But at the moment, she wasn’t entirely certain that she was glad to see him either. Not after the way they had parted just hours before.
Luke turned to Ella and offered his arm, but she ignored the gesture and followed her stepmother and Daphne into the dining room. It was one of two spaces dedicated to the purpose and this was the smaller one, meant for family meals only.
A place that Ella had not been allowed to use since her father had died. She had always taken her meals below stairs, per her stepmother’s instructions. It had been part of the way that she tried to distinguish Ella as a servant rather than a relative.
So it was more than a little surprising to see that the table was already set for three people. She knew it wasn’t for the maid: Maria had apparently run off a few days before and Lady Isabelle had not yet been able to find new help just yet.
And it was her stepmother who actually took on the task of bringing another setting to the table, for Luke. He sat down beside Ella. Lady Isabelle took the head seat, which meant that the prince was on her right. Hardly the seat of honor and an obvious snub.
It was petty but not completely unexpected. Ella would have been more surprised if her stepmother had been set welcoming.
A variety of foods were already laid out before them. The meal would itself was silent and awkward, as no one had much to say. Ella wasn’t ready to talk to her husband, and he didn’t make much of an effort to talk to her family, either.
After the first courses were served, Ella’s stepmother stood to clear the table herself.
That was yet another surprise. She had never seen the woman do such a thing before, not even when Ella’s father had still been alive and Lady Isabelle was still on her best behavior. Of course back then, there had been no need. There had been many more servants working in the household who could take care of such tasks.
There was no one else to do it now, though Ella had half expected to be ordered about the way she would have been before. Which would’ve been humiliating, to have such a thing witnessed by her husband.
Even if he did know a little of the situation that she had been in with her stepfamily.
There was nothing for dessert, of course. Daphne complained bitterly about the lack, but was reminded by her mother that she needs to keep an eye on her figure if she hoped to ever get a husband.
Ella was about to stand, to excuse herself to return to the sick room, when her stepmother brought out another bowl of those same berries that were being kept upstairs. “Can I tempt you with something sweet, Your Highness? This was a favorite treat of my late husband.”
Such a strange choice of words. Ella knew Father had had a bit of a sweet tooth, but she could not recall him actually eating these particular fruits before his illness. Perhaps she was referring to her first husband, the father of Catherine and Daphne. Luke scooped out a single berry and ate it, commenting on its interesting flavor. Then he passed the bowl on to Ella.
His fingers grazed against hers. Despite everything, her heart began to race as a familiar heat began to flow through her. It seemed that her body did not have the same scruples as her mind, remembering only the pleasure that Luke’s touch could bring her, rather than all of the reasons she should be furious with him still.
His smile was knowing, as if he knew exactly what sort of effect he had on her and she quickly turned away, hastily grabbing a handful of the berries and tossing them into her mouth.
The flavor wasn’t what she had expected, especially if her father had liked them as much as Lady Isabelle said he had. They were not particularly sweet, though she supposed they were passable enough.
She thought she saw a brief smirk on her stepmother’s face and tried to reign in her reactions. But then the expression of the older woman changed again as quickly as it had appeared, and Ella wondered if she had simply imagined it.
She was simply too agitated, thanks to being back in this place after so many weeks, plus having Luke sitting beside her only added to her unease. She stood up abruptly, nearly banging her knees on the table as she did so. “I think I should go check on Catherine again. She had another one of those seizures just before I came down.”
“You left her alone anyway?” Daphne asked indignantly. But Ella could tell her outrage was nothing but an act, designed to make a casual observer think that she actually cared about her sister’s fate.
Though why she was bothering to put on such a display now, Ella didn’t know. She must truly imagine it to be of benefit her somehow, for she was normally too absorbed in herself to ever care about anyone else, except when it came to her image and reputation.
Instead of answering, Ella simply headed out of the room. As she passed through the door, she heard Luke excuse himself and follow after her. She tried to ignore him. But of course, he was impossible to ignore, for she was and always had been, far too aware of his presence.
She paused in front of the door to Catherine’s room, fixing her husband with a glare. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m just trying to help.”
“Well it’s a little late for that.”
“Ella…” He lifted one hand as if to reach for her, then let it drop back to his side. “I sent for the king’s physicians. They should be arriving soon too.”
Her shoulders slumped and she had to lock her knees to keep from falling to the ground. Her stomach began to knot and just did not feel right, though she suspected it was a reaction to the tension she was feeling. “They won’t be able to help her. They couldn’t help my father.”
“You think this is the same illness?”
“I can’t see how it could be anything else.” Despite her reservations, she found herself telling him everything. About the symptoms that matched up with her father’s condition before he died, with such alarming accuracy. And how all of the physicians had failed to find a cure. “Your father sent his doctors too, when my father was dying.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s a bit late for you to be saying that too.”
