I smiled. “Were you taking care of me, Beezle?” I pushed my sheets aside to stand.
“You’re awake.”
I looked up to find Maxwell studying me, a smile inching across his face.
“I am,” I said, then paused. “Don’t tell me you’ve been watching over me.”
Maxwell winced as he strode to my side. “Unfortunately with the competition, I wasn’t able to be here as much as I would have liked. I only just stepped in, and I’m afraid I woke you. You clearly needed the rest. You’ve been out for two days.”
“Two days!?” I asked, alarmed.
“Don’t push yourself. You had a fever. It just broke last night.”
My mind whirled. I hadn’t been sick since … since I’d last been human. How strange. I didn’t feel sick, although I did feel more tired than usual. I recalled how cold and weary I’d been on Old Mill Road. “I’m alright.”
“The doctor was pleased with your progress last night,” Maxwell continued. “If you feel up for it, you can come down for some tea. But perhaps you’d like to rest more.”
“I’m alright,” I repeated.
He smiled. “Of course you are. Ambrose was here as well, but other matters required his attention.”
“I can’t blame him. As entertaining as watching me sleep might be.”
Maxwell lifted an eyebrow. “The drool was pretty impressive.”
“And the snoring like a siren song, no doubt.”
Maxwell chuckled, shaking his head. “Already back to your old self, I see. I would have expected no less. Father’s nurse has been keeping a close eye, so I knew you were in good hands.”
I cocked my head. “Your father spared his nurse?”
Maxwell lowered himself to the edge of my bed, shrugging. “He might not be aware that I intervened on your behalf, but he certainly doesn’t need her around the clock. And I’m sure she was happy to escape him for a time.”
“Escape him? Interesting phrasing.”
Maxwell smiled tightly. “My father has good qualities and bad qualities, like anyone. He’s madly in love with his wife. He commands a room, a natural leader. But he also has … high expectations. It can be a lot. He doesn’t tolerate shows of weakness.”
“Like art?”
He snorted. “Yes, like art. And he is of the opinion that no actions are unreasonable if they serve to produce a favorable outcome.”
I pursed my lips. “It couldn’t have been easy growing up with a man like that, one who must always show strength.”
Maxwell eyed me warily. “We’ve learned how to live with him. I figured out early on how to make do. We all have. Emmett has had … more qualms with him than most. Emmett can be bullish at times. I think he likes to goad the old man, damn the consequences. But the duke is too frail to cause lasting harm any longer. That doesn’t mean the respect he’s instilled in us has diminished, however.”
“I find that I like your brother the more I learn of him.”
“I think he would like you too.”
I considered the duke’s role in his children’s lives. Emmett had clearly been at odds with him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Emmett’s disappearance had something to do with the duke. Maxwell tried to be amiable to everyone, probably ignored by his father most of all since he was the youngest. His kindness likely had more to do with Flora than anything. And Ambrose … was more like his father than the others. He might not rule with an iron fist like the duke clearly had, but there was enough of the man in him that I began to understand my dislike for the future duke. But it wasn’t Ambrose’s fault he had been raised in such a manner. Perhaps some of it could even be unlearned, and he could become a great man. Perhaps it would only take the right partner. That person, however, was not me.
“I told you I can manage,” I told Maxwell an hour later as he followed my footsteps to the library. “I ate, didn’t I?”
Maxwell pursed his lips. “Hardly. You were quite ill, Lucian. Nobody bounces back from that this quickly.”
“Well, I did.” I scowled at the skepticism I read in his face, stopping to glare at him. “I’ll go back to bed and rest for the entire day, but I want a moment alone with Helena.”
Maxwell hesitated and I crossed my arms to show that I was serious. “I’ll relent if you let me send another cucumber sandwich to your room,” he compromised.
