Stealing His Princess (Kings of Conquest #2) - Adelaide Forrest Page 0,47
want to fail another.
14
Bristol
I dragged my feet as I walked down the hallway. Whatever I ended up telling my father, I knew it would have repercussions for the rest of my life. For my Country, as well as me.
With a deep sigh, I rested my cheek against the door to our suite, counting to ten to find that courage deep within me to take the irrevocable step. When I stepped into the room, it was silence that greeted my ears and the distinct lack of conversation made dread slither down my spine.
"Daddy?" I whispered, my low voice echoing in my head, when I was so desperate to shout. To figure out what was going on.
Because, somehow, I knew something was wrong.
I knocked on the door of his room. "Daddy?" I received no response but the door swung open and I peeked in. My father sat on his bed with his face buried in his hands, shoulders slouched forward. "What's wrong, daddy?"
"Bristol?" His head came up and I saw the bleakness in his eyes. "There you are."
He reached out a hand and I walked forward to grab it, rubbing it in between both of mine before laying it on my cheek. "Daddy, what happened? It's Mother, isn't it?"
Blindly, he used his other hand to rub up and down my arm. He looked far away, and I knew his mind was elsewhere. "She'll be fine. I told her that you'll be making your announcement tomorrow. She's looking forward to it."
I had to tell him, but I just couldn't say it. "Did she have another attack?"
"The doctor says it's just a bad day. Rougher because there haven't been as many lately. I've had your brother tuck her into bed so she can rest. She's not allowed any stress or excitement. But she's looking forward to seeing you. She wants you to take Holden to Theodosia before the wedding so she can speak with him.”
"But the doctor did say she'll be fine, right?" In a heartbeat I went back to that moment, that phone call that my mother had collapsed and was being rushed to the hospital. The fear that I would be too late going back home. That I would never see her again. "Shouldn't we go home now?"
"My dear, I wanted to leave the moment I hung up the phone. But the doctor advised that it might be best for her to be in relative quiet for twenty-four hours. Us arriving would be too much for her." He squeezed my hand and gave my cheek an absent pat. "We'll head back the day after, with Holden, she'll be well-rested and we can tell her that all is good."
"Of course." I bit my tongue to stem the flow of tears. I would do anything to keep my mother as healthy as possible.
Even marry a man I didn’t love.
I stood outside the door to my father's room, pulling it to a close behind me as softly as I could. I'd made sure that my father was tucked into bed and sleeping before I left.
Irrational as it was, I wanted to make sure he was fine. The lack of control I had over everything that was happening, at the mess that things were turning out to be, was so overwhelming that I was scared when it did finally bubble over, I would break out in hysteria.
At a sprint I rushed over to Holden's room, which was just three doors away, collapsing against it in a fit of desperate knocks. When the door swung open, I fell into Holden's arms and just broke. "What's wrong?"
His hands rubbed up and down my arms before he gave me a big shake. I looked up at his shocked eyes and started laughing hysterically. "Everything is wrong.”
He gripped the top of my arms hard to steady me. "Talk to me.”
"My mother had another attack." I swiped my hand across my face because the tears fell again, and I wondered if they’d ever stop.
"Is she okay?” he asked, his brow pinching in concern.
"Yes." I nodded slowly and grabbed his hand. "You said that you would support me no matter what, right?"
"Of course. I just want you to be happy. What do you need?" He gave me a small smile that fell into a frown when my face remained serious and unchanged.
I squeezed his hands. "We'll be announcing our engagement tomorrow, after all. This marriage gives my mother peace of mind. I can’t take that away from her.”