The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 66: Bathe Me (1)

Chapter 66: Bathe Me (1)

Sitting on the chair Madeline already pulled out earlier, Elaine’s hand hesitantly reached to stroke Cassian’s hair, not feeling happy about what her son had single-mindedly gotten himself into, but before her hands could touch him, she paused mid-way and withdrew her hand back.

"What did the local physician say??" Elaine directed the question to Madeline who stood at the other side of the bed, and she smiled reassuringly at the troubled Elaine. Her face didn’t give away her worries, but being his mother, Madeline knew she was bound to be worried, else she wouldn’t have bothered coming over to see him.

"Cassian will be fine. The local physician gave me a list of local herbs that I can buy and use to treat his wounds. He will see again mother, he just needs time to recover and I’ll leave soon to go get the ingredients for the herb."

"No no, give the list to one of the servants downstairs and tell them to get the ingredients for you." Elaine asserted as she rose from her chair. "You need to stay and watch over your husband, make sure he’s alright, and you need to be close by incase he needs something."

Elaine clearly advised the young woman who politely nodded her head in response. She understood Madeline wasn’t used to having the life of servants do her bidding regardless of holding the title of a Baroness, but she had to adapt since she had gotten past that level, and seeing the way she acted only reminded Elaine of her younger days when she too stepped into the Duke’s mansion for the first time.

Fortunately she had Frederick, Adeline and her mother-in-law to see her through those tough trials.

Elaine didn’t want the girl to stress herself any further than she already did. Her son had stupidly chosen to get himself into this mess, and now he’s making the poor girl suffer by making her take care of him.

"It is a good thing the accident wasn’t too fatal and he’s alright." Elaine uttered after glancing at her son who was still very much asleep. She got really frightened when Frederick came to inform her about her son’s predicament, but after hearing it was an accident, Elaine felt conflicted at what to believe, but since she doesn’t know the whole truth just yet, she chose to believe what Madeline has told her.

"Mother..." Madeline’s voice snapped Elaine back to the present. "The upper west quarters is known for the finest and most effective of herbs. If..if you don’t mind, can I tell the servant to get the herbs from there?"

"It is not a problem." Elaine immediately agreed. "Just like you, I equally lived in the upper west quarters with my family. It’s been a very long time and I’ve forgotten how effective their herbs really work, that is not a bad idea." Elaine looked really satisfied with her suggestions, broadening Madeline’s smile even more.

"You also lived in the upper west quarters?"

"Shush dear, It’s a story for another day." Elaine dismissed the topic before turning around and heading for the door. "Hurry and send one of the servants before it gets late, Cassian needs to regain his eyesight before the celebration and I don’t want excuses."

"Yes Mother." Was Madeline’s response before Elaine exited the room. Elaine might appear strict, but deep down she’s the one with the purest of hearts in this mansion, and Madeline felt lucky to be guided by someone like her.

Madeline didn’t have the intention to be rude but what could have possibly blinded the Duke to the point he chose the creepy woman over someone like her mother-in-law.

She always thought Cassian was being derogatory with his words when he referred to the other woman as a witch. But now that she took her time to even ponder on it, there’s definitely something behind it.

The weather above the clouds signaled the time of noon when the streets of the upper East quarters gradually grew quiet. A few people could be seen taking a stroll in the warmth of the changing weather.

Cassian had woken up from his satisfying slumbers, but when he was met with the darkness that clouded his vision, he felt like going back to sleep and hiding away from the reality he was forced to face. For a second he thought it was all a dream, but unfortunately it turned out to be one of the saddest realities he had to wake up to.

The room was quiet, which could only mean Madeline wasn’t in the room with him. His bandaged abdomen was still giving him a hard time, but he slipped the blanket off and got himself out of bed.

Being in the comfort of his room, Cassian knew every single area like the back of his palm. This has been his room since he was a child, so not being familiar with it even when blind could only mean he should just die and bury himself alive again.

Making his way to his wardrobe, Cassian lifted his hand to feel the iron handle, and when he was able to locate it, he pulled it open. Another thing he had to come face with was the fact he couldn’t see which cloth he wanted to pick, and he inhaled deeply to avoid getting irritated with life itself.

