To Defy A Duke

Chapter 51

Jasper walks towards her. Eliza smiles and reaches for his hand but he stops out of reach. 

"What's wrong?" She asks. He smiles at her menacingly. Isabella Cavendish appears by his side and she places a possessive hand over his heart. 

"He doesn't need you, you betrayed him." She sneers, she steps in front of him protectively. 

"He has us now." Mirabelle appears on his other side, "No one needs you, Eliza." She grasps Jasper's chin and forces him to face her, his eyes on Eliza he lowers his lips to Mirabella's and begins to kiss her passionately, she moans into his kiss and he forces her closer to his body.

"No......" Eliza whispers as she feels her heart bleed. 

Her head hits the side of the carriage as the wheels grind to a halt and she wakes with a start. The nightmare still present in her head, she looks out the window. The night has fully settled around them and you can barely see a meter in front of your hand. The darkness obscures most of the outside but she can make out a small cluster of trees and then everything fades to night. She opens the door and steps onto the ground. A small hanging light on the carriage and one outside the tiny pub shows a stable and a tiny travelers inn, she walks around the carriage to where the driver is getting down. 

"What is happening?" She asks. 

"Just swapping the horses," He says, "Yere might wanna stay inside, dangerous place ere." 

"Right, thank you." She walks back to the side of the carriage, she is about the climb up when her stomach spirals up into her mouth, she grasps the side of the carriage and deposits her stomachs contents onto the ground. She heaves and heaves until her stomach is empty. She retches and wipes her mouth clean. She leans on the wall of the carriage and tries to breathe in the cool night air. Her head begins to clear and she scrunches her nose up. She looks at the floor and there's blood in with the brown lumpy liquid. She digs her heel into the ground and kicks the soil over it. She climbs back inside quickly and shuts the door. Her head spins like a roundabout and she leans against the wall. 

After a few minutes, the carriage starts moving again. Her stomach churns violently and she closes her eyes in an effort to make the feeling stop. She concentrates on her breathing but there's a pain her chest and she is shaking. The acidic taste of vomit still resonates on her tongue. She falls asleep again to the shaking of the carriage and drifts off into a vivid dream.

She is in the grounds of Ryddan Manor, the sun shines brightly on the healthy grass, Jasper sits on a picnic mat reading Macbeth, there are plates of food next to him and several glasses of ginger beer. He drops the book and smiles happily at something. A boy with ebony hair and ice blue eyes runs from the house followed by Benjamin who hobbles behind with a walking stick. The little boy jumps into Jasper's arms and he swings him around in the air, the child laughs giddily, he can't be older than 5. They sit back down on the mat and Benjamin joins them. The boy starts to stuff his face with pastries. Jasper looks so happy as he wipes the boy's face and pulls him into his lap. 

"Daddy?" The boy looks up at his father with lively eyes full of questions. "Tell me about mummy again."

Eliza's heart breaks at his uncertain voice. Jasper suddenly looks very sad but he clears his expression quickly and strokes the child's hair. 

"Your mother loves you very much, she always will. She is watching over you always." Jasper looks up at the clear sky as does the boy, he frowns and tugs on Benjamin's jacket. 

"Grandpa, what was she like?" He reaches his little hands out. 

Benjamin smiles and takes him from Jasper. 

"Your mother was the most amazing person I ever knew. She was so clever and everyone stopped and stared when she walked into a room. She could ride and hunt, she wasn't very good at sewing though." 

Jasper smiles ruefully and rustles his son's hair. 

"Shall we go for a ride?" He asks. The little boy jumps up in excitement and takes hold of his father's hand. 

"Do you miss mother?" He asks. Jasper looks down at his son with a pained smile. 

"Every day." 

Eliza's hands jump to her stomach immediately as she wakes with a gasp. Her heart beats fast in her chest. The dream felt so real, she takes a shuddering gasp. Her heart aches as she pictures the look of wonder on the boy's face and the expression of sadness on her husbands. She glances outside and she recognizes the tall buildings of inner London. She watches the gloomy buildings pass, their windows bleak and dirty. She can smell the thick smoke from multiple chimnies and see the fog as it swirls and hangs low in the sky. She tugs at the collar of her dress, it seems to stick to her neck and it is creating a dull pink flush on her skin. Her stomach tightens suddenly and she gasps in pain, she leans forward and falls onto the floor with a cry. She shakes in the ball she has curled up into, her skin is slick with sweat and her lungs feel like they are on fire. Her breath is coming out in pants, she feels some wetness on her cheeks, she touches her face and realizes she is crying. 

Using the seat to pull herself up she tries to spot a building that she knows. She sees a small park with a massive cherry tree in the center. Charlotte mentioned something about a tree near Thomas's house. She hits the top of the carriage weakly. 

"Drop me off Edworth Manor." She shouts in too much pain to waste words on politeness. The carriage turns to the right, confirming they got the message and it trundles around the south side of the park. She grips the seats until her hands turn white, she battles the paint the wracks her body. The carriage enters an estate. Eliza fights the approaching darkness as the carriage stops in front of the house. Lights go on and a few servants from the house come to inspect the unusual arrival. Eliza gets to her feet shakily, she struggles to open the door and when she does she falls out onto a shocked servant. 

"Miss are you alright?" He asks holding her up.

"Charlotte." Eliza coughs blood onto his crisp white shirt, he almost drops her in alarm. One of the drivers runs over and he picks her up from the man. 

"What's going on?" A man runs towards them dressed in a nightgown and carrying a lamp. The servant looks even more alarmed and he tries to prevent the man from coming any closer to Eliza. 

"My Lord, please do not come closer." 

The lamp throws Eliza's sickly pallor into sharp relief. 

"My God." Thomas breathes. "Bring her inside immediately." 

People hesitate, unsure. 

"NOW." He yells. 

Eliza is teetering on the edge of consciousness but through the blackness, she hears Thomas's frantic orders as she is carried into the house and upstairs. Someone lays her on a soft mattress and there is more quick talking. 

"Someone wake my wife." Thomas's says as he brushes damp hair away from Eliza's forehead. 

"Of course my lord, the doctor has been sent for." Someone says in the distance. Eliza reaches out and seizes hold of Thomas's wrist. 

"Thomas." She wheezes, her lungs burn with the effort. "Charlotte.......baby." 

She falls unconscious and her hand drops down, slack.