The Betrayed Lady Winters Read online

  “Yes, I think you might be right. It is not anything that I have done myself, but we should try.”

  Ivy nodded slowly and bent down to pick up the paperwork. They had to tidy up everything in the office before they left, so they were not being disrespectful. It seemed that Royce had the same idea, because he bent down, too, and their hands reached out for the same piece of paper at exactly the same time. Their skin instantly brushed together; it was electrifying. Ivy felt all the air zap from her body completely, leaving her dizzy. Her eyes attempted to focus on Royce, but everything was blurry. She became a ball of feelings.

  “Err…” Ivy needed to find the words to break the thick tension surrounding the moment. “I…”

  Royce could feel the same magnetic pull as Ivy. His lips twitched with need, despite everything that was going on around them, all he wanted to do was press his lips against hers. If Jonathon were not in the room and it wouldn’t embarrass him for being too forward, he might well have done it. He might have caved into the temptation and simply kissed her. His lips tingled and sensed Ivy’s did, too. The urge to break one of polite societies biggest rules was intense.

  “I will show you to the library,” Ivy finally managed to rasp out. “We can… take a look now.”

  They dragged their eyes away from one another and gathered up everything rapidly. Ivy and Royce were equally churned up by feelings that they did not know what to do with. If things were normal, and they were simply courting one another, Royce would use this time to make it clear that he wanted to take things further, but they were not. None of this was normal. Maybe they would not know how strong their feelings for one another were anyway because they would not be in such an intense situation. The tension of being by themselves was certainly making everything so much harder to hide. It practically consumed them both.

  The butterflies that Ivy felt whenever she looked at Royce grew larger until they were almost the size of birds. The sensations made her corset feel too tight, there was a deep urge to tear it from her body completely. Her heart thumped violently, the inside of her mouth felt bone dry. Somehow, she had a feeling that all of these physical symptoms meant that she was falling head over heels in love. In just a few short days, she had fallen for the man whose arrogance had immediately repulsed her. It was a very strange world of feelings.

  For a brief moment, Ivy wondered what Mary would say if she told her about the complete change in her feelings, but she instantly dismissed that idea. She had more important things to worry about first.

  Once the office looked exactly the same as it had before Ivy, Jonathon, and Royce had entered, they left and made their way to the library. As they walked through the house, Ivy could feel the eyes of the staff upon them. They would not make any comment, which simply was not done, but she could not bring herself to look any of them in the eye anyway. She could not stand the idea of being judged for her behaviour. Ivy also worried that the way she felt about Royce was written all over her face, and no one could know how close they kept coming to kissing.

  If Jonathon were not with them, there was no telling how different things would be.

  Ivy stepped into the family library and inhaled deeply, loving the smell of the books. This was where she felt most at home, and this room was her favourite place in the whole world. If everything else was not happening, she would probably be in here, wasting the day away as she lost herself in a story. She missed her favourite pastime; she had not had time to read for what felt like forever. She could not wait to get back to it.

  “Right.” Royce glanced around the room. “Let us take a look through the books, just in case.”

  He was not convinced that this was the answer, but since he did not have any solutions of his own to offer, this was what they were going to do. Ivy knew her father much better than Royce did, and if he was anything like her, then maybe he loved these books, and there was a chance that she was right. He wanted to support her anyway. They both needed her to be right. If not, neither of them knew what to do. What other options were there?

  Ivy felt acutely aware of every inch of Royce’s body as they moved around the room to look through the books. She could barely focus on what she was supposed to be doing because the skin on her body was prickling so painfully. Everything in her body cried out for him to just touch her. She wanted to feel that delicious sensation all over again. Ivy knew that if Royce scooped her up in his arm right now, she would allow him to do so.

  What is wrong with me? She thought angrily to herself. Why am I feeling this way when my family is in so much danger? Why am I even thinking about Duke Merrick? It is so very wrong.

  But she could not stop herself. It did not matter how much she tried to shut off her emotions, they remained firmly there, all the same, tormenting her. Every time she tried to keep her eyes fixed forward, they kept sidelining towards Royce anyway. His handsome face kept drawing her back in; the feeling that she wanted to kiss him kept tingling on her lips. It was becoming impossible to ignore.

  “I think that we should go to the hospital,” Royce eventually said spontaneously. “I know that there has been no change with regards to your father, but maybe the doctors have some more information now.”

  “I have asked them every single day and have not been given anything as yet.”

  “I know,” Royce said. “But we cannot give up hope, can we? If he really has been poisoned by someone, we have to hold out hope that he will wake up and give us some answers. We also need to see if we can bring him home yet.”

  “Yes,” she answered in a subdued tone of voice as she slid the book back onto the shelf. “You are right. We should go and see him. I do not want to give up hope.”

  “Did you want to wait until tomorrow? Or would you prefer to go right now?”

  “Oh, right now.” Ivy nodded enthusiastically. “If we can find anything out, I would like to know right now.”

