»"What are you waiting for?", he hissed.
"Do your job."
The icy words and accompanying threat was enough to make the woman of elevated age bow hastily and step hurriedly closer.
The surrounding people also stiffened noticeably as the duke raised his voice. Until now he had been silent, which is why these simple words caused more than just tension despite that.
"Of course,", immediately escaped the healer, while Morgiana now shifted her weight slightly, seemingly still at her strength's end and leaning exhausted against the cushion of the sofa, on which she could only just hold herself.
Despite the duke's instructions, the healer now approached my mother, who was standing directly in front of me, which is why I paused irritated in my movement.
Had I misunderstood something?
"My head hurts terribly.", the brunette immediately let the healer know, sounding incredibly distressed, complaining. Inevitably, she therefore gained the attention of the older woman, who inevitably frowned.
"I beg your pardon?", escaped the elderly lady, which made some of them hiss and inhale the air.
No one would dare to directly answer the Duke. Especially not if he wanted to live to see the next day. That was a fact I learned very quickly.
The healer, however, ignored the whispered cries without further ado and now turned her attention entirely to my mother, who tensed up minimally. That this was still possible actually surprised me.
"Forgive my directness, but are you completely blind?"
The silence that ensued was interrupted only by the rustling of fabric as Morgiana abruptly stood up.
She was not the only one who seemed to be more than surprised by this question, but I took note of it only passingly. All my attention was on my mother, because I hoped that she would finally receive medical treatment. So far, no doctor had taken care of her.
No one on the estate had ever checked on my mother's well-being in all that time, so even now I didn't think it necessary to readily tell them about it if my mother didn't do it of her own accord.
Although I had been helping her for a long time to do little things that she could not do without help in daily life, I was not a great support. I was just glad that I could at least make her life a little easier, which actually filled me with a sense of pride.
"That is irrelevant to the occasion of your appearance. I am not your patient,", my mother politely but firmly let her know.
Thus it was clear that she did not want a word about her physical condition to shine outward, which is why I lowered my gaze again. Although she rejected the healer's advances, she was certainly smart enough. She had already demonstrated her acumen immediately.
Surely she could help Mother if she would treat her.
Why was she so reluctant to do so?
"Madam! If you don't soon-", the older woman now called out energetically, although until a few seconds ago she had been incredibly restrained and almost frightened. Apparently she didn't seem to understand when it was necessary to hold back, which even I understood by now.
"Not another word about it."
It was rare that I heard Mother raise her voice. It was even rarer that she became bossy or even told someone to stop talking. But it was necessary, that much I understood.
She had clearly drawn the line, and despite it, someone below her status willingly crossed it.
It was normal for the duke, his mistress, and the household staff to shame Mother, but there was no need for the group of people to extend to people outside this estate.
Even I did not endure everything. Especially not when it was not only about myself, but mother. She, too, always held back too much unless I was directly involved.
The silence that followed was again broken by moving fabric. It was the healer bowing to Mother.
"I have exceeded my authority and humbly beg your pardon,", it escaped her hoarsely, while she still did not dare to raise her head.
"Take care of your patient,", Mother let the healer know briefly, since she probably did not intend to expand the topic any further and, above all, had no need to be here any longer than necessary.
We had already decided before coming here to go back to our room immediately after our mending wishes, which had now been delayed by the appearance of the healer.
"If Your Highness permits, we would retire."
At Mother's request, I also bowed deeply to the duke, while even now I had to make an effort not to grimace. Actually, Mother should not have to be so humble as to have to go to her room as a duchess.
I continued to keep my head lowered, since the person addressed still did not respond.
The silence was deafening and I could inevitably feel the heat rising strongly in my cheeks. He was intentionally embarrassing Mother in a way that was obvious to everyone by completely ignoring her.
However, since this would not be the first time and definitely not the last, I continued to keep my cool for outsiders. It was still incredibly hard and made me angry, however, I found it much easier to deal with than just a few months before. In addition, it had to be even worse for mother than for me.
I still didn't dare to get up and, if necessary, I would keep my head down until the duke had left the room. I was too stubborn on that point.
If he had to ignore mother, he should do it until the end. One could not blame me for any misbehavior in any second. After all I was only the shameless daughter of the barbarian from a country full of savages.
Muffled footsteps, which suggested heavy footwear, could be heard, which is why I assumed that the taller one made an effort to leave the room, but I quickly dismissed the thought. Otherwise he would have given further instructions.
Since I was still staring at the floor and keeping my upper body lowered, I could only guess that the duke was now checking the condition of his mistress. I already noticed how my muscles began to ache, but I had already held out in this position for much longer, so I just gritted my teeth and waited.
Inevitably, I stiffened slightly when a faint brown dot entered my field of vision. Before I could imagine what it meant, I noticed how mother abruptly stood up. Immediately, I too raised my upper body to see the Duke straightening her with a firm grip on her upper arm. His knuckles stood out white, crumpling the fabric of her clothes.
I could even hear a slight crack as her arm was yanked upward almost violently in one breath, causing me to hiss and inhale the air.
What was he doing to my Mother?
I could see the duke's face because my Mother was standing right in front of me and she also had her back turned to me. However, I didn't dare to make a sound, just like Mother.
Instinctively, I kept my gaze lowered again, since I didn't know how else to react without getting Mother into trouble.
An unpleasant tingling sensation spread from my fingertips to the heels of my hands as my nails dug into my skin. The spots actually went numb a few breaths later. Not entirely, however, there seemed to be a really nasty pressure exerted by the blood that couldn't circulate freely.
"Are you blind?" the Duke asked, completely unconcerned, which almost made me smile. It suited him. He would never pretend or be considerate of how Mother would feel in this situation.
"No.", it escaped her before she now lifted her head to look at him. I could catch a flicker of movement in his face, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Was he frowning?
He seemed to be satisfied with Mother's answer, because in the next breath he immediately let go of her and turned away from her completely.Since I didn't know whether we had permission to leave now, I remained silently in my position, but in this position I could observe my mother closely.
Her hands trembled and cramped in the fabric of her clothes, as if she were finding support in them.
Was she afraid or was she angry?
"Mother!"
The bright shout gained the attention of everyone present, including me. It was the Duke's first and only son, who approached Morgiana in a short sprint, almost throwing himself into her arms.
"You're sick?", he said anxiously.
A thin smile formed on my lips. Just once. Just once, I would like him to acknowledge our mother as just that. At least called her by her name. But that would never happen. Everyone in this house saw us as a disgrace. And my own brother, although our birth mother was still alive, was raised by my birth father's mistress.
I didn't know what came over me at that moment, however, the words escaped me faster than I could hold back.
"I humbly request to rest in my room."«