Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“Hudson, this is an unexpected surprise.” Caroline was in the library of her home, seated in a comfortable chair, using the light of a single lantern to read. Upon entering the room, she looked up and smiled to see him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Your Grace,” Hudson said with as much calm as he could muster.
“Excuse me?”
“Your Grace,” he repeated. “Only my wife and brother may call me Hudson, and seeing as you are neither, I would appreciate the courtesy.”
She sighed and folded the book she was reading.
“I always forget how formal you are...” She smirked.
“Your Grace. It is the surprise that did it, which surely you cannot blame me for. Why, the last time you visited me here in my humble home...” She tilted her head as if to think.
“No, that cannot be right. Surely, this is not the first time?”
“I cannot say.”
“It is,” she followed up flatly. “Which makes me wonder to what I owe the pleasure of this most unexpected visit—and at such a strange hour. Nothing is wrong, I hope.”
It was taking all the self-control that Hudson possessed to not storm across the room, grab his stepmother by the shoulders, and shake her into confessing what she had done.
If she were a man, Hudson would not have bothered exercising such restraint, choosing to instead pummel the betrayer into submission until they were begging for mercy. Oh, how I wish I could...
The ride to his stepmother’s home had been one of deep contemplation, fueled by his steadily growing anger because the more he thought of it, the more he decided that his assumption had to be correct, that his wife’s illness was his stepmother’s doing.
She had poisoned Florentia and for that she must pay!
A good thing that the ride took as long as it did, as it forced Hudson to consider the action he might take and what he needed to achieve. A simple confession would not be enough, as that would not save his wife’s life.
He needed Caroline to confess and then tell him how he might remedy the illness, because there had to be a means to do so. He refused to believe there was no answer, just as he refused to believe that Caroline would not submit it to him...assuming he played his cards aptly.
Oh, it was going to be a hard thing to keep his temper in check and coax his stepmother into a confession. For Florentia, he reminded himself, he would do it. Her life depended on it.
“I am afraid I have some bad news.” He stopped short once he entered the room, not trusting himself to get too close. “News that cannot wait.”
“And what news it that?”
“It is Florentia...” Hudson felt his chin tremble, forcing it to calm. “She has taken ill.”
“Oh no,” his stepmother said, doing well to look surprised. “Nothing serious, I hope. Perhaps a summer flu?”
“It is far worse than a mere flu,” Hudson said. “She has been bedridden for over a week now and I fear the worst. I fear...” A deep breath. “I fear that if her condition does not improve, and soon, she might die.”
He looked closely at his stepmother’s reaction, unsurprised to see how well she played into the supposed shock of the news. Her eyes widened and she gasped, touching her mouth and paling. A wonderful performance.
“Oh no,” she said again. “Hud— Your Grace, surely that is not...how can this be? What has happened?”
He sighed and bowed his head. “We do not know. I have had a dozen doctors attend her and none can find a cause of her ailment. Most seem to think that she has ingested something, but without knowing what, there is little to be done but wait and...” Again, his chin wobbled, only this time he allowed his stepmother to see it.
“...and pray that it passes. Sadly, it does not look as if it will.”
“Your Grace...” His stepmother was up and sweeping across the room toward him. He tensed and clenched his jaw as she reached him, draping an arm over his shoulder in a show of comfort. “That is dreadful news. I cannot even imagine how you must be feeling.”
“It has been wretched,” Hudson admitted, forcing himself not to push her away. “I’ve been unable to do anything. Forced to watch my wife suffer like this. It’s a pain unlike anything I have ever felt.”
“Your wife is a strong-willed woman,” she said gently. “The strongest I have ever known. If anyone can fight it, it is her.”
“I do hope so.” He looked right at her, letting her see the pain in his eyes, hoping that might do it...
She gave him a final squeeze and let go, taking a step back and then returning to the couch. “Oh, I hate to hear this. Truly, I do. And tomorrow, I will be sure to pay her a visit. Perhaps a kind face will help?”
“That will be greatly appreciated.”
“I assume that is why you are here?” She was so calm, so believable in her candor. If he had not been as certain as he was, he might have believed that she was as surprised by this as she pretended to be. “To ask me to pay a visit?”
