Chapter 5The Duke came back to consciousness through a long dark tunnel.
His brain would not function and he could not think where he was or what was happening. He knew only that everything was dark.
Then, as he tried to move, there was a sharp, agonising pain in his chest and the darkness covered him again.
*
It may have been a century or an hour later when the Duke became aware of himself and that something had happened, although he could not think what it was.
He stirred, and instantly somebody was beside him and he felt a cool hand on his forehead and thought it was comforting.
“I – am – thirsty – ”
He was not certain if he said the words or thought them, but there was a movement beside him, an arm was slipped behind his head and there was a glass at his lips.
He drank, realisi
