Right Here Waiting (Complete)

Chapter 17- Morris

Henry

"My Lord, would you like some medicine for dizziness?" Morris asked me. He looks like he wanted to say more but keep his mouth shut when I glared at him.
"You are pacing back and forth for half an hour now and I thought you are dizzy by now." The blasted butler has the nerve to be sarcastic.

"Do yourself a favor Morris. Leave me in peace." I told him.
"She will just be gone for few hours. Let her leave for she will come back to you, that, I am sure of." Morris, as ever didn't do what has been told to him.
My anxiety is skyrocketing. I can't control the fear that is crawling from my head into my spine.

"My Lord... Calm down. She will come back." Morris assured me. I didn't listen to him and paced some more.

"She is not your mother, My Lord." He said. That made me stop.
"You have no right to speak to me like that, Morris," I said. My voice is made of steel this time.
"I know My Lord. I cross the line this time. But your fear is eating you. It is eating the good things that are starting to bloom between you and the Lady." He explained.
"Henry, I was here when your mother left and I saw how it destroyed you. But do not throw her...this chance to be happy with her because of your...fear."

"How do you know she was not cut from the same cloth as my mother? She is with Lucas as we speak." I shouted at Morris.
"As a friend, My Lord. If you could just look at her. The way she smiles at you and the Duke is way too different." Morris replied patiently.
My nose is flaring... Anger, anxiety...fear... All mix in the head. And it's too much to handle.
"If she has a decency, she will not be in this house in the first place with me," I said.
"You are not living in the 13th century, My Lord. If I may speak boldly, you have your fair share of indecent flings with those Ladies in courts. Some are in a relationship and some are divorced."
"And that is why women can not be trusted to be alone." I pointed out.
"May I suggest that do not dare to compare the Lady with your previous flings? It is an insult to Lady Xykie to be compared with them. Has she asked you for anything other than your smile, My Lord?"

"Morris... fucking shut up your bloody mouth."
"And if you may recall, those women that you bedded previously asked you for pieces of jewelry and designer bags and clothes after a night with you." Morris continued.
"I fucking get your point," I shouted at him.
"Oh thank God. I thought I need to call your Grandmother to knock some senses with you." The blasted butler replied.
"Now, where do you want your lunch, My Lord?"
"Put it on the plate..." I replied sarcastically. Morris chuckled.
"Very well. Lunch will be served in 30 minutes at the dining area...on the plate." He said with equal sarcasm, may I add.

"Morris," I called my every sarcastic butler and he opens the library with a knowing smile.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Can you please..." I started to ask and his smile widen. Bloody hell, this butler is like a woman eager for gossip. "...remind Lucas that Xykie should be here at 3 pm."
"As you wish." He replied. He went to my table, get the phone, and dialed the Duke's house.

"Hello, good afternoon. This is Morris of the Riverfield Manor. May you please help me to remind the Duke that Lady Xykie should be home at 3 pm today?" Morris nods his head and listens to the person on the other end.
"Thank you." He said and put back the phone in the cradle.

"All done, My Lord." He said.
"I didn't know that you are a cheerful person, Morris."
"Ah...because you like to see the façade of a person and do not like to look beyond what you believe." He replied. What the fuck... Are we having this conversation again?
"Morris, please stop your unsolicited advice. I am grateful for the talk earlier, but please leave me in peace."
Morris laughs at my distress.
"You may want to look presentable should Lady Xykie arrive in less than half an hour." He suggested.
"Blasted, Morris. You are like a hen that always lays an egg. You are talkative than most women." I cover my face with my hand.
"But most women do not speak with wisdom." He answered.
"Bloody hell. I will leave you alone if you do not want to leave this library." I stand up and leave a laughing Morris.

Lucas brought her back home.
"Call me...anytime." He said to Xykie before he went back to his car. Xykie waved at him and waited for his car to move before she went inside the house.

"Keep calm," Morris whispered to me before he steps back. I almost punch Morris for my nerve is on high alert. Xykie smiled at me when she saw me standing at the foyer waiting for her to come inside.

"Hi." She said.
"How's your day?" I manage to ask calmly.
"It was okay." She replied. She holds my arm, places her hand, and guides me towards the library.
"Okay as in like yesterday?" I asked. I felt my body relax.
She chuckled. "No...Not that okay. I saw some of your ancestors. And I didn't know Lucas and you are cousins."
"Ah... he explains the bloodline, I suppose," I said.
"No...not very detailed for I do not like history and your ancestors scare me. They look miserable on their painting."
I laugh softly. She releases her hold on me and sits on the couch.
"You look...tired," I said.
"No...not tired. Just..." Her forehead wrinkled and she is choosing her words. I waited for what she will say this time.
"His house is big...so big that I even asked him if it is not lonely to live there alone." She said.
"I don't know...It feels like... home in here." She said that made me catch my breath.

"But...I need to find my own path. My own happiness... I need to find my own... home. "
That's what she said yesterday.

She lay on the couch and close her eyes. She looks lovely with her hair a little misbehaving on her braid. I walk towards her and squat at her side.
"Do you want me to take you to your room and rest for a while? You still have a few hours before our... dinner date." Maybe I said something she likes for s smile as beautiful as the sun creeps in her face.
"Okay." She whispered.

I help her to sit up but before she stands up, she kisses my cheek and said.
"Thank you."