“You still owe me one dance, Miss Helena,” he said.
“That is a debt I can very capably pay, and very soon too,” Helena said.
He nodded.
“I will come to check you and your foot at your home within the week. Expect me,” he said.
Helena couldn’t classify if that was a request with a note of finality or an order. It was obvious he was a man used to having his demands carried out. She nodded her head in response. Only then did Lord Jeffrey look at the twins. He nodded. Helena didn’t see them behind her, but she assumed they nodded back. He turned to Lady Lavinia and both of them walked back to the dancing floor, eagerly discussing. When they passed beside Prince Drew and Miss Justina, Lady Lavinia stopped to greet them, but Lord Jeffrey just continued walking. Lady Lavinia shouted something that made him turn back to her; he nodded and turned back. Lady Lavinia came back with Prince Drew and Miss Justina.
When Miss Justina got back to her mistress, she was beaming.
“You really enjoyed yourself,” Helena said, feeling a tinge of self-pity as she was unable to participate in the dancing.
“Fairly well, Prince Drew was such a dear until Lady Lavinia came to break us up,” Miss Justina said.
Lady Lavinia didn’t hear Miss Justina’s comment. Helena was sure she would have immediately replied. Miss Justina sat on the arm of the chair Helena was sitting on.
“I see she managed to drag Lord Jeffrey here.”
“Yes, she did,” Helena said, looking back at her best friend.
“So?” Miss Justina asked.
Helena looked at her with an asking smile. She knew what Miss Justina wanted to hear.
Why not make her ask for it directly?
“So what?”
“So what’s your verdict?”
“What verdict?”
Miss Justina squeezed her face. She crossed her arms across her chest, lifting her bust with her entwined arms.
“So what do you think about him?”
There was a faint tinge of annoyance in her voice. Helena laughed. She rubbed her maid on her arm. Miss Justina smiled back.
“I am not one to determine who a person is with just one meet. You should know that. I did notice that he has physical features that might be intimidating. It’s easy for people to attribute negative characteristics to someone like that,” Helena said.
Miss Justina nodded.
“That’s true. His eyes are plain scary,” she said.
Helena nodded.
I think he’s arrogant.
Miss Justina wasn’t on Lord Jeffrey’s side.
She prefers the doctor that makes my heart race, Dr Frederick.
So Helena decided it was better to keep negative deductions about Lord Jeffrey away from her as she would only use it to fuel her disapproval of him. Helena looked back and saw the other four were busy chatting with each other, in twos. Lady Lavinia was talking to Prince Drew. It looked like a serious discussion because the Prince held a stern expression. Not an especially grim one, but one enough to carry weight. The twins were chuckling about something.
Those two are their own best friends. They enjoy each other’s attention thoroughly.
Helena wondered how it felt to be a twin, to always have a partner in anything you wanted to do, to never be alone.
It would be really nice.
Then Helena remembered she preferred solitude anytime she wanted to read or meditate about a serious action. All of a sudden, the proposition of being a twin stopped being so attractive.
A sharp pain shot up from her injured ankle, not so much like before but enough for her to notice. Helena looked down and saw Miss Justina’s dark hand around it. She drew her foot away.
“You did that purposely,” Helena said, anger evident in her eyes.
“I’m sorry ma’am. I just wanted to determine if the level of pain had reduced. And evidently, it has,” Miss Justina said.
Helena felt faintly angry, but Miss Justina was right, the pain had reduced. The doctor’s tortuous hands had done the job.
“So what did Lord Jeffrey tell you about me that was so funny?” Lady Lavinia asked Helena, from behind.
Helena chuckled. She was always so right.
*******
Dr Frederick followed Duchess Mona through the winding staircase till they got to the second floor, which was also the highest. The gold strains in her dress caught the sunlight many times, throwing rays of sunlight into Dr Frederick’s eyes. She was a beautiful woman, rather young for her first child to be Lord Jeffrey. Dr Frederick had never seen Lord Jeffrey, but he had heard of him.
Who hasn’t? For her to be his mother and still be this young, she had to be around 18 when she had him.
She was also very courteous, another anomaly among peers of such stature.
And being a moneybags, she’s different for sure. From word I’ve heard, her son isn’t like this.
“I am sorry for disturbing you in the middle of the dance,” she had told him on seeing him when the steward first led him to her.
“It’s not a problem, Your Grace.”
