William leaned his shoulder into Harred’s hand. “I just want this pain to go away. Nothing I am doing is working.”
“You are looking for happiness in all the wrong places.”
“But it is what I know.”
Harred hoped his voice conveyed the compassion he felt for his brother’s situation. “Happiness does not mean we don’t have problems, but it is the result of how we deal with them.”
“Pardon me for saying so, but what problems do you have?” William mocked.
“Well, someone is still trying to kill me,” Harred said as he watched for William’s reaction.
William’s eyes widened slightly. “Who is trying to kill you?”
“That is what I am trying to figure out,” Harred replied, dropping his hand to his side. “Someone took a shot at me at Vauxhall Gardens yesterday.”
“It wasn’t me!” William exclaimed.
Harred wanted to believe him, but he still had his doubts. William’s reaction had seemed sincere, but he couldn’t risk fully trusting him. It would be best to keep him at arm’s distance- for now.
“I know,” Harred lied. He felt bad for lying to his brother,but it was the only thing he could think of doing at a time like this.
William walked over to the decanter and held it up. “Why is this empty?” he asked. “It never is empty.”
Harred decided it was best not to speak about the arsenic that Greydon had found in it. “I will speak to Mitchell about it.”
“See that you do,” William said as he placed the decanter down. “I am going to lay down for a while.”
As William departed from the study, Harred sat down and reached for the ledger. He needed to focus on work, but his mind would not cooperate. Now that William was home, he would need to be more diligent, knowing one wrong move might be his last.
With a book in her hand, Octavia sat next to her mother as she slept in her bed, snoring softly. Her mother would be mortified to know that she was snoring, but Octavia didn’t care. To her, it was a peaceful sound, one that she would miss when her mother was gone.
She lowered the book to her lap and studied her mother’s thin, pale face. The end was coming, and Octavia was dreading it. A part of her was relieved that her mother would be out of pain, but she felt guilty for even thinking about such a thing.
She wondered what would become of her. Could she handle the days, the weeks and even the months ahead of her? She wanted to believe she was strong enough, but she wasn’t sure. Harred believed her to be, and she was desperately trying to prove him right. But what if he was wrong?
An image of Harred came to her mind, and she allowed herself to dwell on it. He was so much more thanjust a handsome man. His eyes told a story of who he truly was. Kind. Brave. Loyal. And she trusted him, wholeheartedly.
There had been many people that had come into her life, but never had someone made such an impact as Harred had. With one glance, he made her believe things about herself that she had once thought impossible. She wanted to be the person he thought she was.
Her mother’s eyes blinked open. “Hello,” she said softly.
“Hello,” Octavia responded.
Slowly, her mother moved to sit up in bed and rested her back against the wall. “Can you get me a cup of tea?”
Octavia rose and handed her the teacup that was on the table. “Here you go, Mother.”
Her mother stared back at her blankly. “Do I know you?”
Nothing could have prepared her for what her mother had just asked, despite knowing it would inevitably happen.
The doctor had told her that there was no point in arguing with her mother and to instead try to act as if it didn’t bother her. But she couldn’t just leave it alone. “I am your daughter, Octavia.”
A line between her mother’s brow appeared. “No, that doesn’t sound right. I do not have any children that I am aware of.”
“Please try and remember,” Octavia pleaded in a soft voice.
“I’m sorry, but I am not who you think I am,” her mother responded.
