Chapter 26 Step down

"Nothing," he replied and she nodded her head. She had wanted to be useful and not to just sit watching him. She saw him wince in pain and her heart ached for him.

She then went to take a seat besides him as she observed his arm, where blood was still oozing out. Not long after, the door was opened and the man who was at the reception came in with the physician following after him. "Here he is your grace," he mentioned as he was catching his breath, indicating that he had been rushing. Hazel stood up to give the physician the space he needed to work on him. The physician then came to sit in the empty spot and he began untying the cloth. "It was an arrow," he murmured and Hazel nodded her head.

"Will he be alright?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Of course," replied the Duke himself.

When Hazel saw the physician unbutton his shirt, she left the place to give them the privacy they needed.

The wound was cleaned with water at first and then wine before he gently applied herbs.

Hazel who had gone to sit at the head of the bed caught sight of the black markings at the back of the Duke. She also noticed that he has broad shoulders and she could tell that his muscles were hard just by looking at him.

She then looked away and continued to live in the silence that was in the room.

"I need your help here miss," Hazel heard the physician say after sometime and she immediately got up then walked to where they were.

Looking at the wound, she noticed that it was deep although it had been cleaned and applied medicine.

"I need you to tie here," he instructed and handed a cotton cloth to her as he supported the wounded arm. She wrapped it around the arm and on getting both ends of the cloth, she looked at the physician and asked," Here?"

When he nodded, she tied it and she stood up.

The physician too got up and started placing back his things in his bag.

"You should try your best not to wet the wound," he informed and he nodded. "I will be back in three days to see how you will be doing," he added. "It won't be necessary as we shall not be here," he said and the man nodded.

"I will take my leave now," he informed before leaving.

Hazel came back after locking the door and she asked," Are you feeling better now your grace?"

"Yeah," he replied and he got up then walked towards the window. Hazel then looked at his back and she saw that the inkings she had seen earlier were a tattoo and of an eagle.

"It is dark now," he said as he looked outside the window he had opened. "Are we spending the night here?" she asked. "Yes. It will be risky for us to travel today. They might still be waiting for us," he informed as he closed the window. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Raven immediately looked for his gun.

"Who is it?" he asked when he got it.

"It is me Clifford your grace," they heard a voice outside. "What is it?" asked the Duke. "I came to check if you're alright. And if you need anything," he said and he gestured for Hazel to open. When she did, he stepped inside.

"We shall need hot water," informed the Duke and the man nodded. He looked at Hazel and asked," What will you want to eat?" "Uh, anything," she replied and he looked at the man then said," Get us some food. Good food." "Alright your grace but the food will take some time if you don't mind," he said and he nodded.

When he left, Hazel went to sit on the bed and shortly, there was a knock followed by a servant boy who brought in two big buckets of hot water and took them to the bathroom. He then bowed his head and left the room.

Hazel looked at the Duke and she wondered if he was going to the bathroom first. "After you," he spoke and she nodded before going to the cupboard in search of anything she could wear for the night. To her dismay, all she could find were breeches and shirts. She glanced at the Duke who seemed to be lost in thoughts and she grabbed a pair of breeches and shirt before going to the bathroom.

Coming back dressed in men's wear, she was waiting for his judgmental words but none came, as if he hadn't seen anything new. She took a seat on the bed and said," Uh, your grace. Why do they want to kill you?" "Because I am the Duke and many people have issues with the steps I take in the betterment of Hollowvale," he said.

She pursed her lips and said," Then..why don't you step down from the dukeship? At the end of the day, life is more important." "These things are common and perhaps, that's not how things work," he replied before getting up and he made way to the bathroom.

She stayed behind wondering if such occurrences have happened in the past and he was already used to them. She was becoming more worried because she could see that his life was in danger.

As she was still seated on the bed, there came a knock and she walked to stand in front of the door.

"Who is it?" she asked. "I have brought the food," came the voice and she opened the door. The maid came in and placed the food on the table before asking," Anything else you may need miss?" "No- Yes," came Raven's voice. "I will need you to first taste the food," he said as he came out of the bathroom.

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