“You still blame me? She might have become ill anyway, even if she had stayed at the palace.”
Ella threw her hands up, unwilling to argue with him right now. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. Now if you’ll excuse me, Your Highness, I have to get back to attending my stepsister. Feel free to leave at any time if you are afraid you might catch her illness.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Well you can’t stay in her room. You would just get in my way.”
“I’ll be right out here in the hall, in case you need anything. Plus I want to make sure I’m in position to hear when the physicians arrive. I don’t know if your stepmother will try to send them away or not.”
She nearly asked why he thought Lady Isabelle would do that. After all, this was her daughter who was ill. But she wasn’t going to take the time to discuss any of this with him now.
Ella returned to Catherine’s bedside, but found she could not sit still. The turmoil in her stomach continued and it was quickly joined by a headache. An intense pounding behind her temples. She shifted position, trying to find one that was comfortable. It almost felt like she needed to go relieve herself yet this sensation was not exactly the same.
She lost track of time. Heat spread all through her body. Unpleasant prickles formed under the skin, scratching her from the inside out. Her throat grew dry and began to ache as well. She was certain she had never been so thirsty in her life. But there was no water in the room, though she was certain she had left a jug there before going down to dinner.
Perhaps she should send Luke to get some. Then he could be at least a little useful in some way.
As she rose to summon him, her vision blurred. There seemed to be too much light in the room though only a single lamp burned. No matter how she squinted, she could not escape from the light, nor could she bring anything into focus.
But she did begin to see things in the shadows, hidden shapes and monsters that reach
ed out to her with dark claws and white teeth.
Ella screamed, curling into a ball as she awaited the attack.
Chapter Sixteen
A bloodcurdling scream came from the sick room. Luke almost didn’t recognize it as human, for it sounded like an animal being disemboweled by a predator. He rushed inside and found Ella curled up on the floor. “Ella!”
She did not seem to hear him, still screaming and crying out, flailing her arms as if fending off threats that only she could see. Her face was flushed a deeper red than he had ever seen it before and when he looked into her eyes, her pupils were dilated larger than he would have thought possible. Hiding the green irises and making them look almost black.
He lifted her into his arms. She recoiled from his touch, striking him with her little fists. “Let me go! If I do not run, they will catch me!”
Her words made no sense. Nor did her continued struggles.
He knew she had been angry with him, but nothing that has happened between them could explain her current actions. She had never resorted to physical violence before to make a point. He had always assumed it was not her nature to lash out in that way.
It seemed like she could not see him either, or at least, did not recognize him.
But he did recognize something. These were the same symptoms she had described her stepsister suffering from. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? Luke didn’t know much about illness, but he didn’t think it was possible for any disease to strike so quickly and suddenly.
Then he heard a most welcome sound: that of the carriage arriving at the front of the manor. He called for his valet. “Go and tell the physicians to make haste and get here as soon as possible. Do not allow the lady Isabelle to turn them away. The princess has also fallen ill.”
There were sounds of a struggle, then the men arrived in the room. One of the physicians began examining Ella, while the other moved toward the patient in the bed. He froze and turned pale. “Is there any chance that the princess or her stepsister have consumed those berries?”
He pointed to a bowl that was sitting on a low table next to the bed and filled with small, black-purple fruits bite he offered and chewing slowly, allowed her similar to the ones that Lady Isabelle had insisted on offering to them at the evening meal. “I cannot be certain about the Lady Catherine, but I know the princess did. Why?”
“Then I fear there is not much we can do for the princess, except to hope that she has not taken a fatal dose.”
Fury chilled Luke’s entire body as a red haze descended over his vision. “Someone send for the guards right away. We must arrest Lady Isabelle and her daughter before they can escape, if they have not fled already. They must know that we would discover their scheme sooner or later.”
“Do you truly believe that the princess’ stepmother would do this to her, as well as to her own daughter?” The same physician asked.
“I do not think it was an accident that she offered those berries to both the princess and myself.” And neither the lady nor her elder daughter had consumed any of the fruit, even though the latter had been whining about not have any dessert available. “And her treachery make go even further back. I was told that the symptoms that the princess is displaying now, and which her stepsister displayed earlier tonight, are very similar to those that were seen in Lord Anthony before he died.”
The men were silent, as if unable to believe what they were hearing. Luke pushed that the physicians aside and lifted his wife that into his arms again. “One of you carry the Lady Catherine. We need to get both of them out of here as soon as possible.”
His orders were obeyed quickly and they met with no opposition as they hurried down the stairs with the two young women. Luke realized that most of the manor was dark and silent, and he wondered if the treacherous stepmother had already fled.
