Chapter 25

Forlorn.

That was what Sophia felt like in the two days that she had spent apart from the Duke. Her heart had felt restless ever since she had found out what had happened to the Duke, and guilt sagged her conscience as she blamed only herself.

Her days were spent mostly shut inside of her room, unwilling to make any sort of contact with anyone in the house. Aunt Rose would come and try to speak to her at various times of the day, but each time, Sophia would turn her away.

“I need some time to myself,” she would say, leaving no room for negotiation.

Her appetite had all but disappeared. Just the prospect of eating filled her with disgust, but her energy was replenished by the small meals that Clara force fed her by bringing food on a tray to her room and standing there until Sophia took a few bites.

The idea that her love story with the Duke was so short lived smashed her heart into a million smithereens, and she struggled to collect all of them to make herself whole again.

In fact, she was certain that she would never be whole again. Before she had met the Duke, Sophia had convinced herself that her life would be without love. It was not something that she felt happy about, but at least she had never experienced what love feels like.

Now, the situation was different. She had been given a taste of love and the warmth that accompanies it, only for it to be taken away.

“Cursed,” she muttered to herself, sitting by her window. “A cursed woman, dangerous to those who dare to love her.”

She had become a sad pinnacle of self-pity and loathed the circumstances of her life that had brought her into this position. The only real activity she engaged in was sitting by the window and keeping an eye out for any postman or messenger.

She had made Jacob promise to write to her, informing him of the Duke’s condition, but she had received no letter thus far. Did that mean that his condition had worsened, and he was trying to spare her feelings by not letting her know? Or was it that now that she had willingly left, she had been ousted from their family… and their hearts.

She did not know which possibility hurt her more.

A soft knock on the door brought Sophia back to reality, and Clara peered her head in through the door.

“I am not hungry,” Sophia groaned, thinking that she must have come to ask her for food again.

“Your Grace, you have a visitor,” she replied instead.

Sophia’s ear perked up, and she turned around, “Who is it? Is it Lord Jacob? Has he brought some news on the Duke?”

To her disappointment, Clara shook her head.

“It is a lady,” her tone was colored with skepticism.

“Well, tell Aunt Rose to cater to her. I do not wish to see anyone at this moment.”

“Lady Rose has stepped out of the house for some business in town. Besides, the lady has specifically asked for you. She says that she has something urgent to discuss with you.”

“Oh,” Sophia muttered, surprised. “Well, tell her that I shall join her in a moment.”

Sophia gazed at herself in the mirror. Her appearance was more unkempt than usual asshe had seen no point in dressing herself up in her depressed state. She quickly fixed up her hair and smoothed out the creases in her dress before heading out the door.

As she made her way down the stairs, Sophia to shocked to find Lady Barbara waiting there for her by the front door.

Is she lost? was the first thought that came to her mind.

“Duchess Sophia,” Barbara greeted her with a sly smile, “so glad that you could take the time to see me.”

“Lady Barbara,” Sophia acknowledged, and the memory of their last meeting began to play inside of her head.

Barbara had not given the impression that she appreciated Sophia very much with her snide remarks. In fact, she was one of the people that bad mouthed her the most about her scars. What on Earth could she possibly have to say to Sophia now?

“It is such a pleasant day outside, is it not? I was hoping the two of us could take a walk outside.”

Sophia eyed her with suspicion.

“I am not sure what it is that you could possibly want to discuss with me, but why can we not have the conversation in the drawing room?” she asked.

“Oh, it has been a long journey to your estate, and I’ve spent the last two hours inside a carriage. Would it be so bad to get some fresh air?” Barbara replied in a sweet manner.

Sophia nodded hesitantly. As strange as her unlikely appearance was, Sophia felt curious to know what Barbara had to say.

“Very well.”

The two women made their way outside. A silence hung between them, and Sophia waited for Barbara to speak. They had walked over to the parameters of Kerling Estate when she finally decided to break her silence.

“Lady Sophia, I have to say that I was wrong about you.”

Sophia raised an eyebrow. Was she trying to extend some sort of truce between the two and apologise for the awful things she had said previously?

