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Mrs Beecham went to the desk and finished the task for her “I will have it sent at once,” she remarked, and left the rooer

As ht approached, a new doctor arrived, the personal physician to the Duke and Duchess of Leeds He was a kindly older ave Madeline a flicker of hope “With your permission, the duchess sent me to examine the patient,” he said to Madeline “Perhaps there is so I can do for him”

“I hope so,” Madeline replied, welco him into the room She stayed as the doctor conducted his exaan's body that she was beyond e bones, the curves of muscle so close beneath the skin, the latent power that re lion

Madeline's hopes died quickly as she realized that there was nothing the doctor could reco, he left his own elixirs, but Madeline sensed that he didn't have much hope for their efficacy

“Miss Ridley,” Mrs Beecha her, “you've been with Mr Scott all day I'll watch him for a while, and then Denis will have a turn”

Madeline smiled at the housekeeper, who looked exhausted “I'h she ached eariness Her eyes felt swollen and gritty, and her arms were raw to the elbow froer”

“Are you certain?” Mrs Beecham asked

Madeline nodded “I would like to be alone with him”

“Very well Ring for me or Denis if you need help”

The door closed, and the roorate The glow touched Logan's face, glazing his profile with burgundy light Madeline pressed an ice-filled cloth over his forehead, but he dislodged it, his ly violent

“Hush,” she said repeatedly, stroking his hot skin

Unguarded in his deliriuarbled lines from plays and spoke to unseen people Madeline sat with hi cris that shocked and aroused her, until the hair prickled on her arms He filled the air with obscenities until Madeline felt she would do anything toa cool cloth on his forehead, “you must be quiet—”

She gasped as he caught her wrist, his hand closing until the fragile bones threatened to snap At the sound of her soft cry, his grip relaxed, and he seemed confused He said a woman's name…Olivia…his voice turned veno fro so acute that Madeline renched with jealousy

Haven't you ever been in love with anyone? she had asked hio

Once, he had replied It didn't work

It was clear that Olivia was the woman he had loved, and that she had betrayed hi her slight weight to subdue him until his body relaxed beneath her “I would never leave you if I had a choice,” she whispered, her heart pressed to his “I would never hurt you I love you” Passionately she kissed his hot face and dry lips “I love you,” she repeated, wishing desperately that she could pour her strength into him

Hefurther into the fever

Madeline lifted herself away and rested her hand on his chest His breath was only a weak stirring beneath his ribs She felt the vitality draining fro to die in her arht, and a knot of cold despair formed in her stomach

Slowly Madeline knelt on the floor Despite a lifetiious instruction at school, she had never been a person of strong faith She was too rebellious in nature, too resentful of what her mother had assured her was “God's plan” for her to marry Lord Clifton It had always seemed that God's wishes were to make her life as joyless as possible But if He were truly ain dare to ask Hi

Carefully she folded her hands together and prayed, investing her soul in each word It was an unexpected relief to pour out her fear and longing For the first time in her life, it seemed that prayer was not just a useless ritual, but a confession told to a loving friend “…I ask forgiveness for ht “I'll be an obedient daughter and do everything my parents wish I'll marry Lord Clifton and serve hi as You make him well I don't care what happens to me anymore All I want is for hi You must let him live…”

She wasn't aware of how long she prayed When she finally arose, her knees were nuhtly dizzy When she returned to Logan's side, she packed fresh ice bags and placed them around his body

Many ht wore on She felt as if she were in a dream that would never end Mechanically she worked without stopping, forcing Logan to drink, cals until at last he fell utterly silent She scarcely noticed when the lavender light of dawn ventured through the French glass doors that opened onto a small balcony

“Miss Ridley”

Madeline jerked and turned toward the voice

Mrs Beecham approached with the valet, their faces blank with dread “How is he?” the housekeeper asked, coan's still for clutched in her hand

The housekeeper placed her palover her face “Thank God The fever has broken” Gently she used a dry corner of the sheet to blot the beads of sweat on his skin

Madeline watched without co with the trace of a French accent “Everything is all right, ain soon”

Dizzily she turned toward hi to believe the truth She tried to reh dry lips, and the room seemed to tip sideways She felt his wiry arms close around her, and for the first time in her life, she fainted

As Logan awoke, it seemed that he drifted upward frohter until he finally broke through the surface He felt sluggish and weak It would have been easy to sink back into the h his brain, forcing hi his eyes, he waited until the blur had cleared She wasn't there His lips parted, but the only sound he made was a harsh croak

“Ah, Mr Scott” The housekeeper's familiar face appeared “We've all been quite worried for the past few days,” she said with a smile “Thank heaven, you'reto drink” She lifted his head and offered hian drank the liquid, which had a salty, faintly metallic taste

He thought of asking about the Capital, but at the moment the subject paled in importance next to the other question in his h the fever He had felt her hands on hientle breath on his face as she recalled hi her, craving her But she was gone Had she been there at all, or had he ined her?