Blind The World

CHAPTER SIX

She woke up to the sound of Lady Caroline and Duke William’s whisper.

“what do you mean the physician was arrested, no one knows her condition better than he does” William said.

“I called his wife, she is also a physician and her husband kept all the books, she would be on her way!!” Lady Caroline explained.

“I shouldn’t have come” William whispered, his eyes laced with worry that his presence has once again put his daughter in danger.

Alicia listened, quietly sitting up from the bed, “what’s going on” she asked wondering what they were whispering about.

“Are you all right” William asked a sigh escaping his lips as he noticed her sit up.

“What happened?” Alicia asked.

“you fainted.” lady Caroline answered,

“A physician is coming to check on you, just rest” lady Caroline suggested walking towards Alicia.

“Is there more to this?” Alicia questions.

“What is the condition that only Mr. Eric knows better” she wondered,

“Is something wrong with me” Alicia continued.

Lady Caroline looked at William who looked back at her.

“No, princess nothing is wrong with you!!.” William answers, moving closer to her.

“I promise to explain everything to you once you are well-rested!” William assured, his eyes softening as he spoke..

“tell me now!!” she demanded, refusing to wait later.

William looked at Caroline who just nodded, walking out of the room and leaving Alicia alone with her father.

William walked to her, sitting by her side. He took a deep breath not sure how to start, or where to start from.

“your mother and I never got divorced, we have been secretly meeting and exchanging letters” he said, deciding to start from the beginning, dropping a bombshell which shocked Alicia to the bone.

“What” she exclaimed.

“yes!!” he said, “we agreed to stay away from each other because we felt it was the safest for you” William explained.

Pausing to let the information settle in Alicia’s head, “What do you mean??” she asked, realizing everything she knew was wrong, why didn’t her mother tell her any of this, although her mother never spoke about her father, this was something she should have at least told her.

“Am I expected to believe this??” she says realizing how unbelievable it was,

“what do you mean safest for me??” she added not giving him room to answer the previous questions.

“your life was in danger and we decided the best way to protect you was for your mother to take you somewhere far away from Saintfield until you are old enough to protect yourself” William explained to Alicia who just got more confused.

“was my life in danger because I am your daughter” she asked, wondering why anyone would want to harm a child.

“Yes but not exactly, 14 years ago, the king proposed that you and the prince get betrothed, you two were so fond of each other that his sons asked that you became his future wife, the king liked the idea because he wanted to also have a strong alliance with our county, he proposed it to me but I refused” William explained.

“you two were just kids, you were just 7 or less and I couldn’t make such a promise, I wanted you to make your own choice when you were ready but the king didn’t understand it, he felt like we had rejected his son and felt insulted, he promised to make us pay for the rejection and the next day our estate was attacked, fortunately, our guards overpowered them and most of them killed, we feared the attack was the king keeping on his words, although there is no prove that it was the king but that seemed like the only logical explanation at the time, which meant you were not safe” William continued before pausing to take his breath and watch how she took the information.

“your mother and I agreed you move here for the meantime with hopes that if the little prince stopped seeing you, he would forget his wish to marry you and his father too” William concluded.

Alicia was speechless, trying to digest the information, she still wasn’t satisfied with the information, there were still so many unanswered questions like;

why he never came to visit even once, or why he wasn’t here when her mother was sick, or even present for her burial considering she was still his wife, not even a letter to her.

‘The prince wanted to marry her, the king tried to kill her, this information was a bit much, she thought, wondering again why her mother never mentioned any of this.

She knew the king had only one son, does that mean the prince that came to the mansion last week was the reason her life was in danger, did aunt Caroline know this’

“does aunt Caroline know about this!” she asked, this was the only question she could get herself to ask, it was the most irrelevant question among the lot.

“she doesn’t know why we thought your life was in danger, at first all we told her was we wanted you and your mother to stay here for a while, but when you and I got attacked the last time I was here, your mother and I had to tell her we thought your life was in danger”

“the last time you were here” Alicia asked,

“yes” he said pausing and taking a deeper breath, looking a bit more tensed and uncomfortable than he was initially.

“I didn’t abandon you or your mother” he added, “I had to stop any open communication with you and your mother"

Taking a deep breath before he said. “10years ago, you were in an accident that almost killed you, and it was my fault,”

Taking a deep breath, briefly looking down at the small shag carpet which aimed to cover the rust-orange concrete floor,

He looked back at Alicia who sat quietly waiting to understand what exactly her father was talking about.

“Your life was put in danger, and it was all my fault," William said,

"I got careless, I got emotional and pushed all logic aside …” he tried to explain before he got interrupted by a knock on the door.

He paused to confirm was a knock before saying,

“Come in”

Lady Caroline walked into the room, Your grace” she courtesies, the physician is here” she announced to both of them.

William turned Alicia who shook her head immediately.

“I am fine now, and I don’t want to see any physician” Alicia protested. “I would like to hear everything my father has to say without interruptions” she added, Lady Caroline glanced at William who nodded. Signaling Lady Caroline to let them be.

“I would tell her to come back later," Lady Caroline replied.

"But when she comes back you would have to see her,” Lady Caroline told Alicia nodded, before exiting the room to give them privacy.

“Tell me what happened 10years ago” Alicia request as soon as lady Caroline walked out