Page 107 of Courting the Wrong Duke

“For years, everyone around me knew there was another version of my childhood. My mother knew. Algernon knew. Augusta knew. I was apparently the only person permitted to believe our family had always been what I remembered.”

Rosalind was quiet for a moment. “I think I would feel lied to as well.”

William looked at her then.

He had not said the words himself. Had not wanted to, perhaps because admitting them felt disloyal after everything he had learned about what Algernon had endured. His family had protected him. He understood that. He even understood why.

Yet Rosalind had somehow seen the hurt beneath all that understanding anyway.

Something in his chest eased.

There was an unexpected comfort in being understood without having to explain himself further, particularly by her. She did not tell him he ought to be grateful for the childhood they had preserved for him, nor remind him that their intentions had been kind.

She simply allowed both things to be true. They had loved him enough to protect him, and discovering how thoroughly they had deceived him still hurt.

“I do,” he admitted quietly.

Rosalind gave his arm the smallest squeeze.

The gesture was so slight he might ordinarily have thought nothing of it. This morning, he felt it more keenly than he should have.

They continued several steps in companionable silence before Rosalind asked, “And the conversation you overheard? Augusta said he needed help.”

William nodded. “The effects never entirely disappeared.”

“What do you mean?”

“He rarely stutters now. I cannot remember the last time I heard it happen while he was awake.” William hesitated. “But he has nightmares.”

Rosalind's brow furrowed.

“Severe ones. He wakes without knowing where he is. Sometimes he doesn't wake at all, not properly. He thrashes. Shouts. Strikes out at anyone who comes too close.”

Understanding slowly entered her expression.

“Augusta has been trying to manage it with him for years. Apparently it has worsened recently, and she can scarcely sleep for fear of what might happen when he has another episode.”

“That was why they were leaving London.”

“They intended to consult a physician who has treated similar disturbances. Augusta became unwell before they had gone far, so they abandoned the journey and returned.”

Rosalind was silent for several moments.

Then she asked, “And your mother confirmed what Algernon told you?”

“All of it.”

William felt his chest tighten again. “And then she told me something else.”

Rosalind turned more fully toward him.

“About your father.”

The change in her was immediate.

William could feel the sudden tension in the hand resting upon his arm.

“My mother said there was one person who managed to reach Algernon when no one else could.”