“No, actually.” He bit his lip. “I...I am here for two reasons, although I confess that one is a fool’s errand as much as anything.” He made sure to appear unsure. “I was speaking with Florentia earlier and she said that you visited her on the morning she fell ill.”
“Possibly,” she said without missing a beat. “What day was it?”
“Seven days ago now,” he responded, his heart hammering inside his chest, his blood boiling. “My hope is that you might have seen something while you were with her? Perhaps you took a walk in the garden? Did she touch anything or press anything to her face?”
Caroline’s brow tightened as if in thought. “No...we stayed indoors, and my visit was a short one. I just wished to pop in, as I was passing by at the time. Alas, I was with her for less than an hour and she was perfectly healthy.”
He bowed his head. “It was a shot in the dark, but thank you.”
“If there is anything I might do,” she spoke quickly. “Please, I care for Florentia, as I am sure you know. And it pains me to think of her suffering.”
“That is the second reason I am here,” Hudson said. “Not for what you might do for me, but what I wish to do for you.”
“Oh...?”
Again, he hesitated, as this next act was going to be one of the hardest things he had ever done. His stepmother did well to appear saddened, not showing so much as an ounce of guilt. No doubt, she thought herself to be in the clear.
Hudson could not imagine why she had done this.
What had driven her. What her goal might be.
But he had to believe it was to do with her feelings toward him, some vain sense of revenge and a desire to see him a broken man.
If he could just make her understand that there was no need to do this, that he was sorry for whatever might have caused such a depraved action, then there was a chance she would confess. He had to believe there was.
With this in mind, Hudson crossed the room and took a seat by the couch so that he was sitting across from his stepmother. Then, ignoring the rage which brewed inside of him, he reached over and took her hand.
“I have come here to apologize,” he said.
This time, the shock appeared genuine. “Apologize? Whatever for?”
“I was speaking with Florentia earlier and she told me of what the two of you spoke. She explained to me how our relationship...” He shook his head with regret.
“How there is no need for it to be so frayed and coarse. What is more, she asked that I see it in myself to mend the bridge that exists between us, a promise made that I want to see through before...” He sniffed. “Before she dies.”
“Hudson—Your Grace...” The woman appeared bewildered. “I appreciate the gesture, but I have no idea of what you speak. I have always thought of you and me as being rather close. Not quite as mother and son, but certainly not as tragic as you describe it.”
“There is no need to pretend,” Hudson said, holding her hand, perhaps a little tighter than what was necessary.
“No need for lies or false modesty. I know in my heart how I have treated you. And not just these past few years, but for as long as I have known you.” He made sure to be looking into her eyes as he spoke.
“I always thought of you as a...” He clicked his tongue. “As an imposition. That you forced yourself on my father and into my home. That you set your sights on imposing, for reasons that I assumed to be selfish. That you did not care for my father or me or Elias, that you hated us.”
“I never hated you, dear. Nor did I hate your father.”
“You did,” he said. “I know now that this is...that it was your right to feel this way. Florentia has made me understand that the marriage to my father was not something you sought, but were forced into. And while you tried your best with me and Elias, I never gave you a chance. Our relationship, the gulf which exists between, is one of my own creation. And for that, Caroline...” Still, he looked into her eyes, needing her to see the pain in them.
“For that I am sorry, and I ask that you forgive me.”
Please, God. Please, let my stepmother not be the evil shrew I have long since suspected. Let her see reason and have pity on me. And if not me, my wife, who has done no harm.
“Your Grace—”
“Hudson,” he cut her off. “Please, you may call me Hudson.”
She frowned at that, as if searching for the joke.
“That was quite the apology, and truly, I could not be more surprised. Not to mention grateful.” She squeezed his hand back and smiled.
“I appreciate the kind words, Hudson, you have no idea how much. I confess, I have noticed that you and I have a tenuous relationship, and perhaps I have not made it any easier on you.”
“No, it is not your fault,” he countered. “It is mine.”
“How about we say it is both of our faults,” she tittered. “And we both promise to work a little harder in the future?”
“I would like that.”
“As would I.” She smiled and gave his hands another squeeze, appearing delighted by the truce.