Chapter 22

Duncan’s relationship with Sophia had progressed favorably in the last few days, but now it was time to take the next step.

“I shall ask her to come stay in my room tonight,” he repeated to himself as he made his way up the stairs towards her room.

All of the nights that Sophia had spent here, she had slept in her own room. Duncan knew that had to change. After all, what sense did it make for them to sleep in separate beds now that they had admitted their feelings for one another?

However, before he could broach the subject, a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him. His vision blurred, and he felt the room spin.

“Whoa,” he steadied himself, knocking down a nearby vase in the process. It smashed into smithereens across the floor.

“What is happening here?” Jacob’s concerned head peered out of his room which was just down the hallway. Upon seeing his brother in such an uneasy state, he rushed over to him. “Are you all right, Duncan?”

The Duke struggled to find his voice, the room swaying dangerously around him. “I... I’m not certain. Just a momentary weakness, I suppose. I’ve been feeling ill all day.”

“You’re not well,” Jacob stated the concern in his tone deepening. “You can barely stand up.”

“No, no, I just need to speak to the Duchess is all. I shall be fine in a moment,” Duncan persisted, his breaths coming out in labored gasps.

But before anything more could be stated, Duncan felt darkness envelop him, and he succumbed to unconsciousness, collapsing on the floor.

Sophia had just finished getting ready for dinner when she heard loud voices coming from the hallway. It was unusual for there to be any sort of activity outside at this hour, and she decided to see for herself what was happening.

As she stepped into the dimly lit hallway, she noticed a crowd of servants huddled together, exchanging anxious glances with their faces tense with worry.

“What is happening?” she demanded, concerned lines etching themselves onto her forehead. “Who is there?”

She could not make out who they were surrounding, but her intuition had a gut-wrenching feeling that something terrible had happened.

One of the maids, her eyes wide with concern, stepped forward. “Madam, it’s the Duke. He’s taken ill.”

Sophia’s heart skipped a beat, a chill of fear coursing through her veins. “Ill? How? What happened?”

“We are not sure, but he collapsed in the hallway,” she replied.

Sophia’s heart was beating so loud that she could hear it in her ears.

“A physician must be sent for immediately!”

Sophia rushed over to where the servants had been huddled and saw the unconscious body of the Duke being carried away by Jacob and one of the servants.

“He is being transported to his room until the physician arrives,” the maid informed her, sneaking up behind her.

Sophia watched as they carried him away, feeling helpless that she was unable to do anything at that moment. Her mind was spinning, and she could not understand what could have happened for him to collapse like this.

He had been fine just hours before when they spoke. But then she remembered how he had been feeling strange then, too.

Could it be possible that the two were related?

“It’s best if we do not crowd him,” Jacob emerged from inside the Duke’s room moments later. “You may all leave. I am here with him.”

Jacob had not noticed that Sophia was standing right here with the crowd of servants. She dared not go inside, for she would not know how she would react upon seeing the Duke in such a state. Instead, she nervously paced the hallway.

“Duchess,” Jacob said, finally seeing Sophia once the crowd of servants dissipated.

“Oh, Jacob.” Sophia’s tone was colored with worry, and a panicked expression covered her features. “What has happened to the Duke? Were you there with him?”

“I am afraid I do not have any useful answers for you at this moment. We must wait for the physician to arrive to find out what exactly happened. I was in my room when I heard the sound of a vase breaking and stepped outside to find my brother in a woozy state. He then collapsed on top of the broken glass, leading to other injuries.”

Sophia let out a tortured gasp.

“But what is the reason behind this? I only know that he reported feeling strange in the evening,” she said, desperately trying to make sense of what had happened.

“Once again, I cannot say,” Jacob replied. “But it is the first time something like this has happened to him. He is of robust health. It is very out of the ordinary.”

“You mean to say that nothing of the sort has never happened before?” Sophia asked.

“Not to my knowledge.’

Sophia’s hands trembled as she clasped them together.

“Then it must be my fault,” she blurted out, guilt crowding her delicate features.

“Your fault?” Jacob asked, surprised. “What on Earth are you talking about?”

Sophia began to shake her head as she finally understood what had truly happened.

“This is all my fault. You see, I had foolishly deluded myself into thinking that my curse holds no ground. But a few days after we decreased the distance between us, this happened. It cannot be a coincidence.”

Jacob was looking at her as though she was speaking nonsense.

“Your Grace, that is a wild assumption. It could have been a number of factors. Perhaps Duncan was just exhausted from the events of the day. Many before him have fainted, and they have not been subjected to a curse,” he tried to reason with her.

“Yes, but you just admitted that something of this sort is extraordinary for the Duke. Even I know it to be true; he takes perfect care of his health and should not be fainting like this.”

“Perhaps then it was something that he ate. We know that he was in a meeting this evening. Who knows what was served to him there.” Jacob countered.

“No, he told me previously that he did not eat anything that entire day because they were serving beef dishes, and he does not enjoy those.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow at her.

“Then perhaps it was something that he had for breakfast.”

