Page 46 of Her Heartless Duke

Smiling to herself, she headed downstairs to join her aunt and cousin out in the gardens, seeming for all the world that she was looking forward to enjoying the soft afternoon sunlight herself.

She was halfway through the staircase when the world around her seemed to tilt, sway, and then spin slowly. Olivia clutched at the banister, her knuckles white as she struggled to keep herself upright, but the darkness had started crowding in on her vision.

No!I must make it to afternoon tea! I must—

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard one of the maids shriek out from the bottom of the stairs, “Lady Olivia! Oh, someone help!”

All of Bennet House seemed to erupt into chaos as servants poured into the stairway. Aunt Joana came in rushing with Fiona at her heels, both of them sporting looks of great concern as they ran up to help Olivia.

“Goodness!” Olivia forced an overly cheerful smile. “I only slipped a little and you would think the entire house was burning down!”

“Do not say such things!” Aunt Joana admonished her breathlessly.

Olivia grinned at her aunt in what she hoped was a teasing manner. “Truly, Aunt Joana, there is nothing to be afraid of. I simply tripped over and fell.” She paused and added, “Perhaps I should have Jane fix the hem of this dress. It might be a bit too long for the house…”

“Be that as it may, you are not supposed to be wandering about,” her aunt told her. “You are supposed to be abedrecovering.”

“But if I stay in my bedchamber for one more minute, I fear I shall go mad!” Olivia protested, putting on her best pout.

“Oh, Livvy, if you are so bored, I can always accompany you!” Fiona clutched at her hands. “Look at you—you are as pale as a sheet and cold as ice!”

Olivia frowned. “Really, I am perfectly fine!” she burst out. “A little bored out of my wits, perhaps, but that is to be expected after having been confined for—”

“Three days!” her aunt threw her hands up in frustration. “You have been in there for only three days! Really, this child…”

Olivia gritted her teeth and made a great show of being much aggrieved, knowing that her aunt would be hardly able to resist her. It worked rather well, too, for Lady Bennet seemed to deflate just a little.

“Oh, alright, you may join us at the gardens for tea,” she relented in defeat.

Olivia inwardly cheered in victory as she clapped her hands and with a wide smile, turned towards her cousin, who was still looking quite anxious.

“Thank you so much, Aunt Joana! I knew you would be able to see things from my perspective,” she grinned. “And, oh, Fi—you have to tell meeverything. I have been wasting away ever so slowly in my bedchamber watching the carriages from my window…”

Fiona smiled tremulously as she glanced at her mother. Olivia caught the look between them and knew that although her aunt might have given in to her request at that moment, it would be much harder for her in the future.

“Well, there is not much to say, really,” Fiona murmured as she helped her up and linked their arms together. “Lord Mansfield and Sir Walford nearly had a shouting match to see who could write the best poems…”

Olivia wrinkled her nose and sighed. “But both their poems are quite atrocious?”

Her cousin laughed a little. “That they are.”

She noticed that Fiona was walking a little slower and Aunt Joana trailed after them carefully, as if to prepare herself should Olivia truly faint on the way to the garden.

As they stepped out into the glorious afternoon sun, she turned her face and basked in its soft warmth, feeling it seep into her cold limbs. It was getting harder and harder for her to hide her condition and it was only a matter of time before everybody found out what she had already known for the past couple of months.

She was already running on borrowed time.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Isaac looked up to find Daniel striding into the gentlemen’s club, looking a little worse for wear. His sandy blond hair was a little mussed and his smile looked a little more tense than usual.

“This does not seem like your usual haunt,” the Earl remarked, finding a seat beside his friend.

Isaac merely smiled as he poured the man a drink. “I thought a change of scenery would do me good.” He handed him the glass and looked at him intently. “You look a bit out of sorts, old boy.”

“Tell me about it,” Daniel shrugged as he accepted the glass. “I had to get away or the ladies would drive me insane.”