Thomas arched an eyebrow at his grandmother, who stretched languidly on the sofa, her eyes glittering with mischief. “There is more to her than meets the eye; that is certain. It is a pity I will not get to see her in full bloom.”
“If you are trying to convince me of your imminent death, Grandmama, it will not work. It did not work the first time, and it definitely will not a second.” Thomas gave her a frank look. “You may have caught everyone else, but you will not fool me.”
“I am old. Who knows how many days I have left?” His grandmother placed a hand on her forehead and leaned back dramatically.
Thomas rolled his eyes and poured them both another cup of tea. “I suspect it is a matter of years, not days. You are strong as an ox.”
“You should be so lucky, though I do not care to be compared to an ox.” His grandmother gave him a mock offended look. “But that is not what I meant. I was saying that when you go your separate ways, I expect I will see less of her. After all, you only have two weeks left together.”
Thomas paused with his mug halfway to his lips.That cannot be right? Surely we have more time than that.Where had the time gone? His eyes darted to the doorway and then back to his grandmother, who was surveying him over the lip of her cup.
“A pity, the two of you seem to be quite the partnership.” She sighed and leaned back in her chair.
“We do. In truth, it has given me more time than I expected. Especially when it comes to the household. Everything runs like clockwork now that she is in charge of things.” He rubbed his neck. “And the staff adore her.”
His grandmother gave him a shrewd look. “It sounds to me like it makes far more sense for her to stay.”
Thomas paused, his eyes going to the door and then back to his grandmother.What will this place be like when she is gone?His stomach felt hollow, and he shook himself.
“If that is what she wants, then she is welcome to. This is her home as well.”
“Have you asked her?” the Dowager Duchess asked.
“Asked her what?” he swallowed.
His grandmother sighed. “I think you know the answer to that, Thomas.”
“I have not asked her; I have been under the weather and wanted to get everything set up for her security. The rings, the jewelry, her cottage in the lake district. Her settlement.” He twisted the wedding band on his own hand absently. “It will see her more than taken care of for the rest of her life.”
His grandmother frowned. “And why are you thinking about her settlement? You are young and healthy, unlikely to leave her a widow.”
“I felt it best to take precautions. She has dealt with enough uncertainty in her life. This way, she knows she will always be cared for.” He shrugged.
If I ask her to stay, I will know that it is a choice, not an obligation.
“Financially speaking, certainly. Please, Thomas, tell me you are not starting to believe in that foolishness about the curse.” The Dowager Duchess leaned forward and grabbed Thomas’s hand.
“What? Of course not. You know I do not believe in such superstitious nonsense.” He laughed, but it sounded hollow even to his ears. “I do not even have any symptoms. Why should such a thing worry me? I have had no outbursts, no strange bleeding.”
“Neither your father nor your grandfather experienced any such symptoms.” His grandmother frowned at him.
Thomas kept his voice even, trying not to betray his emotions as he asked. “What did they experience?”
“Why does it matter?” his grandmother narrowed her eyes.
“It does not. I am simply curious. My memory of that time is hazy. I remember Father in bed.”
Screaming in the middle of the night as his body was wracked with fever and spasms.He shrugged and stretched, as though it was of no importance to him.
“I would rather know than not; if I get sick again, knowing what they experienced will help me reassure Vivian that I am not at any risk.”
It was not entirely a lie. Though Vivian professed not to believe in the curse, she had seemed very worried about him when he was unwell. He absently ran his hands across his knuckles, thinking of how she had stayed by his side until his fever had broken.
He remembered his mother, the way she had wasted away at his father’s side.I will not do that to Vivian.There could be no question of changing their plans, of asking her to remain with him until he could rule out even the barest chance that he might die.
She might not even want to stay.He wished the thought was a comforting one instead of something that felt like a pinprick in his heart.
His grandmother nodded slowly. “Very well. I would not want her to worry about you.”
