The Emerald Viscountess

~7~

Eleanora sighed frustratingly. She continued to toss and turn in her bed. A knock came from the other side of her bedroom door, startling her into letting out a gasp. Who could still be up at this hour of the night? She quickly put on her night robe and answered the door, shocked to find who was on the other side. "Anthony?" she said groggily.

Without saying a word, the viscount let himself in and started pacing around her bedroom, breathing heavily.

"You seem troubled, is something the matter?" she asked, sitting down on her bed. Anthony's frantic manner and unexpected visit aroused her senses and she felt more awake. He stayed silent and continued pacing. "Anthony!"

He looked at her in distress. "I am to duel at dawn." Anthony didn't think to bring a candle so he had no way of seeing Eleanora's reaction in her dark room. He said quietly after a moment, "Nora?"

A pillow hit his stomach, and then a second one made impact at his face.

"You're participating in a duel?!" she hissed, standing up and walking towards him. "Is Berbrooke back in town, is that why you feel so compelled to complete a duel?!"

"I caught Hastings and Daphne in a compromising position tonight at the Trowbridge ball. He refused to marry her, and this ruins the family name if not handled correctly."

"Oh please, forget the family name," Eleanora scoffed. In a normal situation Anthony would be offended at Eleanora's comment but given the circumstances and what he just confessed to her, he felt she had the right to react that way. "What about the fact that duels are illegal? That you will have the duke's blood on your hands? Or that . . ." Eleanora's voice broke. "Oh dear god." She collapsed on her bed, her posture quivering as she struggled to sit up. Anthony sat next to her, embracing her. "Or that you could die, Anthony."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, finding no other words to comfort her. He regretted informing Eleanora of the duel because he hated to see her emotional, but she had to know.

"God forbid if you die," Eleanora said in between sniffles. "I want to at least be there for the duel." Before Anthony could interject, she continued, "Anthony, please, I could not live with myself if I was not there for you if you died."

Anthony separated himself from the embrace, looking at and appreciating Eleanora with the help of the moonlight through her bedroom windows. He wiped away her tears with his thumb whilst resisting his own tears. He proceeded to tuck a strand of curly hair behind her ear, holding her face in his hands. She put her hands over his and leaned into his touch.

He looked at her one last time, admiring her beauty that he was so grateful for and had missed for the ten years he hadn't seen her, and whispered, "You may be there at the duel, if that is what you wish. I vow to find you in the next life, Eleanora Fitzwilliam, if it'll come to that."

With that, he kissed her forehead, letting his lips remain there for a few seconds, before parting ways with her until the morning of the duel.

~~~

The only time Eleanora ever felt sick to her stomach riding her horse was when she rode with Benedict and Anthony on their way to the dueling spot; a foggy field with two large trees in the middle. Every fiber of her being despised what she was getting herself into; what Anthony was getting himself into.

"Doctor, I appreciate your attendance and discretion," Anthony said to the doctor that was already there as he got off his horse. Eleanora could not fathom how collected Anthony seemed during the circumstances.

"You have my blunt?" asked the doctor, getting straight to the point. Anthony handed him the sack of money, and the doctor examined it. "Very well. Try not to go dying while I am present."