“Jacob, you know very well that His Grace has the same breakfast each morning without fail, and nothing has happened to him because of it. You are detracting from the real reason.”

“Yes, because the reason which you think it happened is highly absurd.” Jacob shook his head. “I advise you to get some rest. The physician shall be arriving soon, and he will inform us of what truly happened.”

“How can I possibly go rest when he is in there lying unconscious?” Sophia’s voice was a testament to the pain she was feeling.“When is the physician going to arrive?”

“He should be coming any moment now,” Jacob assured her.

Seconds stretched into minutes, and Sophia felt as though she was in purgatory as she waited for the physician to arrive. Finally, there was a noise coming from the front door.

Sophia and Jacob had been waiting in the hallway all this time, worried expressions on their faces. They scrambled to their feet as soon as they heard the sound of someone approaching them.

“Physician,” Jacob greeted him, “I am glad that you have finally arrived. We require your assistance urgently.”

“Yes, of course. I came as soon as I was summoned,” he noted. “What is the problem?”

“It is my brother. He has mysteriously fainted, and we cannot get him to wake up again.”

“I see, let me take a moment to examine him,” the physician suggested and disappeared inside the Dukes’ chambers.

Sophia held her breath, scratching the inside of her palm in her nervous state.

“The best we can do at this point is remain optimistic,” Jacob told her, but his words flew above her head.

“Optimistic?” she repeated, horrified. “I would find that much easier to do, were it not my husband in there.”

“Your husband,” Jacob noted, “and my brother. I assure you, I am just as worried as you are.”

“Oh, I was not suggesti —”

Sophia’s defense was cut off halfway when the physician returned to them.

“What is it?” Sophia dropped everything that they were discussing prior at once. “Please, let us know, physician.”

While Sophia wanted answers and reassurance, she could only find more confusion on the physician’s face.

“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 just that 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.

“Of course, but what is the reason for you packing in such a rush?” Clara asked, folding the clothes that Sophia had so recklessly thrown in the suitcase.

“No need to fold. We need to be fast,” Sophia said urgently. “We are leaving the estate tonight.”

“Leaving?” Clara could not hide her shock. “But Lady Sophia, the Duke is ill. He would not want you to leave his side in a time like this.”

“The reason for his illness is me, Clara. It is best if I go away now. It is the only way that he will get any better.” Sophia’s voice was laced with desperation.

The decision to leave the estate was a hard one, but she had made it on the spot when she saw the state that the Duke was in. If she could not bear to see him now, he would only get worse the more time she spent around him.

Clara stopped what she was doing and stood staring at Sophia with her arms crossed out in front of her.

“I do not understand. How do you know you were the reason?”

“Because whatever they said about me is true,” Sophia frowned. “The curse has finally begun to work.”

“Oh, please tell me that you are not blaming yourself because of the curse.”

“Enough.” Sophia raised her hand in the air. “Everyone has been telling me that the curse is not real. It made me believe it, too. But now do you see what has happened? I refuse to be influenced by anyone else any longer. The right thing to do is to leave.”

Sophia’s voice was firm, and Clara did not have any grounds to argue. After all, she was supposed to listen to whatever Sophia told her.

“If you wish,” Clara said and resumed packing all of the things.

“Ask for the driver to prepare the carriage. It is late in the night, but I believe we can make it back to my aunt’s house by midnight if we are to leave immediately.”

The packing was done haphazardly, and the carriage was called. Sophia left the room in haste, forgetting to empty the drawer beside her bed that contained her little book of nightmares.

“I shall say goodbye to Jacob. Please wait for me outside,” Sophia instructed Clara.

She found Jacob pacing the hallway, the same place where she had last left him.

“Did you get some rest?” he asked once he noticed her walking towards him.

“I have come to say goodbye to you,” she announced, trying her hardest to keep her voice from shaking.

It was going to be difficult, but she had to go through with her plans. She had already been a fool once and let others convince her otherwise. The same mistake could not be made a second time.

“Goodbye?” Jacob eyed her, confused. He rubbed the sides of his temples, and Sophia could see just how stressed he was for his brother.

“Yes, I have decided to leave the Estate and head to my aunt’s house.”

Jacob opened his mouth to protest, but Sophia cut him off.

“I know that you will try and convince me to stay. I do not blame you as you are only acting out of concern for me. But believe me when I say this, it is the only way to keep the Duke safe. If I am to remain in the same premises for any longer, his condition will only deteriorate.”

“Is this regarding the curse again?” Jacob asked, having caught onto what she was implying.

“Indeed, it is.”

Jacob pursed his lips. He could see the determination on Sophia’s face. Getting her to change her mind at this point would be next to impossible.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Jacob asked. “What happens when the Duke wakes up and asks for you? I am sure that will hurt him.”

Sophia’s heart wrenched at the thought, but she had to remain firm on her ground.

“Then you will tell him that I have left because I had a change of heart.”

“A change of heart?” Jacob gasped in disbelief.

“Yes. Please, Jacob. You told me that you consider me to be your friend. As a friend, I ask for this favor from you. You must convince the Duke that the reason I have left is because I had a change of heart and no longer want to be wedded to him. Can you do that for me?”

