Page 43 of Wicked By Design

“Come, my dear,” he said, his voice still oddly gentle. “Nichols, you may go with the coachman and groom, there is a decent pub a mile down the road. Make yourselves comfortable and order what you will, I will cover it.”

Nichols looked to Cilly, who nodded her agreement. Whatever lay behind the pretty façade of this house, she must face it.

Damian opened the gate and escorted her to the front door, where he rang the bell.

“What is this place?” Cilly asked, aware of her heart beating a little too fast.

“This is Hollywell House,” he said, watching for her reaction. “Perhaps you have heard of it.”

Cilly blinked. Great Aunt Mildred had been taken to Hollywell House. She swallowed, careful not to show shock or surprise. “It is an asylum,” she said calmly.

Damian nodded as the door opened. A woman who looked to be a nurse in a pristine white apron greeted them politely.

“Good morning, madam. Please inform Doctor Grantham that Lord Rivington is here to see his mother.”

Cilly’s heart leapt, and it took every shred of willpower she had not to throw her arms around him and hold on tight. He would never allow such a show of affection or sympathy on his behalf. Damian would disregard it as sentiment, overblown emotion. She must think first before she acted, and so she showed no reaction, merely taking his arm as he led her inside and the nurse guided them to a pretty parlour where they might wait.

“It is a fine establishment,” she remarked, looking approvingly around at the care which had been taken to make it look like a home, not a hospital. “My Great Aunt Mildred lived here for a few years until her death. I believe she was happy here, or as happy as she could be.”

“Ah,” Damian nodded, smiling politely. “What was her affliction?”

Cilly blinked, wondering how to answer that. No one ever spoke of it. To tell the truth, she was not entirely sure. “She… She liked to set light to things. Fire fascinated her.”

“A dangerous fascination indeed,” Damian replied, his eyes glittering in a way she did not like. They looked febrile, his mood appearing to become increasingly precarious.

“I suppose so, and… and your mother?”

Damian stood by the hearth, staring down at the leaping flames, but he looked up then and met her eyes.

“Mama? Oh, Mama murdered our father with a bread knife, and then she tried to murder Gideon. Ah, Doctor Grantham, how good of you to see us when we have no appointment.” Damian’s tone did not change a whit as he delivered the words that robbed Cilly of breath.

She nodded at the doctor, her mind reeling as Damian reached for her hand.

“Come, my dear. Let us discuss Mama with the good doctor before we go for a little visit with her.”

“You mean to see her? Oh, well, that is wonderful, my lord. She asks for you often, you know,” the doctor said as they followed him to his consulting room.

The ticking clock in the parlour seemed to follow them, the sound growing louder in Cilly’s head. Madness. His mother was mad. She had murdered his father, had tried to murder his brother too.

Oh God.

Oh, good Lord.

She glanced up at Damian, noticing the pallor of his skin, stark against the crisp white of his cravat.

Oh, my love.

Damian forced himself to keep his attention on the doctor, not on Cilly. Every fibre of his being wanted to turn to her, to gauge her reaction, the faint hope that he had not horrified her beyond mending warring with his very real need to do just that.

It was for the best.

Best for all concerned, but most of all, for Celia.

She still had time to choose elsewhere. Perhaps even the earl would be a preferable choice to what he could offer her. She’d get a family to love, at least.

He could offer her nothing but his name, such as it was. A comfortable home, his friendship, if that still held any value for her. His hold on her felt insubstantial, as frail as dandelion seeds, ready to be swept away at the first breath of wind. Yet her hold on him seemed to grow with every second that ticked past, her grip tightening until he could not breathe.

“Your brother visited recently.”