A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 171 - Hundred And Seventy One

Three long nights had passed since the terrible carriage accident.

Inside the master bedchamber of Hamilton House, the air was warm and completely still. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn tight against the dark London sky. The only source of light came from the low, glowing embers in the marble fireplace and a single oil lamp resting on the bedside table.

Delaney kept watch on Rowan.

She sat in a chair pulled right to the very edge of his large mattress. She looked incredibly exhausted. Dark, heavy shadows rested beneath her beautiful hazel eyes. She wore a plain, dark blue dress, and her hair was tied back in a loose ribbon.

For three days and three nights, she had barely left this chair. Aunt Margery and Ines had tried multiple times to send her to her own bed to rest. They had offered to sit with him, and the paid nurses had offered to take over the night watch. But Delaney had politely and firmly refused them all.

She had insisted that no one else touch him. She had claimed she would take good care of him, and her stubborn devotion had finally won. Aunt Margery and Ines had left her to take care of Rowan, deeply moved by her absolute loyalty.

Delaney leaned forward. She dipped a soft white cloth into a basin of cool water, wrung it out carefully, and gently wiped Rowan’s forehead.

He was healing. The doctor had been very pleased with his progress that morning. His breathing was deep and steady, and the dangerous fever had finally broken. But he was still trapped in a deep, silent sleep, his body demanding time to repair the severe blow to his head.

Delaney smoothed the golden hair away from his clean white bandages. She let her hand rest softly against his cheek.

"You must wake up soon," Delaney whispered to him, her voice a soft, tired rasp. "The house is entirely too quiet without you commanding everyone around."

Just then, the door of the bedchamber clicked open.

Aunt Margery stepped inside. She was wearing a thick, dark shawl over her evening gown. She walked quietly across the thick carpet and stopped beside Delaney’s chair.

The older woman looked down at the pale, exhausted girl and sighed softly.

"You are going to make yourself ill, my dear," Aunt Margery said, her voice filled with gentle, maternal concern.

Delaney shook her head, keeping her eyes on Rowan’s face. "I am fine, Aunt Margery. I am not tired."

"Nonsense," Aunt Margery replied firmly. She reached down and placed a warm hand on Delaney’s shoulder. "You have been cooped up in this warm room with Rowan for three days. You are breathing stale air. You are going to step outside and take some fresh air."

Delaney opened her mouth to protest, to say that Rowan might wake up and need a drink of water, but Aunt Margery raised a strict finger.

"The nurse is waiting right outside the door," Aunt Margery stated, leaving absolutely no room for debate. "She will sit with him. Come with me, Delaney. Just for ten minutes."

Delaney knew she could not win an argument against the formidable older woman. With a heavy, reluctant sigh, she finally stood up from her wooden chair. She looked back at Rowan one last time before following Aunt Margery out of the room.

Aunt Margery led Delaney down the back stairs of the manor, away from the servant quarters, and opened a heavy glass door that led directly into the private gardens of the estate.

The night air hit Delaney’s face instantly. It was crisp, cold, and wonderfully refreshing. The sky was clear, and a bright silver moon hung high above the manicured hedges and stone pathways. Delaney took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling the clean air clear her foggy, exhausted mind.

Aunt Margery took her to the swing.

They both sat down on the smooth wooden seat. The swing shifted slightly under their weight, the ropes creaking softly in the quiet night. For a few moments, neither woman spoke. They simply sat together, listening to the gentle rustling of the leaves in the wind.

Then, Aunt Margery turned her head to look at the younger woman. Her face was serious, but her eyes were very kind.

Aunt Margery spoke. "Did you remember that day you and Rowan were about to leave to find Miss Flora?"

Delaney blinked. Her mind traveled back to the cold, misty morning in the courtyard, just before she had stepped into the ill-fated carriage. She remembered Aunt Margery stopping her by the door.

"I told you when you come back I wanted to talk to you," Aunt Margery reminded her softly.

Delaney felt a sudden, nervous knot form tight in her stomach. She turned to fully face the older woman.

"Yes, I remember, Aunt," Delaney nodded slowly. She gripped the rough rope of the swing with her hands.

Aunt Margery looked directly into Delaney’s hazel eyes. She did not delay the news. She delivered it with clear, straightforward honesty.

"I am relieving you of your duties," Aunt Margery spoke.

The words hung in the cold night air.

Delaney completely froze. Her heart skipped a painful beat, and then began to race wildly. She stared at Aunt Margery in pure shock.

After everything they had been through—after the carriage accident, after finding her father’s will, after Ines had held her, after she thought she had found a family in them—she was being cast out?

Delaney asked, her eyes widening with deep confusion and sudden fear. "Aunt, are you firing me?"

Aunt Margery nodded her head simply. "I am."

Panic flooded Delaney’s chest. Her breathing turned shallow. Had she done something wrong? Was her presence causing too much of a scandal for the Duke’s reputation now that Lord Farrington was circling them?

Delaney stuttered, her voice shaking with raw vulnerability. "But I... I...?"

She could not even form a complete sentence. She wanted to ask what she had done to displease them. She wanted to beg to stay.

Aunt Margery reached out and placed her warm, wrinkled hand firmly over Delaney’s shaking fingers. She stopped the young woman’s panic with a single, highly personal question.

Aunt Margery asked, her voice dropping to a low, intimate whisper. "Do you love Rowan?"

Delaney stopped stuttering. She closed her mouth. She looked down at their joined hands on the wooden seat of the swing.

She thought of the way Rowan had helped her three years ago. She thought of the way he had defended her to his sister. She thought of the absolute, terrifying terror she had felt when she saw his blood on the carriage floor.

There was absolutely no need to hide it anymore. The walls she had built around her heart were completely gone.

Delaney looked back up into Aunt Margery’s wise eyes.

"Yes," Delaney replied. Her voice was quiet, but it rang with absolute, undeniable truth.

A single tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cold cheek. She felt a deep wave of shame wash over her. She was a ruined Baron’s daughter. She was a hired servant. Society dictated that she had no right to look at a Duke with such feelings.

"Is it wrong for me to love him?" Delaney asked, her voice breaking on the last word.

Aunt Margery’s serious expression melted away completely. A beautiful, incredibly warm smile spread across her face. Her eyes shone with deep affection and pure joy.

"Not at all, my child," Aunt Margery smiled, squeezing Delaney’s hand tightly. "It is because you love him, and he loves you, that I am letting you go."

Delaney was entirely confused. She frowned, tilting her head to the side. If they loved each other, and the family approved, why was she being sent away?