“In what way?” Sophia replied, curtly. She knew better than to let her guard down so easily.

“Well, for one thing, I thought that a woman like yourself would be more aware of her place in society. An outcast, fated to the life of a lonely spinster.” Barbara had finally dropped her sweet act.

“Pardon me?”

“Am I wrong? You are a cursed woman, and you should be behaving as such. But instead, your ambitions are far greater than they ought to be. You’ve managed to weasel your way into the Blackmoore family and take the title that rightfully belongs to me,” Barbara stormed.

“Belongs to you? What sort of nonsense are you uttering?” Sophia furrowed at her brow, offended at the manner in which she was being spoken to.

“Of course, you know nothing.” Barbara rolled her eyes. “I am not going to waste my time explaining it to you either, but consider this a warning to back off from the Duke. You will only curse him with your presence. In fact, you already have, judging from the state he is in.”

Sophia stopped in her tracks. Barbara was saying exactly what Sophia believed internally, but it still angered her to hear Barbara speak to her like that.

“You know nothing about me,” Sophia replied, furious. “I would advise you to keep your nose out of my private matters as you are speaking to a Duchess. Be careful about meddling into my marriage.”

“Marriage,” Barbara laughed mirthlessly, “We both know that the Duke only married you out of pity. Do you truly believe you belong in his life? A cursed woman like yourself has no place beside the Duke.”

“How dare you!”

Before Sophia could even register what was happening, Barbara raised her hand and slapped her across the face. Sophia trembled backwards, losing her balance.

“I cannot believe the audacity of a cursed woman like yourself answering back to me in such a manner,” Barbara charged towards Sophia, making her walk backward. “Your marriage is a sham. It is nothing but an unfortunate twist of events, and soon, it will cease to be a problem in my life.”

Barbara grabbed Sophia roughly by her shoulders and began navigating her towards the lake behind them.

“Unhand me,” Sophia tried to fight back, but she was weak from the last few days of not eating well. Barbara was larger than her in size and easily manipulated her.

“Oh, not so quick, dear Duchess. It is time to deal with you once and for all,” Barbara smirked, having now brought Sophia to the edge of the water. Sophia froze in fear. Water was her greatest fear, and she was terrified that she would drown if her foot slipped even by an inch.

“I am sure that you must miss your family terribly. How about I do you a favour and expedite your union with them?” Barbara laughed maniacally. She had a craziness in her eyes that Sophia had never witnessed before.

“Stop this,” Sophia pleaded as she tried to free herself from Barbara’s grasp, but her movements were limited as the fear of falling into the water loomed large over her head.

“Stop it I shall.” Barbara gave one final smirk before pushing Sophia into the body of water.

A scream ripped through Sophia’s throat as she fell into the water, her arms flailing around helplessly.

It was just like her nightmares. Swimming to safety was not a possibility as Barbara guarded the banks of the lake, eager to push Sophia back. The water swirled around her as Sophia found her resolve weakening by the second, and her body became limp due to the coldness of the water.

Sophia was certain that this was the end. She was going to drown to death. Just like her nightmares had foreshadowed. Just like she should have, all those years ago.

Duncan knew that trouble was brewing nearby when he saw a carriage he did not recognize parked outside of Kerling Estate.

“Who do you work for?” the Duke demanded from the driver as Jacob and he stepped foot outside of their own carriage.

“Your Grace,” the driver scrambled to his feet as soon as he realized who was standing before him.

“I asked you a question,” the Duke barked, his patience running thin.

“L-Lady Barbara, Your Grace…”

Jacob and Duncan exchanged a worried look. “I knew her visit could not have been innocent today. She was trying to scout for Sophia’s whereabouts,” Duncan spat and then frantically ran towards the door.

He was just about to barge in when Jacob called out to him.

“Duncan, they are out there by the lake,” Jacob informed him, pointing north. “I see two female figures from the distance.”

“The lake?” Adrenaline pumped into his veins, and he was certain that Barbara must have tricked Sophia into going near the water.

