THE DISAGREEABLE DUCHESS

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Colin entered the house to a sound of female voices lightly chuckling. He presumed that one of those voices were from his wife, Olivia. He felt relieved knowing that Olivia was feeling well.

One of the footmen assisted him in removing his coat, he took Colin's leather bag as well.

"Where's Olivia?" Asked Colin, who was in a light mood.

"Milady has been in the sitting room for the past hour with your guest, sir." Replied the footman, who quickly bowed upon his exit.

Colin could here the voices clearer as he approached the sitting room, there were only women there, one of which was his wife. He looked to see Olivia sitting quite comfortably on a chair near the fireplace, and another lady facing opposite.

Olivia stopped the conversation and stood up to greet her husband. "You're back. How was your day?"

"It was fine." He dully replied, giving Olivia a quick peck on the forehead. "How about you? I presume that you have not taken ill while I was away."

"I feel wonderful, better than the past days." Olivia gasped lightly, forgetting their visitors presence. She turned around to see Annabel, completely ignored. "A friend of yours arrived from America today."

Colin looked up to see Annabel, the woman he loved so dearly and the only woman who has ever betrayed his young heart. "Annabel," he said. "What are you doing here? I thought you had no plans on ever returning to England..."

"I'd like to speak with you Colin, in private, if that's alright with Lady Olivia." Said Annabel, looking at Olivia to approve of her suggestion.

Both Annabel and Colin stared at Olivia waiting for a reply. "I don't mind, I'll be in our room." Replied Olivia, stepping out of the sitting room, leaving Colin and Annabel alone.

"Shall we go to the garden?" Offered Colin.

"So tell me, Anna, what brings you back to London?" Asked Colin.

"My father, he's... He's dying, Colin." Replied Annabel, looking dejected for her father.

"Then you shouldn't be here." Said Colin. "You should remain by his side, spend some time with him while it lasts."

"I tried, but he wished for me to be here. To be with you. He wanted to see me happy."

"But he refused me, he refused us. Now all of a sudden he wants us to be together. After seven years? That's absurd, Annabel." Looking at her in grief for her father, but at the same time he was looking at her with the passion that rekindled from seven years back. "I can't," he said quietly. "A lot has changed, Annabel. I changed."

"I know, I've noticed." She looked happy for him. "I just thought of the chance that you were still waiting for me, I mean, you promise you would..."

The rain suddenly poured heavily as Annabel slowly walked away with her father by her side.

Still kneeling, Colin watched as Annabel and Marco disappeared to his sight. "I'll wait for you, Annabel!" He yelled. "Even if it takes forever!"

Colin saw her glance back, but Marco quickly shoved his drenched daughter inside the waiting carriage and quickly left.

"I told you," said Colin. "A lot has changed..."

Annabel interrupted him by changing the topic. "She's a lovely girl, you're lucky to have her."

"I know." He proudly replied, taking a glance at their bedroom window, seeing Olivia pacing around the room, busying herself. "I don't know myself of what I did to have her, I must have saved the country in my previous life."

"You love her, don't you?" Asked Annabel. "Earlier, the way you looked at her in the sitting room... It was similar to the way you used to look at me."

He lightly chuckled. "Of course I do," he lied. "I care for her a lot."

"I see... So, how are your parents?"

"They're well. Mama and Papa has been residing in a nearby town." Replied Colin, focusing his eyes on the windows of their room, trying to see what Olivia was doing, but she wasn't appearing on the window anymore. "How about you? How was America?"

"I've settled well, made a few friends here and there..." But she was cut off at the sight of Martin, the mansion's cook.

"Colin," called Martin. "A servant heard a fall coming from your room as he was passing by, when he knocked to check, there was no reply..."

Colin immediately ran off, turning to face Martin and Annabel, who were left alone together. "Martin, see to it that Ms Wentworth is safely delivered home." He ordered. "Annabel, we'll continue our chat soon."

Colin was throwing things off his vest pocket, searching the key to their room.

The servants were piled in the small hallway, calling for Olivia, knocking on the door. "Lady Olivia," they called.

"Step aside." ordered Colin, who was frantically searching for their key in the pile of keys he owned.

Immediately, the servants obliged giving way to him.

He quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open. The servants tried to peek through, but Colin immediately closed the door behind him.

He breathed a sigh of relief to the sight of a broken vase and Olivia clinging onto his desk. "Are you alright? What happened?" Approaching his weak wife, he carried her into his arms and gently placing her on the bed. "What happened?" He repeated himself.

"I... I was cleaning up after you when I suddenly felt dizzy and lost my balance." She replied with a weakened tone. "I'm sorry to cause you trouble. Did you leave Annabel?"

"Just rest, Olivia. I want you to regain your strength immediately. And as for Annabel, I sent her home."

"I'm sorry." She sincerely apologized. "You can go after her, if you'd like..."

It was a tempting offer that he wanted to accept, but right now, Olivia and his unborn child's what's most important. "No," he refused. "I think I'd rather stay with you than her."

Colin tucked Olivia into bed and waited for her to sleep before he spent the rest of his night in studying.

The following days later, Olivia wasn't feeling well. She'd refuse to eat again, but thankfully, Magnolia's arrival helped in her recovery.

Colin refused any of Annabel's visits, making his ill wife an excuse for his absence. He was able to go to work as well, he was confident to leave Olivia in the care of her grandmother while he was working.

The clinic he's built offered cheap pay for high quality services for the people of town. Along with him in the clinic were his batchmates, graduating under the same degree as him from the University of Cambridge, were twins, Mark and Matthew. They were training under Colin, who's done so earlier.

"Colin," called the older twin, Mark. "There's a woman out front asking for you."

"Do you know who it is?" Asked Colin, who was busy with a patient at the moment.

"You did say that your wife had brown hair, right?" Olivia has never been to the clinic before, so she was a blank face to his collegues. They only knew her to the description Colin gave them.

Colin suddenly felt anxious to run to the door, but he had to finish with his patient first. "Will it be a bother if I ask you to send her up in about five minutes?"

"Not at all, I'll have her wait." Mark then exited the room.

Once the patient stepped out of the room, he heard a knock coming from the other side of his office door.

Anxious to see Olivia, he straightened his coat and said. "Come in."

The door quickly flew open with the girl he was expecting least to come. "Hello Colin."

"Annabel."