“I am afraid that I cannot ascertain the cause as of yet,” he replied. “He is showing abnormal signs, and I am unable to pinpoint exactly what is causing them.”
Sophia and Jacob exchanged worried glances.
“Are you sure that there is nothing you can help us with?” Jacob urged.
The man shook his head.
“I must apologize, My Lord. This is out of my expertise.”
Sophia had a million questions bubbling inside of her, but she knew that it was no use badgering the physician with them. He looked as though he had no clue, and it was best to let him leave.
“What do you suggest we do then?” Jacob asked, his tone growing increasingly more weary. In just a few hours, he looked as though he had aged many years.
“For now, I would suggest that you leave him alone to rest.”
“Right,” Jacob remarked. The physician bid his leave, and Jacob waited till he was out of earshot to speak up again.
“Well, that was entirely useless, was it not?”
“It has only increased my worries tenfold,” Sophia complained. “I was hoping that he would say it is a seasonal illness or perhaps something rancid that he had consumed, but the physician did not even know the cause of his mysterious illness.”
Jacob pursed his lips. “Now, Sophia, let us not get ahead of ourselves. There is no such thing as a mysterious illness. It is justthat whatever has befallen the Duke, the physician is unaware of.”
Sophia declined to answer immediately. The answer was clear as day. The physician could not gauge the cause for his illness because it was due to Sophia’s curse. She was sure of it now and would not let herself be convinced otherwise.
“I wish to see him,” she blurted out.
“Then you should. Though I doubt that it will do anything to improve your state. It will make you even more stressed if anything.”
Sophia gulped, gathering all the courage she could conjure. “I should still like to see him.”
Jacob did not protest the Duchess’ demands and instead lead her inside the Duke’s room.
Duncan lay motionless on top of the bed. Sophia walked over to him, tears brimming in her eyes. She was scared to touch him and blamed herself for what had happened.
See what you have done? You should have been more careful. Now, you have cursed the person that you love most in this world.
She longed to reach out and hold his hand, tell him that he was going to be okay, but worry clouded her mind. It might even make his condition worse if she lingered around him for longer.
That was when Sophia made a prompt decision. It was perhaps the hardest decision that she had to make in her entire life, but it was what needed to be done.
When Sophia exited the room, Jacob was in the hallway waiting for her.
“I shall return to my room now,” she announced, not meeting his gaze. She was too ashamed of what she had caused to look his brother in the eye.
“Please do not worry,” Jacob comforted her. “It will be okay.”
Sophia did not respond as she made a beeline for her room. She asked for her lady’s maid to be sent in immediately.
Once alone in her room, she began rummaging through her closet, throwing together whatever she could get her hands on.
It was this frantic state that Clara found her in when she entered the room.
“Duchess Sophia, you look as though you have seen a ghost,” she remarked as she rushed to aid her.
That is quite apt. I have just seen the ghost of my marriage.
“Can you help me put these clothes into the suitcase?” she asked Clara, not taking her eyes off what she was doing.