  “Then it is very lucky that I have the carriage waiting outside.”

  Ivy felt a skip in her chest as she considered the idea of sitting in a carriage with Duke Merrick, even if they would not be alone. Even with Jonathon there, it would feel incredibly intense.

  It is not about that, she scolded herself again. It is about seeing my father, nothing more.

  “Yes, that sounds wonderful.” She gulped down the thick ball of emotion that stuck in her throat. “Thank you very much, Duke Merrick. I appreciate everything that you are doing for me and my family.”

  “You are very welcome. For you, I do not mind.”

  As those words came out of his mouth, he wondered if he had said too much, but the way that Ivy’s face lifted made him very happy. He hoped that it was all going to be alright.

  Chapter 12

  “We would like to see Lord Winters,” Royce declared with determination as they stepped into the hospital. During the carriage ride from Ivy’s home he had grown increasingly concerned that he might have overstated his ability to get information from the doctors, and now felt like he had something to prove. “This is his daughter…”

  “Oh, yes, I know.” The nurse’s face broke into a big friendly smile as she saw them in front of her. “I recognize her face well. She has been here almost every single day. How are you, Lady Winters?”

  “I am good, thank you,” Ivy replied politely. “I would like to see how my father is doing today.”

  Ivy braced herself, waiting for the standard answer that she always got. Hearing that there had been no change was a blessing at first, but now it felt so much more like a curse. She needed him to get better.

  “I am terribly glad that you have come today,” the nurse replied. “We were going to write you a letter…”

  Ivy’s entire body jolted violently. She did not know what this meant, but it was different. She stared deeply into the nurse’s eyes, trying to work out if that was a good or a bad thing. If it were bad news, then it would have to be the worst news. That would leave her with nothing, no father and no way to help her
brother.

  “What has happened?” she gushed desperately. “Is he… is he…?” She could not finish that sentence.

  “He is awake.” Those words hit Ivy hard, like a thump in the chest, but in a wonderful way. “And talking.”

  Ivy’s knees buckled, she almost fell to the floor with relief. Royce wrapped his arms around her, instinctively knowing that she no longer had the ability to stand, and he stopped her from collapsing under the weight of this wonderful news. He felt a powerful surge of hope, too. The fact that Lord Winters had not lost his life was fantastic, no one wanted him to die, and it also meant that they could save Ewan, too. It would all be alright.

  “He is awake?” Jonathon asked in disbelief. “Truly awake?” He gave Ivy and Royce a look. This was wonderful news, and news that none of them were truly expecting. “That is wonderful!”

  “May we go and see him?” Royce asked, knowing that Ivy could not speak. “Is he alright for visitors?”

  “He will be very excited to see you, Lady Winters, he has asked about you and your brother already.”

  Ivy’s heart sunk, the only downside to that remark was that her father was not aware of what had happened to Ewan. She would have to explain, all the while he was stuck in a hospital bed, which would upset him greatly. Still, this was the first step in a very positive direction. They could all be saved now; she actually had a chance of getting her family back, which was the most wonderful news of all. It was all that she wanted.

  “Please,” she gasped. “Please take me to him. I really want to see my father. I need to see him myself.”

  Royce continued to hold onto Ivy as they walked through the hospital, and he did not let her go even as they entered the hospital room of Lord Winters. He was afraid that the second he took his arms from her, she would fall to the ground in a heap, which would very much humiliate her and ruin her lovely dress.

  “Oh, Father!” Ivy almost screamed as she saw life in her father’s eyes. Finally, he was awake. Even hearing the news that his eyes had opened was not enough, she needed to see it for herself. “You are well again!”

  Ivy let go of Royce and raced over to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt warmer today than the last time she had touched him; she could almost feel the blood pumping through his body. Now that he was awake , she could admit to herself that she never thought this would happen. She had resigned to herself that her father was going to die, not that she wanted to accept it herself.

  Heat filled her body as she held her father and tears of relief fell down her cheeks. She was elated, happy, over the moon with joy. Her father did not look as healthy as he normally did, but that did not matter. He was alive, and for that, she would always be grateful. Thank goodness Royce had persuaded her to come.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked as she pulled back to look at him. “You have had me so worried.”

  “I think I am alright,” her father replied with teasing, but raspy, tone. “I have felt better before though.”

  Ivy giggled and used her handkerchief to wipe away her happy tears. “That is such wonderful news.”

  “How are you? It has been a while, has it not? What has happened?”

  Ivy looked down; anxiety flooded her as she had to get the truth out now. “Do you know about Ewan?”

  “I have not seen him. He has not come to visit me yet. I suppose he must be busy…”

  “He is in jail.” Ivy blurted it out rapidly. “He has been blamed for poisoning you.”

  “Poison?” Lord Winters tried to pull himself into more of a sitting position, but he could not. The bed sheets were tight around his body. “What do you mean? I was not poisoned. What would make you think that?”

