Beast Of Italy

Chapter Twenty

The damp rag brushed against his pale skin, wiping his sweat away. Corrine worked in silence, a small smile on her face as she helped to get Julius ready for bed, his haunted eyes watching her intently. Her conscience told her she was being cruel for her deception, but desperation forced her to continue in it.

"Would you need anything else? " She brushed the side of his face that wasn't scarred by the fire, with her palm.

He sat before her, eyes searching hers in confusion and skeptism. There was no question by the look in his eyes that he doubted everything she had convinced her father and the vicar to tell him. Still, she could draw hope from his calm countenance as opposed to the hysterical state he had woken up in three days ago, that he was starting to believe the lies of her father and the vicar.

It would take a while to get him to be fully convinced, but she was willing to wait. Perhaps if she succeeded in ridding him completely of the memories of the past he had before now, they might have a future together.

And if he does remember, then what, Corrine?

She ignored the voice of her conscience and trailed his cheek with her thumb.

"In time you shall remember, Julius. "

"Perhaps I am indeed mad and if not, how can I have these memories... "

Corrine shook her head, silencing him. "The Physician assures me that your hallucinations shall pass and you shall remember... "

"I know about the fire! I know about waking up here in this bedchamber with my mother by my side and living these past two years behind these walls and Ira! "

Corrine's face crumbled in frustration. Shaking her head, she forced her tears to stream down her cheeks. "Shall you always speak of your affair with your maid, Julius?! Shall you torment me with these memories forever?! " Her voice rose with every word. Slipping her hand off of his face, she turned from him and covered her face with her hands. With her shoulders trembling, she pretended to weep.

"I do not know what to believe, Corrine. "

Corrine thought of returning to live with her broke father who would most likely be desperate enough to toss her to a despicable man if her marriage to Julius failed, and tears truly sprang to her eyes.
Turning slowly around, her tears slipped down her cheeks. "Very well," Her lips trembled. "If you would choose to doubt my words, my father and the vicar who joined us, perhaps you shall believe the words of your Physician? Perhaps I shall have him come here and tell you of the state of your mind for nearly three years and how I have labored to nurse you back to health and failed. And if you would choose to doubt his words, perhaps I shall send an urgent letter to your mother, begging that she journeys all the way from Birmingham to convince you that I'm your wife?! " Springing to her feet, Corrine allowed her frustration take expression on her face. "Is this what you want, Julius? " She rose a brow and waited for his response. He sat silently before her, a frown creasing his face. "Very well!" She stomped over to the dresser and grabbed her night coat. "I shall send for your Physician tomorrow and tonight, " She pulled the coat over her slender form and forced her nervous hands to tie the belt. Once tied, she turned and made her way to the door. "Tonight I shall sleep in a guest chamber. "

♠♠♠

Several thoughts ran through Julius' mind as he read his mother's letter. For several days he doubted Corrine, convinced she only intended to deceive him. Yet, the more he tried to refute her words, the more determined she seemed to prove she was telling the truth by summoning her father, the vicar and his Physician to testify to it.
Julius however, could hardly believe her. He knew of his accident and while she insisted the last two years of his life was nothing but false memories he had, while she told the story of the maid who tried to connive her way into his life and ultimately into his bed by implanting false memories in his head, Julius could not convince himself that the parts of his past that he managed to remember was false.

Until his mother's letter.

Several things were said in the letter, but it was his mother's reference to Corrine as his wife, that left his lips agape.

She was his wife?! He remembered nothing of being married to her, not even in the slightest bit. He remembered meeting her a few times in his home and even having conversations with her father, but a wedding?!

He placed a hand on his forehead and hissed in pain. His headaches were getting bad and his nose bleeds, worse. He remembered nothing else of the life he had before the fire and apparently, nothing of the life he had after -if Corrine's tale was true.

"Julius? "Corrine held the spoon to his mouth.

Nodding, he forced his lips apart and accepted the soup.

"That should help you regain your strength and perhaps some more laudanum shall help to ease your aching head? "

He didn't love her. Even as he stared at her, he knew he didn't love her. She claimed to have helped nurse him back to health and even right now, she was helping him. Yet, he didn't love her. Her presence did nothing but aid his headaches and cause his skin to crawl with an unpleasant sensation.

"Perhaps it is best you do not care for me anymore. " Leaning back against the bed, his head came to a rest on the pillow. "Isn't that what the servants are being paid for? "

Silence.

He lifted his eyes to find Corrine seated on her position beside his bed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

A small stab of guilt washing over him, he opened his mouth to speak but was quickly silenced by her movement as she rose to her feet with the bowl in her hands.

"It shall be as you have requested, my lord. "

When she turned from him and began making her way to the door, his guilt was quickly replaced by a desire to hold a separate woman in his arms; a woman he was told only existed in his fantasies.

Pulling his eyelids shut, he drifted to sleep and easily dreamt of Ira.

Copyright © 2018 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.

A/N

Hi guys. Sorry for the sparse updates, I'm sure most of you already know I do not write when I'm unable to connect emotionally with my characters. This has of course been happening lately with life being so stressful and just getting to the final stage of my education and all. Seriously, I didn't think it would be this emotionally draining! There are days I wake up and I'm like "I don't know who I am anymore. "

I've also been editing my book FACES OF LOVE which is why I took it down (in case you were wondering.) I'm putting it on my website for free so no worries.

How have you guys been doing? Have you had any good news lately? I could seriously do with some goodness because it's always good to know there's still some good left in this world.

Also, I know a lot of people are dealing with depression and I can honestly say that when the crying and feeling bad about whatever it is, is over, it'll pass. Depression passes and there's hope. We're all dealing with Soooo many things but we keep our heads above the 'sane' bar and not let ourselves drown in depression. And even if there are times we do drown, we find a way out.

Sorry for the long A/N and do have a lovely evening.