The Duke's Wife (The Three Mrs #3) - Jess Michaels Page 0,52
as cures. I stood in that room and watched as they tormented her. They bled her, they burned her, they soaked her in freezing water, they forced her to walk, they—” She squeezed her eyes shut and repeated, “They tormented her.”
His hand tightened on hers. “I’m so sorry.”
“I watched them killing her, and I begged my parents to fetch the healer the villagers sometimes spoke about. A woman who lived just outside the grounds of our estate. They refused and refused. Finally the doctors gave up. They packed up and shrugged and said there was nothing they could do. They told us to prepare ourselves.”
She bent her head, her breath labored as she tried so hard not to go back to that night. “I ran from the house. I ran and screamed and cried all the way to the healer’s cottage. Two miles through the woods without a coat, only in my slippers. I must have looked a fright when I got there.”
“What did she do?”
“Put me on her horse and we rode back together. I had such high hopes that she could save the day. But when she looked at Ella, she could see it was too late. But she gave my sister comfort and stayed with her until the end.”
Abigail felt the tears streaming down her face as she spoke. Told this story she had kept silent for years.
Nathan gently wiped some of those tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “You did everything you could.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But my parents hadn’t. Those doctors hadn’t. I became obsessed with the healer. Her name was Francine Boyd. I was deep in grief, furious that no one had listened to me. And furious that my parents seemed to get over what had happened fairly quickly, even as I drowned in it. Francie took pity on me, I suppose. She knew if I had something to study, I would go less mad in my grief. She taught me.”
“What did the second son of an earl and his flighty, silly wife think of that?” he asked, and he sounded impressed, which was more important to her than it should have been.
“They were livid, of course,” Abigail said, and smiled for the first time since beginning this story. “But something had broken between us the night my sister drew her last breath. And I didn’t give a damn if they were angry. If they forbade me, I snuck out. If they punished me, I took it with a smile. Eventually they gave up.”
“You are a stubborn thing,” he said softly.
“Yes.” She shifted a little. “Erasmus hated my interest as much as they did. He used to rail at me, threaten to burn all my books to make me respectable. He wouldn’t let me go to Francie’s funeral when she died a year after we married.” She lifted her chin. “When he died, I immediately tore out the garden and replaced it with herbs…to spite him. But I suppose you also wouldn’t want your duchess to do something so…common.”
His brow wrinkled, and he looked confused by her statement. “Why would I stop you?” She blinked, and he continued, “I think it’s healthy to have a passion. Especially one that could be of great help to others. I encourage you to continue your study. There are experts to consult—we can find them. You will have your own private study at my home here in London. We can transform it into a library with space for experimentation if you’d like. There is plenty of room in my garden here to plant whatever you like. And there is a greenhouse at my estate in Cornwall. It is yours, as well. Grow anything you would find useful.”
She stared at him, her heart rate increasing with every effortless support of her dreams. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted into him for a kiss.
He was still for a moment, as if the action shocked him. But then he angled her across his lap so he could deepen the kiss. She relaxed against him, the pain of her confession melting away at his touch.
Eventually, he pulled back a little, and she stared up into his eyes. She shook her head. “You are very confusing.”
He burst out a laugh. “Am I?”
She nodded as she tugged from his arms and righted herself on the settee once more. “But I appreciate the support. I don’t fully trust it…but I appreciate it.”