“You wish for me to lie on your behalf to my own brother?”

“I know it is difficult, but consider this to be the last thing I ask of you,” she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. “This is difficult for me too, much more so than you can imagine.”

“Sophia…”

“Please, Jacob. You must do this for me. I cannot rest until I know that the curse has been broken. The only way for that to happen is for him to stay away from me. He will come looking for me if he knows the reason why I left which is why he must be convinced that I left because I do not love him anymore.”

“You are asking too much of me,” Jacob replied. “I have never lied to my brother.”

“Then you must do it for the first time if you value him.”

Jacob was quiet for a long moment, and an awkward silence hung in the air between them.

“I shall do what I can.”

“You have to promise me…”

“My mind is everywhere all at once right now,” Jacob sighed. “It is in no state to make promises of this sort to you. But I shall do what I can.”

“Then at least promise me this that you will write to me telling me how the Duke is doing once I am away.”

“That I can do for you.”

“Thank you,” Sophia replied. “I must get going now. Please, take care of him for me.”

“Are you not going to say goodbye to the Duke?”

Sophia shook her head, “It will be too hard for me to do. I am worried that it will even make things worse, both for him and for me.”

“As you wish.” Jacob let out a defeated sigh. “I do not want you to leave this way, but I cannot change your mind now. Safe travels, Duchess.”

When Sophia arrived at Kerling Estate, it was already midnight. As they reached the door, one of the maids opened it for them. The noise of their arrival alerted her aunt, who rushed over with her with hair still in a bonnet and a groggy expression on her face.

“Sophia, is that you?” she asked, squinting her eyes in the dimly lit hallway in which her niece stood.

“It is me, Aunt Rose.” Sophia moved to hug her aunt, burying her face inher neck.

All this time, Sophia had been holding back her tears, but now that she was in the company of her aunt, she could finally let her emotions flow freely. She began to cry softly.

“My child, you are really worrying me. What has happened for you to arrive at a late hour like this? Did you have a disagreement with the Duke?”

Sophia shook her head.

“I had to leave Blackmoore Estate in a haste. It was an emergency situation,” Sophia choked through her tears.

“Sit down.” Aunt Rose took her by the hand and made her sit on a chair that was nearby. “I have never seen you so distraught before. What could the emergency situation be?”

“My curse has returned,” Sophia replied. “The Duke fell ill for no reason.”

“And how are you so sure that it was your curse that was the cause for his undoing?” Her aunt’s voice was full of skepticism.

“Because my gut tells me so,” Sophia replied, tired of explaining herself. “He and I had been growing closer over the last few days, and suddenly, he collapsed on the floor.”

“That is indeed quite worrying. Did you summon a physician? What did he have to say?”

“The physician did not know the cause, but I know that my curse was the reason,” Sophia repeated, feeling pitiful.

“My dear, you have jumped to conclusions too early on. This is not the correct way to go about things.”

Sophia shook her head.

“No, I shall trust my gut instinct now. Look at my scars, Aunt Rose. How can a person who holds them not be cursed? You should not lie to me any longer to make me feel better. I do not deserve a life full of love. Whatever I touch, whoever I grow close to suffers a terrible fate.”

Usually, Sophia was careful around her aunt. She did not want her to worry too much, but tonight, she was letting it all out.

Aunt Sophia shook her head and looked at her niece with sympathy.

“I deserve the nightmares I got from it. I have decided to spend the rest of my days as a recluse in this house. These last few days, the tea you had sent me had been working, and my nightmares had disappeared, but now, I will stop drinking it as well.” Sophia was rambling now.

“My dear, I did not send you any tea. What are you referring you?” Aunt Rose asked.

“The tea,” Sophia emphasized. “You sent me a package at Blackmoore Estate, did you not?”

“I have done no such thing.”

Sophia’s head was spinning was confusion now. How was it even possible that her aunt did not know what she was talking about?

“Are you sure?”

“Do you really believe that I would be lying to you in a moment like this?”

Sophia was not sure what was real anymore or what was not.

“My dear, I really think that you are not well. You are spewing all kinds of nonsense.” Aunt Rose gently grabbed her hands. “This night has taken a turn for the chaotic, and it is best if we end it here. Sleep tonight, and we will discuss this with a fresh mind tomorrow.”

“But...” Sophia tried to protest, but she was exhausted from the long travel and the toll that her tumultuous emotions had taken on her.

“But nothing. Maria, please arrange for Sophia’s bedroom to be prepared. I shall sleep in there with you tonight as I am worried you will do something to harm yourself.”

Sophia was whisked away to her old bedroom by her aunt and her maids. Sophia kept wondering about the tea. It was a new mystery in her already confusing life.

If her aunt had not sent the tea, then who had? Was it possible that she had imagined the entire thing?

All these questions swirled in her head, but as soon as Sophia rested her head against the pillow, her exhaustion took over, and she flitted away to sleep.

Sleep was a welcome pause from a reality that Sophia so desperately wanted to escape.