“It’s my husband. Lately, he has been suffering from bouts of fever and tiredness. He grows cold some nights too. Our family physician has worked on him often, but he hasn’t improved. He has been unable to determine what exactly is wrong with the Duke. Someone suggested you have a look at him. You would be doing me a personal favour if you can determine what is wrong with him and stop it. About your remuneration, there are no worries. You will be duly paid,” she said.
Dr Frederick placed his thumb and index fingers around his nose.
“Does he have aches anywhere?” he asked.
“No, not that he’s told me of,” the Duchess replied.
“Is it possible to know his age, Your Grace?”
“Yes. Why not? My husband is five years removed from three scores.”
Dr Frederick nodded his head.
“He became the Duke at a very young age,” he said.
The Duchess smiled.
“Yes, the youngest ever. He became Duke at 26.”
“His father died early?” Dr Frederick asked.
“Early and suddenly,” Duchess Mona stated grimly.
Dr Frederick nodded his head.
“Could you lead me to him, Your Grace?”
“Definitely, please follow me,” she replied.
Now they were at the top of the stairs. She pushed the door open and revealed a steward sitting on a chair beside a big door. He jumped to his feet on seeing the Duchess.
“Relax, Roman, how is he?”
“Not much has changed, Your Grace. His breath is still as faint as it was when you left,” the steward answered.
Dr Frederick heard the Duchess sigh. She shook her head and opened the bigger door, leading Dr Frederick in. The room was masterfully decorated. Everything was posh. The red rug was so thick; Dr Frederick wasn’t sure his foot would stop sinking if he didn’t move weight to the other one. The bed lay directly opposite the door, at the far end of the room. It was circular, with bed posts that rose to the ceiling. The windows were left wide open.
“Your physician advised for the room to be aired always,” Dr Frederick said.
“Yes, he did,” the Duchess replied.
Dr Frederick went closer
“I wasn’t aware I would be called to duty when coming for the ball. I didn’t bring my tool box,” he explained to the Duchess.
“No problems, Dr Frederick. I just want you to see him with your eyes. You may detect one or two things our physician has missed,” she answered.
Dr Frederick looked into the Duke’s face.
This isn’t the face of a 55-year-old man.
The Duke looked older than his chronological age.
“His body is breaking down,” Dr Frederick muttered under his breath.
He opened two buttons of the Duke’s silk shirt and laid his ear on the Duke’s chest. His heartbeat was faint and weak.
This
is not a healthy man.
He used a finger to push one of the Duke’s eyelids open. He couldn’t see very clearly, but he didn’t see dilation. The man wasn’t in shock. He placed his hand around his neck.
He sure is colder than normal.
“Is there any physical or behavioural manifestation that pricks your notice?” Dr Frederick asked.
The Duchess squeezed her eyes. She looked strangely at Dr Frederick.
“I don’t understand.”
“Any different characteristic, change in colour of stool, does he bed wet now, is there any secretion anywhere? I need you to tell me everything, Your Grace,” Dr Frederick said.
“No, nothing of that sort, at least that I know of. About the colour of his stool, or nature, I’d have to ask the steward that cleans this room. He changes his chamber pot,” the Duchess said.
Dr Frederick moved away from the Duke. He put his hand into his pocket and brought out his small notepad and a pen. He’d always carried that around since he started his research.
“You never know when the great revelation would come or when you’ll need to record an importance occurrence,” he had told himself when he started taking it about.
He jotted down the few observations he had.
“Has he been like this throughout today? When did this particular bout start?”
The Duchess looked surprised.
“I thought, didn’t you see us start the ball with our celebratory dance?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t. I had to attend to someone outside,” he replied.
“Oh, he was alright till a few minutes after our dance. I think the stress and noise got to him. A lot of people wanted to talk to him, a lot of handshakes, things like that,” she said.
“Let’s avoid such occurrences from now, at least till we get a grip of what exactly is wrong. I imagine His Grace surely has a lot of public appearances looming, but I will suggest that Lord Jeffrey takes his place.”
The Duchess whitened when he said that.
Is that such a shocking proposition?
“I’ll represent him,” the Duchess said. She was back to normal, her tone just as cheery. Dr Frederick smiled to himself.
“For now, I am yet to point to one defining symptom or sign that indicates one overriding ailment. But I have noted the individual symptoms; there are things that can be done to avail those symptoms and make his,” Dr Frederick looked at the Duke’s face, “state far better.”
“I’ll go home now. I will be back on the morrow or next with either medicine that will help or lifestyle change suggestions. Either way, Your Grace, he will get better,” Dr Frederick said.
The Duchess nodded. She seemed satisfied. She walked to the door and signalled Dr Frederick to follow her. He did. When she got out, she looked to the steward at the table beside the door.
