his hold, her hand lashing out and striking him squarely across the cheek. The sound of the slap echoed through the room, and a shocked silence descended upon them all.

Even Patience seemed taken aback by her own violence, her body freezing as she stared at her son, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and horror. Leonard’s jaw clenched, his expression a mix of pain and sorrow, and Hester felt her heart twist within her chest.

“Is that you, Benedict?” Patience’s voice broke the silence, her hand reaching out to cradle Leonard’s face between her palms. She stroked the part of his cheek she had just assaulted, her fingers trembling slightly as she traced the thin cut her nails had left behind.

“Oh, Benedict,” she sighed. This was not the first time their mother had mistaken Leonard for their father during one of her distressed moments, and Hester knew that they would simply have to let matters take their natural course.

Leonard’s expression softened slightly, his eyes filled with a mix of sorrow and understanding as he looked at their mother. “I know, Mother,” he said, his voice gentle and reassuring.

“We must begin the wedding preparations at once, Benedict,” Patience continued, her eyes alight with a fervor that belied her fragile state. She was oblivious to Leonard’s address of her as ‘Mother,’ her mind lost in a world where her beloved husband still lived and breathed.

Leonard’s smile was patient, but Hester could see the pain etched in the lines of his face, the sorrow that weighed heavy in his eyes. “We will, Mother,” he said. “But first, we must get you well rested so you can be at your best for the preparations and wedding, right?”

Patience nodded, her eyes glazed with a distant look. “Well rested for the wedding. Yes, yes,” she murmured, her body swaying slightly as if caught in a gentle breeze.

Just then, the maid returned with a tray bearing a steaming cup of tea. The aroma of chamomile and lavender filled the room, a scent that had always brought a sense of calm and comfort to Hester. Leonard took the cup and held it to Patience’s lips, his movements careful and tender.

“Have some of this, Mother,” he encouraged. “It’ll help you rest better.”

Thankfully, there were no more protests from Patience as she drained the cup, her hands trembling slightly as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

Hester perched on the bed next to her brother and mother, her heart aching with a mix of sorrow and love.

She pulled their mother’s skeletal hand into hers, her fingers massaging slow, soothing circles into the fragile skin.

Leonard turned to the housekeeper. “She’ll likely be asleep before the doctor comes,” he whispered. “So bring him to my office the moment he arrives.”

“Very well, My Lord,” the older woman replied. She shepherded the waiting maid out of the chambers silently and closed the door behind her, giving them the privacy they needed.

They sat with their mother for a while. Patience’s breathing gradually slowed, her body relaxing into the softness of the bed, and soon, she was asleep, her face peaceful and serene.

Leonard stood and tucked the blanket around their mother, his eyes lingering on her face for a moment longer. Hester followed suit, her heart heavy. They made their way out of the chambers and down to the drawing room.

Hester collapsed onto the sofa, her body trembling with the force of her barely restrained tears. “I’m sorry, Leo,” she whispered.

Leonard crouched before her, his hand placing a gentle, placating pressure on her knee. “Whatever for?” he asked, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at her.

“For everything,” she cried, her hands covering her face as she gave in to the sobs that had been building within her.

“I should be the one apologizing,” Leonard countered. He reached out, his hand gently brushing away the tears that had escaped her eyes, his touch a comforting warmth.

Hester sniffed. “I just stood and watched,” she whispered. She hadn’t felt this helpless in a long time, and the weight of her inability to act, to help, broke her heart. “I wish I could have done more.” Leonard shook his head, his expression softening as he looked at her.

“You did everything you could,” he reassured. “It is up to me to?—”

“Oh, do not blame yourself, Leo,” Hester cut him off. She placed a hand on his arm. “Mother’s condition is not your fault.”

Leonard’s shoulders slumped. “I know, Hester, but I only wish I could be of more help to you, dear sister.”

Hester’s heart twisted painfully in her chest at the thought of leaving her brother to bear their mother’s condition alone. “Knowing that you care is all the support both Mother and I need,” Leonard continued. “It’s all right, Hester. Everything is going to be well. Mother will be fine.”

She managed a small smile. “Let us have your cut treated now, shall we?”