“If you insist.” A smile tugged at his lips. “I will have the carriage readied. We leave at once.”
He gave her a final look, the ghost of a smile still there, before putting his head down and striding away.
Helena did not think for a moment about the greater implications of this. In her mind, they meant little. This was about Daniel only, and whatever it was that was happening between her and her husband could wait. Such was how she had come to care for the children. Almost as much as Sebastian, she was sure.
There was no talking on the ride to the orphanage.
It was not as awkward as it could have been. It did not feel as if the weight of what happened only a few days ago was sitting between them, stifling and tense. Rather, it was the weight of the situation at hand that forced the silence, both Helena and Sebastian equally as concerned for Daniel’s well-being. And nothing said would fix that.
Helena watched Sebastian as the ride went on. She took note of the way he fidgeted. The worry on his face. Daniel was but one child of dozens, not related to him, not his responsibility. But he was behaving as if his own son had fallen ill.
I had forgotten how much he cares. Or maybe I had just allowed myself to forget, because to remember would be to remind myself of who he really is… and how much I love that about him.
When they reached the orphanage, Sebastian strode in ahead of Helena. But not because he was trying to avoid her, but because he was just that worried.
She hurried after him, through the front doors and across the open floor to the very back corner, where Daniel was being kept. His eyes were closed, and his skin was grey and covered in sweat. He looked so frail and so helpless, moaning softly, writhing and wincing in his sleep.
Helena stayed back as if she was scared to get too close. And watching him suffer… her heart broke.
“I have done all I can.” There was one doctor with Daniel, and once they arrived at his bedside, he explained the situation to the two of them as best as he could.
“What does that mean?” Sebastian was shaking, angry. Not at the doctor, but at the situation. That there was nothing he could do.
“It means that time is what the child needs,” the doctor explained. “The illness that has taken him…” He looked down at the boy. “I believe the worst of it has passed.”
“What is it?” Sebastian demanded. “How did this happen?”
The doctor sighed. “It was likely something he ate. We cannot know for sure. But the worst is behind him—he is stronger than he looks. He has fought back the infection, and I have done as much as I can. As I said, time is what he needs. Time and rest.”
“How…” Sebastian’s chin was trembling. “How will I know that he is… How much time?”
“The next few hours will tell us.” The doctor rested a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “If he wakes soon, I would say that he is in the clear.”
“And if he doesn’t wake?”
To that, the doctor had no answer.
Sebastian fell to his knees beside the bed. He took Daniel’s hand, holding it to his chest. He was shaking, sniffing back tears.
Never had Helena seen someone so broken.
She stayed back for a moment longer.
It was a stupid thing to think, but she worried how it might look were she to comfort Sebastian as he needed. She had been at pains these past few days to distance herself from him, not wanting to give him the wrong impression. Not wanting to make things harder for herself.
But as she watched her husband silently pray and weep for the young child, she came to understand just how foolish she had been.
Why was she so eager to end their relationship? Why was she so scared to do so?
She told herself it was because she did not want to be married to a man who would trap her. That she wanted freedom, and doubted that for all his promises, Sebastian would give her that if she accepted this marriage as more than one of convenience.
Only those arguments felt small and irrelevant. They felt desperate. As she watched her husband weep for a child he hardly knew, she came to understand who he truly was and how she saw him.
He is different. Behind the false charm, behind the coy smirks and humor, he is kind and caring and gentle. He is real and honest. He is unlike any man I have ever known. And that is what matters.
Quietly, Helena walked closer to the bed. She then crouched beside Sebastian and rested a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened at her touch, slowly relaxed, then finally accepted it.
His other hand went to her arm. He looked up and met her eyes, the sadness in his own clear. There was gratitude because he needed her at this moment.
