Bridgerton - The Lost Royal

Chapter Twelve

Benedict

Another week of bed rest, that's what I get for remembering. I was hoping that with my memory back, the doctor would let me attend tomorrow night's ball. But no, I must stay in bed for another week and Hyacinth is livid.

The thing is though, that even though I am annoyed and disappointed, none of the emotions really seem to come through. No negative feelings get to me because Sophia came back to see me, and she's still here, in the house.

She tried to run away again, of course, but after my mother insisted on it, she agreed to at least stay the night and get herself cleaned up. We had dinner together, which was the only thing the doctor did allow me to attend, and Sophia didn't say a single word. She just listened, and like a chameleon, she blended in with her surroundings.

I expected Anthony to yell at her at least once, but he seemed very composed. I assume that was Kate's doing. Now I'm back in bed, staring at the ceiling while everyone else is already asleep. I sigh, the headaches are pretty much gone, the cut on my face is still visible, but not as red as it once was and-...

I hear the sound of a door clicking shut. I sit up and look around, but no one's here. Then I hear the sound of a candle being set down and I realise the sounds aren't coming from my room but the one next to it. The library, to be more precise. Before I've even considered the consequences of my actions I slip out of bed and quickly put some clothes on.

Silently, I sneak over to the library and open the door with little to no sound. I let my eyes scan the entire room, from the candle on the desk to... her, taking a book from one of the shelves. She wears one of my sister's white nightgowns and her wavy brown hair i tucked behind her ears.

I close the door behind me and walk over to her, her back still towards me. She opens the book and starts flipping through it, her shoulder moving up and down slightly as she breathes.

Out of nowhere, she turns to me and looks up,

"I told you to stop doing that." she whispers. I ignore her remark and look from her face to the book she has in her hands,

"What are you doing?" I ask quietly.

"What does it look like?" she asks deadpan. I smile,

"Do you read a lot?"

"No" she shakes her head, "I don't have any books so..." she looks up and smiles at me. She's beautiful when she smiles like that, but I know it's not a real smile. I close the book in her hands and place her right hand on top of it,

"You can keep this one. Take a few, if you want, we have more than enough." I say. She sighs, and places the book back on the shelf.

"I appreciate th-.." Sophia begins as a sharp pain hits me and I groan, my hand reaching for the side of my head.

"I'm fine" I say before Sophia has the chance to make another witty remark. Through the blinding pain, I see her put her hands on her hips and regard me for a second. She then starts pushing me towards the door and leads me into my own bedroom, where she shoves me onto my bed.

"stay there," she commands. I snigger, which triggers another headache and I groan again. She laughs, which makes the headache vanish so much as instantly,

"Are you laughing at my pain?" I ask. She takes a step back,

"Good night Benedict." and with that, she leaves the room. I watch her go and when I'm certain she is not coming back, I lay my head on the pillow behind me. A part of me knows this is wrong. A part of me realises that this is never going to work out. A part of me fears that she will never love me the way I already love her. God, I'm in too deep.