Page 71 of Scandal’s Daughter

There was real sorrow in his eyes as he went to shake Sebastian’s hand.

“Your grace,” he said, his expression serious. “I cannot tell you how sorry I am to find your mother in this state. I have sedated her of course and I’ll return first thing in the morning.”

“Will ... will she recover?” he asked, hardly daring to hear the answer.

The doctor sighed and gave him a crooked smile. “You know I cannot give you a certain answer to that, my lord, much as I wish I could.”

“Then what is your feeling on the matter?” Sebastian demanded in obvious bad temper, knowing he was being unfair; the man wasn’t God after all. “Because if she doesn’t, I fear I have done far worse than kill her with my own hands!”

He stopped and went to pour himself a drink and another for the doctor.

“It’s my fault you see. I ... I have offered for Miss Georgiana Dalton. I needn’t ask for your discretion in this, I know, after all these years, but Mother saw the wicked gossip in one of those damned rags this morning ...”

He broke off and downed his drink in one large swallow before handing the other glass to the doctor.

“May I speak frankly, your grace?” the doctor asked, his voice gentle and a surprising amount of sympathy in his eyes.

“Of course,” Sebastian replied, taking a seat beside the fire and gesturing for Alperton to do the same. “You’ve known me all my life, and you knew my parents before. There’s hardly anyone I’d trust more.”

The doctor smiled at him.

“You have no idea how much that honours me, your grace, and so I’ll take advantage of that familiarity if I may.” He smoothed a hand over his rather plump belly, which was covered by a truly garish waistcoat, as he gathered his thoughts. “I knew your parents before they married, as you know, and to be frank, a worse match it would have been hard to countenance.”

He broke off, his smile for Sebastian warm and genuine.

“Your father was a fine man, but he was betrothed to your mother when they were little more than children. As they grew, it became clear that your mother was perhaps ... rather high strung to say the least. She was never in the most robust of health, was spoilt by over-indulgent parents, and was prone to fits of temper and ... and irrationality. She was, however, quite a beauty in her young days and, well to be frank, your father was too good natured to cry off.”

Sebastian felt a knot of tension begin to unravel a little at the doctor’s words.

“I didn’t drive her to madness?” he asked, his voice rough.

“No!” the doctor exclaimed, shaking his head with vigour. “The truth is that your mother has always been of a nervous and rather unstable temperament. In all honesty, she drove your father away. He was lonely, especially after you were born. The experience of childbirth ... well it did not sit well with your mother. She doted on you, but she would never let your father touch her again.”

They were quiet for a while as the doctor allowed him to digest this new and revealing piece of information.

“He was a good man,” Sebastian said, his voice quiet.

“He was indeed,” the doctor replied smiling. “And he was so very proud of you. Prouder than you perhaps realise.”

Sebastian felt a lump form in his throat and had to look away, staring into the fire as the smiling face of his father came to mind.

“He loved you,” the older man said. “And he loved Lady Dalton.”

Sebastian looked up, and he found the man’s kindly eyes on him.

“He would never have done it if he’d have realised what it would mean for you, of that much I’m sure. But he loved her, that I do know. And she loved him.”

Sebastian closed his eyes and let out a breath. “Thank you,” he said.

“There is nothing to thank me for,” Alperton replied. “They are only the reminiscences of an old man after all. But none of this is your fault, nor is it any of your young lady’s. I can’t tell you if your mother will recover her mind or not, your grace, but I will say this much. Don’t let their tragedy be yours. Don’t let history repeat itself. Your mother has lived her life as she saw fit, and this is the result. Don’t change your life to try to create another generation of misery, not to appease someone who can never be truly happy, no matter what you do.”