“Roman, you have my package prepared?”
“Yes, I do, Your Grace,” the steward replied.
He ran his fingers through the mop of hair on his head and scratched rapidly before placing that hand inside a locker in the table. He brought out a brown envelope and gave it to the Duchess. The Duchess gave it to Dr Frederick.
“Please Dr Frederick, we will be expecting you. My husband’s life depends on it,” she said.
Dr Frederick nodded his head. He turned to leave then turned back.
“Did your physician advise that the Duke be fed with fluids?”
“No, he never mentioned that,” Duchess Mona said, shaking her head.
“Please feed His Grace only fluids from now.”
The Duchess nodded then looked to Roman.
“You heard that,” she said.
“Yes, Your Grace,” the steward replied.
Dr Frederick walked to the first door and pushed it open. He looked back and nodded once again before going down the flight of stairs. When he got to the bottom, he followed the corridor the way he came, looking outside the window as he went. There were still a lot of coaches in the compound. It was either the ball wasn’t nearly over or the attendees were enjoying themselves so well that they were reluctant to go home.
Well, I am going home. My research awaits me.
Dr Frederick was about to go down the flight of stairs outside when he remembered Miss Helena.
“Let me check her leg before I go.”
His soliloquy felt empty because he knew it wasn’t her leg he wanted to see. It was her. He wanted to see her face. He wanted her to make his blood race again, to make him feel heady. He wanted to get another glimpse at her cleavage and the clean whiteness of sacred covered skin. He wanted to feel her skin under his and fuel his raunchy desires.
This is so unprofessional.
He still went to see her. His instinctive need to see her once again defeated the coached thinking that held him back. He entered the hall and looked around for her or any of her friends.
He saw the tall Prince at one corner of the hall, conversing animatedly with the twins.
More like listening as they spoke animatedly. He listens a lot.
They were beside a group of young women. He saw the black bands of Miss Justina’s dress. There were two other women surrounding another woman sitting down. Dr Frederick guessed it would be Miss Helena sitting down. He walked to them. Lady Lavinia saw him first, when he was already upon them.
“Dr Frederick!”
He smiled as the women opened up for him to see Miss Helena. Miss Helena smiled broadly. Her eyes lit up, and Dr Frederick felt satisfaction balm his heart.
I can go home now.
“We just spoke about you. I thought you had left. You never seemed to be one for socialising,” Miss Helena said.
Dr Frederick looked to the faces of the other women. There was a woman he didn’t recognise. The woman had a dress with a huge dip at her cleavage. There was so much exposed skin at her bust that Dr Frederick felt uncomfortable looking at her.
“I’m not. I didn’t even get to do any socialising in fact. I had to attend to someone inside the house,” he replied to Miss Helena.
Her eyes became more serious for a passing moment. She opened her mouth as if to say something, ask something then closed it.
“Well, thank goodness you came, this nitwit pressed on the ankle,” Miss Helena said, looking and referring to the smiling Miss Justina.
“No worries,” Dr Frederick said.
He bent and lifted the ankle up. Her skirt kicked up, and he glimpsed unending white skin going up into her dress. Doctor Frederick, for fear of his eyes betraying him, focused on her ankle. His member rose up stubbornly, standing stiff like a King’s sceptre. There was a faint rush in his ears.
The ankle had greatly reduced in size, although still swollen as compared to normal. He poked gently at it with no reaction from Miss Helena. He looked at her, and she was also peering down at him, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure she saw him.
“Miss Helena,” he muttered in low tones but enough so only she heard him.
She didn’t.
“Miss Helena,” he said louder this time.
“Yes, Doctor,” she replied snappily, bringing herself back from being lost in thought.
He dropped her foot.
“Your foot is good, ma’am. You just need not to put pressure on it for a few days. Avoid using it, and it’ll be all good,” he said.
He rose up, looking down at her round, beautiful face.
“I need to be on my way now, Miss Helena,” he said.
Miss Helena didn’t look as elated as she had been when she saw him.
“What if the injury becomes worse?” she asked.
Dr Frederick looked into her eyes.
“That is a possibility, although unlikely,” he said.
This is a chance to always see her.
“I could visit you at home within the coming week, just to check on the ankle,” he said.
Miss Helena beamed.
“That would be marvellous. I’d not want to lose use of the foot for too lon
g if it’s avoidable,” she added in a tempered voice.
Dr Frederick smiled.
Seduced by an Irresistible Lady: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 11