He ran as fast as his legs allowed him. Even though he had been weakened by his illness, it did not matter to him now as his body used up his last strength to push through. As he raced towards them, he noticed that Barbara was holding onto Sophia while the latter protested.

He cursed under his breath, anger filling every pore of his being. A loud splash of water was heard, and panic soared inside of him as he realized that Barbara had pushed Sophia into the freezing cold water of the lake.

“Sophia!” he yelled out, causing Barbara to jump in surprise.

“Y-Your Grace.” Barbara’s voice was coming out in tremors.

He pushed her to the side, and his eyes widened with horror as he saw Sophia struggling in the water. Without bothering to undress, he dove straight into the icy depths of the lake.

The shock of the cold water was immediate, but it did not stop him from swimming towards Sophia. Her head had disappeared under the water now. He reached his hands into the water to grab what he could of her, pulling her up against his shoulder.

Once she was above the surface, Duncan wrapped his arms around her and began to drag her out with him.

“You are okay; you are okay,” he repeated to her, feeling her cold flesh in his hands as he swam to the lake shore. “I am here now.”

Sophia was not responding, causing him to panic even further. He dragged her out of the water and settled her down on the ground. Both of them were gasping for breath as they clung onto each other.

“Duncan…” Her voice was weak as she looked up at him with hooded eyelids.

“You are safe now,” he told her, rubbing the side of her arms in a desperate attempt to warm her up.

Barbara, who had witnessed the entire scene unfold, chose this moment to make her get away. She began to run towards the direction where her carriage was parked, but she did not manage to get too far as Jacob took hold of her.

“Where do you think you are going?”

Duncan was still busy trying to warm Sophia up when his brother tossed his jacket over to him.

“Here, put this around her,” he suggested.

Duncan caught the jacket and wrapped it around Sophia’s shoulders. Color began to restore itself on her pale face as the warmth surrounded her.

“You have no right to keep me here.” Barbara tried to free herself from Jacob’s grasp,but while she had been stronger than Sophia, she was no match for Jacob, who kept her from escaping with ease.

“That is quite something coming from you, given that we have just witnessed you trying to drown the Duchess,” Jacob replied.

“I am so sorry, my love.” Duncan kissed the top of Sophia’s head, never letting go of her hand. “You did not deserve any of this trouble that has come your way.”

“H-how did you know where to find me?” Sophia muttered back.

Duncan was hearing her voice for the first time in days, and it broke his heart that it had to be in these circumstances.

“We figured that you were in danger and came straight over to rescue you,” he replied.

In the background, he could hear Barbara arguing with Jacob, but it did not matter to him right now. Right now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

“I thought I would not see you again. I was worried about you.” Sophia buried her face into his neck. “How have you been?”

It warmed Duncan’s heart that Sophia was still concerned about him, even when she had just survived an attempt on her life.

“My dear, I am absolutely fine,” he assured her.

“But that day, you were out cold. I was worried sick,” she pointed out, a small tremble going down her spine as she recalled the events. “I was worried that something awful had happened to you.”

“I will explain everything to you, but first, we must deal with the one who was behind all of this.”

Duncan got up and took Sophia along with him. She leaned on his shoulder, and his arm wrapped tightly along her torso, holding her firmly in place.

“What do you reckon we should do with her?” Jacob asked once he saw his brother. He was still holding onto Lady Barbara, despite her frequent protests.

Barbara looked at them both in disgust.

“Your Grace, you should not be touching her,” she said, a hint of madness in her voice. It was possible that her scheming had finally made her go completely insane. “Her curse will transfer over to you, killing you just as it did her entire family.”

The softness that was present in the Duke’s voice just a moment ago evaporated instantly.

“You will have to pay for what you have just done. You are aware that you are dealing with the Duchess of Blackmoore, and no one should even dare to touch her,” he snarled at her. “What you did just was an attempt at my wife’s life, and I will make sure that it receives the adequate punishment by law.”

“Your wife?” Barbara repeated. “How easy it was for you to confer that title over to her, a cursed nobody, when you knew that it rightfully belonged to me.”