Though he burned for justice, he could not worry about that now. His first concern was to get Ella back to where he could keep her safe as possible. The delusions and fighting continued as they rode back to the palace. One of the physicians gave her a draught to try to make her sleep, but most of it spilled when he held it to her lips because of the convulsions she was having.
She kept talking, unable to remain silent the whole time. Alternating between describing the horrible things she saw in her mind and letting out more of those blood-curdling screams.
Then she settled into a silence that was almost more frightening. Luke had to touch her chest again and again, to reassure himself that she was still breathing.
They made it back to the palace in good time, yet it wasn’t fast enough, as far as he was concerned. He barked out a few brief instructions to the guards that were assembling, telling them to search far and wide for Lady Isabelle and her daughter, and gave further directions to the staff to make up a room for Catherine and telling them that she also was to be cared for in any way that she would need.
Luke carried Ella back to their bedchamber. It seemed like an eternity since they had last been in that room together. Before they'd departed for their trip, back when, despite some uncertainty on her part, the future had appeared hopeful.
What a fool he had been.
He should never have let her go. Never ignored her fears in the first place. But he had been selfishly consumed with only what he wanted, not caring about what she needed. And that was with nearly full knowledge of much of what she had already suffered at the hands of her stepmother.
She woke up several times through the night, always to fight at those demons that were plaguing her mind. Only to lose consciousness again, without ever regaining her reason or noticing he was there.
Sometime after dawn, the king’s physicians felt relatively confident that both young women would survive, but could not assure him that either of them would make a full recovery. It was rare for anyone to survive belladonna poisoning, they said, because the tendency to take a lethal dose was so prevalent. Not in small part because it didn’t take very many of the raw berries to kill someone, especially someone of slight stature.
A description that applied to both Catherine and Ella.
The doctors had been shocked to learn that had consumed it as well. But his size had protected him, as well as the fact that he had only eaten that single fruit.
He would gladly trade places with her now. If only…
He reached for her hand and held it against his cheek. He was surprised to realize that he was crying. He had not shed tears for many years, not since he was a child and his mother had died. “Don’t leave me, Ella. Please.”
He repeated those words again and again, saying them like a prayer. He didn’t know how long he sat there, waiting and holding onto her, but then there was a slight shift, a change in her breathing. Eyelashes fluttered before slowly lifting. “You… You look like you’re about to lecture me.”
That was definitely not the first thing he’d expected to hear from her. “Not at all. What makes you think that?”
She sighed and closed her eyes again, sinking back against the pillows. “I know you’re ready to say ‘I told you so,’ but I hope you’ll be willing to wait until I’ve got a bit more energy before you decide to do it.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything like that. You were the one who was right, and I was wrong.”
She made a small movement of her head from side to side. “You said it would be dangerous to go back. You were right about that.”
“It wouldn’t have been dangerous, if I hadn’t been a stubborn fool. But I was too caught up in my own world to really pay attention to what was going on with others. I should have trusted your instincts when it came to your stepsister, to know that she could be trusted too.”
Her eyes opened again, ever so slightly. “Is she okay?”
He nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. “She’s like you. Too strong for her mother to destroy.”
“I see.”
He waited for her to say more, but he supposed she didn’t have the strength to yell at him just
yet. When she did recover enough to do just that, he would welcome it. Because it was nothing less than what he deserved.
He reached out with his free hand and stroked her cheek, swiping away a sweaty lock of hair. Told her about the berries. And the fact that her stepmother and stepsister had been caught at the docks, before they were able to find a ship that would take them out of the country. “When you’re stronger, you can discuss whether you want to make her crimes public with the king. I’m sure Father will respect your wishes, either way.”
“I’m thirsty.” She licked at her lips, which had begun to crack. But her tongue appeared as dry as the rest of her mouth.
He called for someone to bring them water and poured out a cup of the liquid for her himself. Waited while she drank. She handed the glass back to him. “Belladonna. I suppose that was what Catherine was trying to warn me about.”
“Warn you?”
“She said something about ‘beware the bells.’ I assumed it was part of one of her delusions.” She shuddered. “I hope most of what I remember isn’t real. They were all of my worst nightmares come to life.”
“My worst nightmare nearly came true too. I almost lost you. I know now that I messed up. Had pushed you away. How can you ever forgive me?”
Her lips curled up in just the slightest smile. “Well, you could promise to spend the rest of our lives together making it up to me.”
“Gladly.”
“Really?” Her eyes flew open. “I wasn’t really serious about that.”
“You should be. Because I deserve nothing less than—”
“How about we both just learn from our mistakes and move on from there. I think that will be enough, especially if you promise not to keep any more secrets.”
“I promise.”
“Just with me and Cat,” she added. “I don’t expect you to tell the entire kingdom about your—”
“I would if you asked me to, if you thought that’s what we needed in order to move forward in the future.”
The Wolf Prince: The Cursed Princes, Book One Page 12