She sneered after him, then looked back to the Duke, laying her hand on his forehead, which was worryingly hot.
He tossed as if trying to avoid her touch, and muttered, ‘Too late.’
She took his limp hand, folding the fingers around her own, urging him to respond. ‘No, Your Grace. There is still some life in you.’
‘Too late,’ he repeated. ‘I promised. But I thought there was time.’
That was the way of death, she supposed. When it came, it was always too soon. ‘You can have all the time in the world,’ she coaxed. ‘But you have to want it. What happens next is up to you, Your Grace.’
That sounded too formal for the things she needed to tell him. What had Julian called him? ‘Sebastian,’ she whispered.
He turned his head towards her, leaning towards the word.
She smiled, encouraged. ‘You have to fight, Sebastian.’
‘To what purpose?’ he moaned, but she felt the grip on her hand tighten. ‘No one cares.’
‘I care,’ she said, squeezing back. ‘I am here for you, and I am not going anywhere. You are the one who must not leave.’ Without thinking, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss onto his forehead. ‘Stay with me, Sebastian.’
‘For you,’ he said. And for a moment, a ghost of a smile, flitted across his lips. ‘I would fight dragons.’
She stifled a smile of her own. Apparently, he was not so far gone that he would not try to charm a lady. It was an encouraging sign. ‘That will not be necessary,’ she whispered, her lips brushing his ear. ‘Not until you are better, at least. Wewill discuss it when you are better. But you must get better. Promise me you will fight.’
He groaned, in response, but she felt a tiny nod.
She let out a sigh of relief. Then, she soaked a rag in cool water, wiped his temples and dampened his lips. ‘Be strong, Sebastian. Be strong for me.’
He gave another faint nod before letting out a sigh and settling back into the pillows as if the brief conversation had exhausted him.
She set the cloth aside and sat down again. As the doctor had said, there was little more they could do than wait.
He had been wrong. He was in hell, after all.
One minute, he could swear that his flesh was being scorched from his body. The next, it felt as if he was drowning in an icy lake. There was not a moment between the two extremes when he was himself and free of pain.
But through it all, he heard her voice.
At first, he’d thought it was his grandmother. That was likely nothing more than a fantasy rising out of his guilt and grief. She had been the only one to care if he lived or died.
But that could not be. Grandmama was dead, and this voice was calling him to live. Then he remembered the face of a woman bending over him. Brown hair, grey eyes and skin that glowed like opal in candlelight.
His angel.
She had promised to stay and was beside him through it all. She’d kept assuring him that there would be an end to the misery, if only he would fight. In his sleep, he smiled, thinking of her. He had lost all hope. Then, she had come and brought it back to him. He would not fail her. He could not.
She was at his side, now, pressing a cup to his lips. Something that tasted foul. He turned his head but she insisted. ‘I know it is horrid,’ she murmured and slipped an arm around his shoulders, cradling him against her body so he could sip. ‘But it will help with the fever.’
He didn’t need medicine. He just needed to be held like this, so close to her that he could hear her heart beating against his ear. If he could just get his strength back, he would tell her so.
She nudged his mouth with the cup again and he took a sip for her. Then another. He could not remember finishing it, but she must have been satisfied for she took it away and said, ‘Now you must sleep.’
He was too tired to argue, so he did.
When at last he woke, it felt as if he had gone for ages without food or water. ‘How long?’ His throat was dry and the words came out in a hoarse croak.
‘Four days since the duel. Two since the fever began.’
He tried to open his eyes to search for her, but they felt as if they were full of sand. When he reached to wipe them clear, a bolt of pain shot through his left shoulder and he dropped his hand to his side again.
