In silence, we drive up the mountain.
The higher we get up the mountain, the more uneasy and troubled I become. In fact, I feel so horrible, my stomach feels queasy. I press the button on the door, and the window goes down. I hang my head out of the window and breathe in the clean scent of the pine trees. I hate to admit it, but a big part of me doesn’t want to know, because I don’t want to walk away.
I want to be with him.
The car comes to a stop and I get out and begin to walk to the house. As I get to the bottom of the steps leading to the entrance, the massive doors open, and William appears at the doorway. His face is in shadow, but his voice rings out clear and loud in the still night.
“I’m sorry, Miss Delaney, but the Count has suddenly taken ill and cannot sit for your painting tonight. You must go back and make new arrangements directly with him.”
For a second I freeze with shock. Then I run up the stone steps and stand a foot away from him.
“I want to see him,” I state confidently.
“No one can see him today,” he answers, his eyes, his stance, and his voice, utterly implacable.
Chapter 28
Autumn
I glance back and see Raoul standing by the car, his eyes on me. He is waiting for me to return so he can drive me back. I turn back to William. His face is completely expressionless. I weigh my chances.
He is tall, but not broad, and the entrance is very wide.
For a split second, I hesitate, then I dash past him into the tall foyer. I can hear him call me, his voice stern, but I run as quickly as I can towards the stairs. When I hear both their footsteps behind me I start sprinting up the stairs. Cycling gives me the advantage. When I get to the top of the staircase, they are only half-way up. Good.
I turn into the corridor on the left and begin running down it.
I know from listening to a door close after Rocco left me in the early hours of the morning that his bedroom must be next to the one I was in. I dash down the corridor past my room and open the first door after it. It is dark and empty. I turn and quickly open the door opposite… and I am standing in a massive room. It is decorated in a completely different way to the one I was in last night.
There is a vast bed with a tall, intricately carved, breathtakingly beautiful, silver headboard. Never in my life have I seen such an unusual headboard.
But my eyes move to the still body on the bed. I run and drop to my knees next to him in disbelief. He is shivering and his face is ghastly pale, as white as a sheet, actually. There is a sheen of sweat on his forehead and his breathing is shallow. He seems to be gasping for breath. I can tell he is in terrible pain by the way his eyes are squeezed shut. I touch his hand and it is ice cold. I recoil in shock. He opens his eyes and the pupils are like tiny pinpricks. He is so delirious he does not even see me.
William arrives at the doorway and I turn towards him in a panic and scream. “What’s wrong with him?”
“It is some sort of parasite he picked up in the tropics. These relapses occur from time to time, but the bouts never last more than a day.”
“What are you talking about? He looks like shit. He needs to see a doctor now.”
“The doctor is aware of his condition,” William replies calmly. “He has medicine.” He waves his hand in the direction of the bedside table where there is a water glass and a small bottle with a green liquid in it.
“Autumn,” Rocco whispers deliriously.
I turn back towards him. “Yes, I’m here.”
“You should go home. I’ll be fine in a few hours. Come back tomorrow,” he gasps, barely able to keep his eyes open.
I take his icy hand in mine and rub it vigorously to lend it some warmth. “I’m not going anywhere, not while you’re like this. I’m staying right here.”
He groans, but is too weak to object. I look at William. “Can I have some hot water bottles and more blankets for him please, William? He is freezing.”
William nods and silently withdraws.
Alone with Rocco, I tenderly stroke his golden hair. He looks so vulnerable, so alone, and so utterly abandoned by the world. I can see now that he was telling the truth, all the money in the world has not brought him any joy. At that moment, I make the decision that no matter what confessions he has to reveal to me, I will not forsake him.