Life always hated him, so he wasn’t going to give it that satisfaction of watching him suffer till he pulled out all of his hair.

Randomly reaching for a cloth, he could feel another hand picking the same cloth as him. He instantly withdrew his hand when the touch didn’t seem familiar to that of Madeline’s, and when he looked at the direction where whoever it was stood, his expression deadpanned.

"Who is it?"

"Forgive me if I scared you." The feminine voice quickly apologized in embarrassment, and Cassian could tell that voice belonged to Abbot’s wife, making his left brow quirk in confusion.

"Bella?"

Isabella’s face beamed at the mere thought that he was able to tell it was her by the sound of her voice. "Yes, it’s me."

"How did you get in here?"

"I didn’t mean to intrude, the door was opened and I saw you were finding it difficult to pick a shirt. Your wife wasn’t anywhere available so I thought it’d be okay to lend you a hand." She explained to the dumbstruck Cassian, and Isabella could feel the rate of her heartbeat quicken at the remembrance of how their hands had touched.

Even with his eyes still blindfolded, his charms still stood out as though it could never be hidden by a blizzard. She rarely gets a chance to stand this close to Cassian, and she was willing to use this opportunity to capture his immaculate profile in her head.

When Cassian didn’t say anything else, Isabella stepped forward and ran her eyes through his wardrobe. "You should really be resting, I’ll help you pick out a shirt if you want. Your wife really shouldn’t have left you all by yourself, I’ll help you till she comes back."

"Where is my wife?" Cassian asked, his tone carrying a bit of concern that vanquished Isabella’s moment, and she tried to keep her voice normal without showing her jealousy. "I don’t know where she is."

"Did she step out?"

"That I do not know. Why?" Isabella couldn’t understand why he was being concerned for his wife when she just said he had left him alone. When Abbot usually fell sick, he always got angry whenever she left his side for even a minute, but surprisingly, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Cas and his wife.

"She’s still around the house, you should rest first." Isabella grabbed hold of Cassian’s wrist and led him to his bed. "Sit, and just tell me what clothes you intend on picking."

"You don’t need to do any of that." Cassian refused her help while freeing his wrist from her light grip. "If I need anyone’s help, I know the right person to ask, but that person isn’t you."

He outrightly told her and could hear the sound of her heartbeat drumming rapidly against her chest. "Even if the door was opened, common sense was all you needed to know you can’t walk in without seeking permission. My wife isn’t here, but I’m here. What if I was naked?"

"Cas.." her face uncontrollably reddened at his last statement.

"Can you please leave before my wife returns and mistakes whatever is going on here." To Isabella’s surprise, he pointed at the door. "Leave."

When she turned around, Madeline was standing at the entrance with a tray of food in her grasp. Her flowery scent visited Cassian’s nostrils, and he knew no one else could have a scent as pleasant as his wife.

"Maddie."

"Did I interrupt something?" She asked innocently while tilting her head to the side.

"Not at all." Cassian responded before Madeline finally stepped in with the tray in her grasp. She kept it at the side table before walking over to where Cassian stood.

"Isabella? Am I correct?" She smiled genuinely at Isabella who nodded her head with a pretentious smile displaying on her lips.

"Yes, I saw Cassian needed help with something and I..."

"And I never asked for your help." He responded with a hint of arrogance before holding Madeline’s hand and taking her to his wardrobe. "Can you help me pick out my bathing towel?"

"Oh...uhm..okay." Although clueless about what was going on, Madeline willingly helped him bring out his bathing towel.

Isabella’s fist clenched and unclenched themselves as she tried to contain her anger and jealousy. When she couldn’t stand the sweet chit-chat going on between them, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Ah...she left already?" Madeline was about to turn around when Cassian stopped her from doing so.

"I just woke up and you’re more concerned about someone else?" He tsked gloomily, and Madeline shook her head in disagreement even though he could not see her.

"No, that’s not..."

"No excuses." He silenced her. "And for your punishment, you will have to bathe me tonight."