Once Upon a Castle - Jill Gregory [81]
“Lady Honora has invited guests.”
“Guests? Knowing her father-in-law is so ill?”
The girl nodded and began twisting her apron in her hands.
“Who is coming to dinner?” Felicity demanded.
“Dr. St. John, of course. He has dinner here most nights. And Lord and Lady Summerville and their daughter, Diana.”
“Who are these people?”
“Old friends of Lord Falcon’s.” The girl lowered her voice. “They live in the lovely manor house just a carriage ride away.”
“Friends or no…” Without finishing, Felicity pulled open the door.
“Where are you going, m’lady?” Bean replaced the brush and hurried across the room to follow her.
“To pay a visit to Lord Falcon. I need see for myself whether or not he’s strong enough to accompany me to dinner.”
The sight that greeted Felicity made her gasp in shock. As Bean had said, Lord Falcon’s skin was pasty and his breathing labored.
This was not the man she had seen just this morning. In the space of several hours, he had aged beyond recognition.
Drawing a chair to the side of the bed, she sat down and took his hand in hers. “Lord Falcon, can you hear me?”
The eyelids fluttered for a moment, then closed.
Felicity touched a hand to his forehead. The skin was damp. Clammy. It had the feel of death to it.
She leaned close and said firmly, “Lord Falcon, it is Felicity Andrews. Robert’s daughter. Don’t you remember your old friend Rob?”
At that his eyes opened, and he stared vacantly at the face swimming in his line of vision. “Rob, is it truly you? Oh, praise heaven. I knew you’d come. You’re the only one who can save me.”
Felicity stiffened as his big hand closed over hers.
“See how I must pay for my sins,” the old man managed between wheezing breaths.
“Hush, now,” Felicity crooned. “You’ve nothing to atone for.”
“But I do.” His voice grew feeble, and for long moments he lay, eyes closed, breathing shallowly. After a long pause he opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Felicity. His hand gave a gentle squeeze. “You knew. You’ve always known, haven’t you, Rob?”
When she said nothing, he closed his eyes, as if to shield himself from another wave of pain. “Of course you knew. You could always see through my little charades.” He sighed, long and deep, as if relieved that he was finally about to unburden himself. “It wasn’t just a love of adventure that caused me to lure you to Africa. I knew you couldn’t resist a chance to see firsthand how the witch doctors did their healing. But I had…other reasons.”
At her little gasp of surprise, he added quickly, “Ah, I’ll not deny the rest of it. I needed to flee my brother’s wife as well. You could tell that I’d…dallied with her, and I was so ashamed. I thought that if I went far away she would be able to forget me and repair her marriage to my brother. But it was a foolish, selfish ploy, and one that nearly cost us our lives. When you and I fell into that cave, I made a promise. If we survived, I would do the honorable thing and mend my ways.”
Moved by his confession, Felicity touched a hand to his cheek in a gesture of tenderness. “You didn’t need to tell me all this.”
He covered her hand with his. “Oh, but I did, Rob. You deserve the truth. I feel as though a burden has been lifted from my soul. Now promise me that you’ll find the cure. You see, they are…”
Suddenly he gazed around the room with a look of sheer terror. “You’d better leave before they find you “
“They?”
Instead of replying, he put a finger to his lips and shook his head.
“But I can’t leave you,” she whispered. “You need someone to be with you.”
“I have an angel watching out for me.”
“An angel?”
He gave her a sly wink. “You and I know. Now go, Rob. And kiss your lovely wife for me.”
As she made her way to the door, Felicity felt the sting of tears and had to swallow the lump that threatened to choke her. She found herself hoping that her father was indeed kissing her mother and that both had found a measure of peace.
Lost in thought, she didn’t hear the light footfall behind her as she paused at the top of the stairs. She was jolted as hands shoved roughly against