  Neither Royce nor Jonathon felt like this was their conversation to have, so they remained with their backs against the wall, allowing Ivy the chance to speak to her father, but it was challenging when he made such a comment. Luckily, Ivy seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing as him because she asked the question he so desperately wanted to.

  “If you were not poisoned, then what happened? Why did you collapse in the middle of the party?”

  Colour tinged Lord Winters’ cheeks as he thought about that. He had been told as much by the medical staff, but to hear the same story from his own child made it worse. Making health problems public was not an acceptable way to behave. Of course, he had not been able to help it, the sickness felt like it came out of nowhere, but that did not make it any better. He should have taken himself into another room entirely.

  “My heart has been giving me troubles for a while,” he finally told Ivy. “It was my heart on that night.”

  That did not make Ivy feel any better. Knowing that her father had an ongoing health problem was not comforting at all. Especially if it made him sick at public events. “That is terrible…”

  “I shall be fine, do not worry about me.” Lord Winters did not want to get into it. He had managed to keep any issues at bay for a long time, and knew he could continue. “We need to clear up this mess with your brother.”

  Ivy heard the determination in her father’s voice, even now after he had been ill, his main priority was his children. This made her realize what a tight-knit family they were, always prioritizing one another. She felt lucky. But, before they could concentrate on freeing Ewan, she had to check to be sure.

  “Are you absolutely certain that you were not poisoned? There was not any food or drink that you consumed just before you collapsed? We need to be sure of what happened before we talk to the police.”

  “I did not eat or drink anything.” Lord Winters was sure. “There is nothing wrong with my memory. I can recall every single detail of that night. I was on my way to find…” His words trailed off as it suddenly hit him who was standing behind his daughter. The very same man that she had insisted she did not like.

  “It is alright, Father,” Ivy insisted. “I have told Duke Merrick everything. He knows that you were looking for him.” She smiled at Royce before continuing. “I actually believed that it was him who harmed you.”

  Lord Winters laughed at his daughter and her dramatic reaction. To him, it felt obvious that it was simply sickness that had claimed him. “Why did you believe that anyone harmed me?”

  “That is what they said! The people who took you away.” Ivy narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember. “Or maybe someone told me that was why Ewan was arrested. Either way that is what I was told.”

  Lord Winters’ expression hardened. “Well that is wrong, and I need to get out of here to make it right. I need to get to the police station and get Ewan out of there. He will not do well in prison.”

  “No, you are right.” Ivy nodded and kept her head low. “He is not doing well. We do need to get him out of there before anything bad happens to him. I fear that he will not survive it much longer. Me and Jonathon have been trying to help...”

  “Jonathon, your cousin?” Lord Winters was shocked. “He has been helping you?”

  “He has.” Ivy smiled. “And he has been wonderful. I know that we are not close to the extended family, but I feel like we should be.”

  “Oh, I agree. But before we worry about that, we must sort out Ewan. After which, I will thank Jonathon properly.”

  “You do not have to do that…” Jonathon said, but again he found himself talked over.

  “So, we must leave, we must go now. We need to get him out now that I can clear it up…”

  “Can you leave yet?” Royce jumped in, not wanting Lord Winters to harm himself further. He did not look well enough to go yet. “Should we check with the doctors first that you are fit and well to leave?”

  “I feel just fine. I shall order a doctor to come and see me at home to check on me. I want to leave.”

  Ivy gave Royce a pleading look, begging him for help with her eyes and immediately he crumbled. He already knew that there was nothing he would not do for Lady Winters. If she wanted him to help get her father out of here, then h
e would. He would simply have to ensure that they kept an eye on him.

  “Do you know of any reason why the police would immediately suspect your son?” he asked, biding for a little bit more time. “Is there any reason why they would arrest him first of all? It seems to be a very snap decision, especially as it turns out, you were not poisoned after all. That leaves me a little concerned.”

  Lord Winters looked grave. “The police do not always get it right. Plus, Ewan might have issues that he has not shared with the family. Things that I was only just learning about myself. That might explain it.”

  “Issues?” Ivy was shocked. It seemed that she had been looking into the wrong family member when it came to secrets. Her younger brother was the one keeping things from her. “What do you mean?”

  Lord Winters stared at his daughter, wondering how she was going to take the news. She had lived a sheltered life so far, unaware of the things that went on in the real world. This could change that.

  “Let us get out of here first, and then I will let Ewan tell you himself once he is free.”

  Ivy and Royce worked together to help Lord Winters out of the hospital bed, and took him towards the door. On the way, Royce stopped to explain what they were doing to one of the medical staff who did not complain. If anything, taking him away seemed to be a positive thing because it freed up a bed for someone else. It had become obvious to Ivy that the hospitals were all very overcrowded.

  She shuddered as she recalled how she first felt when she entered this place and considered it a gateway to death rather than a place of healing. Thank goodness it had not turned out that way. Others would probably not be so lucky, things had worked out well for her, she got to take her father out of here, healthy again.

  Ivy knew, that if she had ever taken her life for granted before, she would not do it again.