Chapter 139 - Hundred And Thirty Nine
The family doctor had just concluded his assessment on Elena. Lyra couldn’t help but pace round the room. The dowager duchess laying still on the bed.
"How is my mother-in-law doing?" She asked immediately, her voice strained.
"She was in a state of severe shock, Your Grace," the doctor replied, closing his medical bag with a soft click. "But her heart is strong. She is stable now and is resting peacefully."
"Thank you, Doctor," Lyra said, a wave of relief washing over her face, though her expression remained grim.
The door to the Dowager Duchess’s bedchamber finally opened. The family doctor stepped out together with Lyra into the hallway where Eric, Delia, Philip and Anne, all four of them were waiting in a state of anxious, suspended animation. They had been waiting all afternoon for news and it was already getting to dusk.
"If anything changes, or if she does not wake by morning, do not hesitate to call me, no matter the hour," the doctor said, turning to Lyra.
"I will," Lyra nodded. She then called for the head butler to see the doctor out, the brief moment of medical crisis now over, leaving only the raw, emotional crisis that remained.
Philip was the first to speak, his voice full of a deep, practiced concern. "How is Grandma doing? Is she really alright? Will she be fine?"
"Yes." Lyra nodded. "She is asleep now," She replied, her gaze moving past him to land for a cold, hard second on Eric and Delia. "Go home," she said, her voice flat and devoid of all its usual warmth. "All of you."
She started walking down the grand staircase, her movements stiff with a barely suppressed anger. Eric, his own face etched with worry and regret, moved quickly to stand beside her.