A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 157 - Hundred And Fifty Seven

Delaney slowly pulled her head back from Ines’s shoulder. She looked into the hazel tear-filled eyes of Rowan’s sister. Delaney’s chest heaved with a heavy, painful breath. She could not understand this level of grace.

Delaney spoke, her voice trembling and completely broken. "Aren’t you angry?"

She searched Ines’s face for any sign of hidden resentment. "He is upstairs bleeding because of me. He threw his body over mine when the carriage fell. I brought this danger to your family. Aren’t you furiously angry with me?"

Ines let out a soft, wet breath. She looked at the terrified, guilt-ridden woman and slowly shook her head.

Ines replied, her tone completely honest and filled with deep sisterly affection. "Why should I be?"

Delaney blinked. "Because..."

"Because he protected you?" Ines interrupted gently. She reached up and smoothed a tangled, muddy strand of dark hair away from Delaney’s pale face. "We know how stubborn Rowan is, Delaney. Once he decides to protect someone, nothing on this earth can stop him. He would not have it any other way. If he had let you get hurt while he remained safe, the guilt would have destroyed him entirely."

Delaney let out a small smile. The heavy, crushing weight of her guilt began to slowly lift from her shoulders. She was not a curse. She was simply loved by a very brave, very stubborn man.

Delaney nodded her head slowly. She raised her scraped, trembling hand. With incredible gentleness, Delaney reached out and wiped Ines’s tears away from the Duchess’s cheek.

Ines closed her eyes for a brief second at the tender touch. When she opened them, a small, watery smile touched her lips. She let out a soft, breathy sound that was halfway between a sob and a laugh.

Ines chuckled. "See how he made me cry. He has always been so careful, so perfectly meticulous. To see him carried in like that..."

Ines shook her head, forcing her brave mask back into place. "When he wakes up, I will scold him for sure. I will yell at him for scaring his younger sister half to death."

Delaney nodded again, a tiny, fragile smile appearing on her own face. "I will help you scold him, Your Grace."

Just then, someone approached the front doors of the manor.

It was the doctor. He had rushed from his own home the very second the Hamilton footmen had arrived. Mr. Simmons walked quickly beside him, leading him directly toward the grand staircase.

Aunt Margery, who had been leaning against the wooden banister, watching the two young women, immediately stood up straight. She wiped her own tears with a lace handkerchief and pointed up the stairs. "Quickly, Doctor. He is in the master bedchamber. He has a severe wound to the head."

The doctor did not pause for polite greetings. He hurried up the stairs with long, urgent strides.

Aunt Margery turned around. She looked at Ines and Delaney standing together in the foyer. The older woman offered a soft, comforting smile. She walked over to them.

Aunt Margery turned to Delaney. She looked at the young woman’s ruined clothes, the dried blood on her skirt, and the violent shivers shaking her small frame. The cold of the mud was seeping deep into her bones.

"Go and clean yourself up, my dear," Aunt Margery instructed gently. Her voice was firm but entirely maternal.

Delaney looked toward the top of the stairs. Her heart ached to follow the doctor. She wanted to stand by Rowan’s bed and hold his hand. She did not want to leave him.

"But I want to see him," Delaney whispered. " I want to know if he’s fine."

"You will," Aunt Margery promised, reaching out to pat Delaney’s cold arm. "But you are freezing, and you are covered in dirt. Rowan would be furious with us if we let you catch a fever. Go to your room. Let Sarah draw a hot bath for you. Wash the mud away. When you are done, and when you are warm, you can come straight to Rowan’s room." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Delaney knew the older woman was right. She could not help Rowan if she fell ill herself.

Delaney nodded. "Yes, Aunt Margery. Thank you."

Delaney turned and walked slowly up the stairs, heading toward the guest wing, while Ines and Aunt Margery gathered their skirts and hurried toward the master suite to oversee the doctor’s work.

Ines, Aunt Margery, and the doctor went directly to Rowan’s room.

The master bedchamber was warm, filled with the bright light of several lamps and the crackling heat of the fireplace. Rowan lay perfectly still in the center of the massive, dark wood bed. His ruined greatcoat and his blood-stained cravat had already been removed by his valet. He lay back against the white linen pillows, his chest bare, rising and falling with slow, shallow breaths.

The doctor worked with efficiency. He ordered a maid to bring a basin of hot water and clean white cloths. He cleaned the terrible gash on the side of Rowan’s head. It was a deep, ugly cut, but the skull beneath was unbroken. The doctor threaded a small, curved needle and carefully stitched the wound closed to stop the bleeding. He wrapped a thick, clean white bandage securely around Rowan’s head.

Next, the doctor moved to inspect the rest of Rowan’s body. He pressed his skilled hands along Rowan’s ribs, feeling the dark, spreading bruises where the Duke had taken the blunt force of the carriage wall.

"No broken ribs, Your Grace," the doctor announced quietly to Ines and Aunt Margery, who were watching anxiously from the foot of the bed. "His collarbone is intact. The sheer thickness of his coat saved him from worse cuts."

"Will he wake soon?" Ines asked, her hands clasped tightly together in prayer.

The doctor sighed, wiping his hands on a towel. "He took a very severe blow to the head, Duchess. The brain needs time to heal from such a shock. He needed rest. Absolute, undisturbed rest. He may wake in a few hours, or he may sleep until tomorrow or even a week. We must simply wait and keep him warm."

Ines nodded. She let out a long breath of relief. Her brother was going to live.

The doctor packed his black leather bag and bowed. "I will return first thing in the morning to check on him. Have the servants prepare a light broth for when he wakes."

Aunt Margery escorted the doctor to the door.

Ines remained standing by the bed. She looked at her brother lying so quietly. Then, her mind shifted to the terrible reality of their situation in London.

The Hamilton ball was scheduled for the very next evening. Lord Farrington and his cruel wife would be expecting to arrive, drink their wine, and demand the final signature on the marriage contract.

Ines set her jaw. She walked to the open doorway and called out softly into the hall. "Mr. Simmons."

Mr. Simmons came in almost immediately. The loyal butler looked deeply worried, his eyes flicking toward his master on the bed.

"Yes, Your Grace?" Simmons asked, bowing his head.

Ines stood tall, assuming the full, commanding authority of a Duchess.

"Gather the footmen and the writing clerks," Ines told him, her voice perfectly steady. "I need you to write letters to all the invitees."

Simmons looked surprised. "All of them, Your Grace? There are over two hundred guests expected tomorrow evening."

"Every single one," Ines confirmed. "You will work through the night if you must. Send the footmen out to deliver the notes to every house in Mayfair before the sun rises."

"What shall the letters say, Your Grace?"

Ines looked back at her brother. She thought of Lady Farrington’s greedy smile.

Ines told him, "Tell them the ball has been put on hold indefinitely. State clearly that the Duke of Ford is indisposed due to a sudden carriage accident and cannot receive guests. The house is officially closed to all visitors."