The Seahorse and the Spice 🪼🎩✔

7: Mum's The Word

Minerva
I wiped my brow of the stoking hot room. The duke had gone through a bad bout of the chills and so I put a small fire on to warm up the room a little. Being enclosed made the room hotter than normal but he seemed to be more comfortable with it on than it not. He had less dreams and seemed to be more calm while he was warm. It was going on almost two weeks now and Lord Higgaby came by often to check on him. He seemed to be the only one taking any concern with the duke other than me. Even some of the duke's extended family didn't care to ask how he was. Lord Higgaby said that no one mentions him and no one asks of him. I found it sad that someone was so disliked that no one even cared if he was sick or not.
I redressed the wound like Lord Higgaby told me when the duke shivered again. I looked at him and he looked like he was having a really bad dream when his leg jerked and almost hit me. As a reflex, I smacked his leg and he cried out in pain.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." I said, even though I knew that he was asleep and couldn't hear me.
I rubbed where I hit him and he moaned, turning his head a little.
"Mum..."
"No, it's just me..."
"No, mum, don't... Please..."
I smiled at him and finished wrapping up his wound. He moaned again and opened his eyes a little.
"Where am I?" he mumbled.
"You're in your bed where you were left." I say, going to him and touching his forehead. The fever was still there but less than before. "How are you feeling?"
He mumbled again but went back to sleep and I sighed. The laudanum must have been kicking in and he was delirious. I pulled the covers back over him and raised it up toward his chin. He grabbed my arm suddenly and I gasped.
"Stay with me..." he mumbled.
"Milord, you're not in your right mind-"
He pulled me rather harshly into the bed with him and I felt his stomach against me. I gulped but he was not letting me go at all. His fevered skin felt gross against my chest as he lay his head on me but for someone with a high fever and in bed for days, he had a surprisingly strong grip. I tried pulling away but he grabbed me closer and so I just went limp.
"Mother..." he said again.
"I'm not your mother... Do you have some sort of thing for your mother that I should know about?"
He smiled in his sleep and cuddled close to me. This was going to be a long night.

*****************

Bastion
"Have you seen, Mum?" I asked Eadric as I came back into his room after looking around the huge house for the third time.
"No... I haven't seen her since she went to check on the duke a while ago. Did you check there?"
"No... but why would she be there?"
"Maybe she found us a papa and he's like ugh, ugh!" X said, making a horribly obscene gesture.
Eadric started laughing hard but I growled at him and turned to X.
"Who showed you that gesture and what that means?"
Xerxes stopped smiling, knowing I was upset, and hid behind Eadric even though he was going invisible at the same time.
"I'm not mad, X, I just want to know who told you?"
"The horse man... he said it..."
"Loredo. I'm going to have to tell him to stop teaching you things before you do it in front of Mum. Just... don't do it again, alright?"
"I won't, Bastion..." he said, peeking out from Eadric and slowly coming into view.
"Good. Now, I'll go find Mum. You should help unless you want me to help the cook make dinner for us tonight."
"Ew, no!" X said, coming into full view. "I'll go find Mummy!"
He ran off and I smiled, going to toward the room of the duke.
I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I opened it up and saw red. I wanted to beat the holy shit out of that rake! I trudged over to the bed but stopped when I saw that nothing was going on. They were sleeping! Just... laying there asleep. But Mum hated the duke so why was she there in his bed like that?
I walked closer and saw that Mum was sleeping soundly but the duke looked... I couldn't help myself and I reached out to touch him on the face. I just brushed it lightly and he jerked, turning to me with illness in his eyes.
"Um... can we have our mother back, Mr. Duke... sir..."
"She's my mum... you can't have her..." he mumbled but his pallor seemed to worsen as he stared at me.
I frowned and pulled him off of Mum and she opened her eyes.
"Oh, thank the lord. I thought I was going to have to spend the night here. Bastion, what are you doing here?"
"Looking for you. What you doing here in the bed with the duke?"
"He pulled me onto the bed and I couldn't get out of his grip. I figured I'd just stay here than try to get out of that vice grip."
"Mum, we have a problem. He's getting worse. I don't know what else we can do for him. And he keeps mumbling something about his mother."
"I know... Go tell Lorado to get Lord Higgaby. If... if he doesn't get any better..."
"I know. You can wish on me, Mum. If you want him to be safe I'll do it."
Mum looked at me, biting her bottom lip softly, thinking about what she wanted to do. I looked at the duke and smiled at her.
"I hate to do this, Bastion... I know it's hard on you sometimes."
"It's alright. X already made a wish but I don't think it was enough. Maybe if you piggyback on it and make it more focused it will happen."
Mum sighed and I smiled.
"I wish the duke would get well."
I shuddered and whatever happened, I was the one directing it to happen.

*******************

Minerva
Oh, I hate wishing on Bastion, but I didn't know what to do. We've done everything that we can do and it's not working. We set the duke up in the bed and I felt his head. It was warm but not as warm as before. The wish was already working.
"I'm sorry, Bastion."
He just shook his head. "It's my pleasure. I'll do it for you because I know you won't take advantage of me."
"Mmm... Mum..."
We looked at the duke and Bastion looked at me.
"What is with him and his mother?"
"I don't know. Maybe we can ask Lord Higgaby when he gets here. You still need to tell Lorado to get him for me. Duke Barma needs to be cared for and I only know so much... ask him why he hadn't sent over the doctor yet."
"He's probably out doing his thing as a nobleman. Parties and stuff. I doubt he even cares about the duke. You said he was a pretty pretentious, right?"
"True but I don't think Lord Higgaby is like that."
"You should dress up and go to one of those dances."
"I can't do that. I would be completely humiliated."
"But you're of nobility... right?"
"Not really. It's a long story with that. Just go and get him for me please."

********************

I met Lord Higgaby at the front door as Lorado took his horse to the stables.
"I'm sorry I haven't been by."
"I'm sure your parties could have waited, Lord Higgaby." Bastion said to him.
I elbowed his side hard and he rubbed his ribs.
"As I said, I apologize for not being here. And yes, Bastion, parties were part of it but when you do not go to at least four out of five invitations, people will begin to talk. There is already gossip about Salem's absence from the parties. Most everyone knows how strange he had acted and how he had fired everyone from the manor so... I've also been trying to extinguish the rumors. I have been busy, child."
Bastion rolled his eyes and walked off as we went to the duke's room.
We opened the door and missed something being thrown. There was some loud noises and a good bout of mumbling. We looked over and saw the duke throwing things out of his closet.
"I thought you said he was not feeling well."
"Well he wasn't an hour ago."
We closed the door and the duke stopped throwing things. He turned to us and then looked at me. He still didn't look well but he tromped over to me and grabbed my shoulders.
"I don't know how but you did this to me! What the hell is going on?! Why am I like this?! Answer me!"
There was desperation in his eyes and Lord Higgaby pulled him from me.
"I think we should get you back to bed, Salem."
"You..." He turned to the lord. "You were in on it... you helped her do this to me!!!"
Lord Higgaby slapped Duke Barma across the face.
"Get a hold of yourself, you idiot. Why would I do something like this to you? You've been in a state of delirium for almost a month now. Please get back to bed."
"I'm... I'm pregnant... I'm the size of... of I dunno! What's going on?! Andrew..."
"Alright, let's go... Ms. Cavensold, I think you should go..."
"You did this to me... I hate you... Pregnant fat..."
"Please, Ms. Cavensold..." Lord Higgaby said.
I left the room and went to help the cooks.