“Your delusion knows no bounds.”

“It is not a delusion.” Barbara was not going to let go of what she assumed to be her right so easily. “It was agreed upon, between your late father and mine. Have you so easily forgotten? My father loaned money to the late duke when he was in need in exchange of a promise that one day his son would repay his debt by marrying me.”

“You are stuck in the past. I paid off the debt to your father long ago, and I do not owe him a penny, let alone a marriage,” the Duke shot back.

“The agreed upon terms were not monetary; it was always supposed to be a marriage.” Her tone reeked of desperation now that she knew that she was on losing ground. “Your Grace, you are a man of your word, are you not? Everyone in the vicinity knows you as someone who remains true to his promises. Then why did you break this one?”

If the Duke was not filled with so much anger towards Barbara, he would have even felt sorry for her. She looked like a woman scorned, beaten down by the crushing feeling of not having her dreams fulfilled.

“It does not take a lot to figure out that the person who made the promise was my father, and not I,” the Duke replied, keeping his tone composed. “I was under no obligation to fulfil that promise.”

Barbara’s eyes darted between Sophia and then back at the Duke. Her lower lip quivered, and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

“What can she give you that I cannot?” she questioned. “I could prove to be a better wife than her. Please, Your Grace, you are making a mistake.”

“Was it your jealousy that led you to do this?” the Duke questioned. “You could not bear to see Sophia get the love that she deserved and decided to sabotage our marriage by throwing her out of the picture entirely?”

Everything was falling into place now. He was sure that it was Barbara who was behind the poisoning and who had sent the package. He just needed for her to admit it so that it could be used against her in court.

“I…” Barbara stammered. “Forgive me, Your Grace. I should not have tried to jeopardize anything. I should have taken the higher ground. In time, you would have come to me when you realized that… she… was not good enough for you.”

Her delusions truly knew no bounds. Duncan decided to press her further.

“Was it you that sent the package of herbs, disguised as from her aunt, to Sophia?”

“Herbs?” Barbara tried to feign innocence, but the Duke was staring her down.

“Admit it, Barbara. You should know that I do not like liars,” Duncan played her. “I can accept that you are a jealous woman. Your feelings forced you to be. But a liar? That is utterly irreprehensible.”

Barbara gulped, trying to gauge if the Duke was being sincere.

“Say for instance, we do accept that you are the better woman. Or that you were before this moment,” Duncan continued. “Would it not ruin your efforts and tarnish your reputation in front of me forever if you cannot admit to something that you clearly did?”

“Your Grace, it was me,” she replied. “I admit that I was the one who sent the herbs. But you understand that I only did so that our future together could be secured?”

“Lady Barbara, you did secure your future.” Duncan’s mouth twisted into a smile. A small ray of hope shined on Barbara’s face as she genuinely believed for a moment that she had been successful in getting the Duke to sway in her direction. She almost cracked a smile herself.

“You secured your future as a charged criminal,” the Duke explained. “Before this, we did not have substantial proof that you were the one behind the poisoning. Well done on that — you know how to cover your tracks well. But now, we have your testimony admitting to your crime and two witnesses to attest to it.”

The smile fell immediately.

“You tricked me into admitting it,” she gasped, shaking her head.

“Hurts when you get a taste of your own medicine? As far as I am concerned, I have gotten what I needed from you. Jacob, you may call the constable now. The law will deal with Lady Barbara from this point forward.”

The sounds of Lady Barbara’s protests could be heard in the background as Duncan escorted Sophia back inside the Estate.

“Clara, please procure a fresh change of clothes for the Duchess and ensure that she is warmed up,” he instructed the maid, who had been standing at the door with a worried expression on her face.

“Yes, Your Grace. Is… is she okay?” she asked, eyeing Sophia with concern.

“She is absolutely fine now that she is with me,” the Duke replied, feeling a sense of pride that they had just managed to get through the biggest test in their relationship.

Sophia’s eyes were full of gratitude, and she stole glances at the Duke as she disappeared into the hallway with Clara.

The nightmare was over, and the calm had finally been restored in their lives.