Maxine blinked, stunned by his reply. However, she wasn't the only one who was stunned, Damien a little behind him was also stunned. "Your Grace," he called.
Damien was torn between believing or not. Maybe His Grace was actually telling the truth or not, he had no idea but he knew of the duke's sickness. It was rare and a result of his age. It seemed his body wasn't ready to accustom to more years than the ones he had spent.
Sullivan raised one finger to stop Damien from asking further questions before he looked at the young healer again. "And our contract will last for six months. Before I die, you need to heal me, My Lady." His words came out pleading, soft, different from the hoarseness of his former words and it was as if he had not just threatened her and pushed her to the wall. However, he destroyed the peacefulness she felt when he added, "Or we might die."
Maxine enthusiastically nodded. Ready to leave this place all of a sudden. "Be rest assured, My Lord. The cure to your ailment shall be within three months. As one of the best healers in this era, I won't let you down."
He nodded.
"So, My Lord, should I not be let go? I already signed the contract." For every word, Maxine displayed herself as a woman of nobleness, filled with the etiquette she wasn't trained to have as if she had been trained for half of her lifetime.
The Duke raised a brow, curiousness and surprise settling in his eyes that had seemed to turn back to normal. "Will you not ask me of the symptoms of my ailment?"
Maxine blinked. Of course, she didn't ask because she knew she wouldn't be seeing him anymore.
"I will ask another time, My Lord," she bowed, which she rarely did, showing that she was about going, or showing that their conversation was supposed to be over.
"It's Grace, My Lady. You should accord deference to whom it's befitting," Damien however, informed her. Amazed at how a woman could be as impertinent as she is.
Maxine almost glared at him, she already knew he harboured great hatred for her. It was the same here, he need not show it.
"I think it's the time of her wedding, Damien. Take her home. We might see again on the morrow after she has calmed down."
Maxine bowed as Damien requested her to follow behind. Now, this was the time she needed to be attentive. Only then, would she be able to trace these men's abode.
Sullivan, however, before they could walk out of the room, advised her, "Stick with him, Lady Healer Haverston, to avoid you getting lost in the castle."
'Castle?' Maxine almost blurted out. What castle? There was no castle in Beddington, to begin with, and the only building that might look like a castle was situated at the capital of Beddington, Deliscawell where the palace is. But she didn't voice her opinion. She dared not.
The Duke turned to Damien who was standing in front of her, "And you, be careful. She is a young lady, keep your emotions and ensure the transportation takes place without her appearing scathed. We do not want to see me dying just because she is ill." His gaze went back to her, "She is to wed another man."
Maxine could swear that she saw disgust painted on his face as he said those last words but then as if in a flash, it was gone as soon as it came.
'Another man? How dare you call him another man? He is your prince!' Those words were what raged in her head before she silently followed Damien.
She was expecting a different source of light, however, for an unknown reason, they were venturing into a completely dark corridor.
Maxine could see nothing as she walked and just like she had been warned, she ensured she heard Damien's footsteps right in front of her.
The coldness in the corridor seemed to be burying further into her skin. And at the same time, she wondered how the man leading her out of this building could see in the dark.
After a series of loud footsteps, finally, she heard a door creak open. Stretching her hands to know where he had walked into, she felt the thickness of his shirt and she was relieved.
As she followed behind, entering the room that she was led to, her eyes slowly adjusted to the light that was in the room.
She wondered why they were going into a room when they were supposed to be going out of the building. Wasn't she supposed to be in a carriage or horseback to quicken her arrival at the palace?
She looked around the room and she was stunned about the paleness and dullness of it. The only light illuminating the room was from the huge window to her North. The window was huge enough for her to occupy her height. No iron bars were sticking in it.
Damien walked towards the window and stopped, annoyance biting through him when he saw that the young woman wasn't coming near him soon. He wondered why he was told to take her to the palace when there were men who could do that instead. At least, those men brought her here in the first place. "I cannot wait for long, My Lady."
Seeing his gesture for her to come closer, her brows furrowed, wondering what it was that he was calling her to see.
She slowly walked towards him and she watched the outside of the building. To her surprise, she saw different men and women, dressed in scanty clothes walking around.
She wondered why they were dressed like this. It was something different from the way the two men she had set her eyes across were dressed.
But as she looked further, she discovered the expanse of the surrounding building. What her eyes could capture was this corner of the building and she found it hard to recall if there was any building like this in Beddington. A building that looked like a castle. No, a castle.
Before she could continually suck herself in her thoughts, Damien uttered, "Close your eyes, My Lady. You might not like what you see if you keep them open in our journey."
For once, Maxine thought he was about to push her through the window, however, she told herself that he couldn't. She was a healer to his master.
When Damien saw that the young lady was far from closing her eyes, he said, "Please, My Lady. Only for a second." He wasn't happy to do this but he knew he had to if he did not want the Duke to cut off his head.
Only for a second, she thought.
Immediately, Maxine's eyes closed, she felt two arms wrap around her and shocked by the man's audacity, she opened her eyes to warn, wanting to free herself from his hold but then, as soon as she did, a scream escaped from her throat.
She was falling.
No, floating?
She really couldn't say and her eyes closed the next moment, scared to gaze at her surroundings more when all she could see were the roofs of different buildings. Her hands instinctively wrapped around the figure that had placed her in his arms and she buried her face in his chest.