Chapter Six
Months later
Henry sat by Danielle's bedside holding her hand, as he had done for many months now. Danielle still had not opened her eyes and Henry was worried.
Marguerite walked into the room with the doctor by her side. "Your highness, the doctor is here. You must give the doctor the room he needs," she said.
Henry nodded before rising from her side and crossing the room to allow the doctor to examine Danielle. He gazed out over the gardens of the chateau. Danielle would love the gardens.
The doctor finished his examination of his patient about an hour later and left the room. Henry followed after the doctor after two servants came into the room to help Marguerite change the sheets on Danielle's bed and to give the still comatose Danielle a spongebath.
Henry followed the doctor down the hall to the Duke's conference room where Marcus, Cecelia, and Marie were waiting. Jacqueline and Laurent came into the room a moment later.
"Doctor, how is she?" Cecelia asked.
"Lady Danielle's recovery is nearly complete by what I can see. Her head injury is still there, but has greatly lessened in the past few months. I expect her to wake up in the next few days," her doctor reported.
Henry smiled at the doctor as he heard the doctor's prediction. He had waited so long for Danielle to awaken.
Marguerite rushed into the room at that moment. "Doctor, Danielle is awake!"
The entire group rushed down the hall to Danielle's room. They entered to see Danielle laying on her bed, her eyes wide open and a smile gracing her features.
"My lady, welcome back," the doctor greeted.
"Thank you. How long have I been asleep?" she asked.
"For many months, Lady Danielle. You had many injuries that kept you from awakening. Now, I will examine you to see if there are any lasting effects of the accident," the doctor said.
The examination took a few minutes and assured Danielle a full recovery from the accident. "My lady, you will be fine. There may be a lingering pain in your head or a blurring of your sight, but rest assured, you will be fine."
"Thank you, doctor," Danielle said.
"I will be back to see you in a few days. Until then, I do not want you to leave that bed by yourself. There is a lot we need to do to get your mobility back. Ask for help if you want to leave the bed. I will bring a wheelchair for you on my next visit," the doctor told her before leaving the room.
Danielle nodded before turning toward the people standing in the doorway. "Marcus! Cecelia! It's been so long since I have seen you!"
"Yes, it has been quite a long time, Danielle. We had not seen you since your father past away," Cecelia said as she embraced Danielle.
"And now we know why. We know everything," Marcus said.
Danielle smiled. "You told them, right, Jacqueline?" she asked.
"Marguerite told even more than I did about what mother had planned," Jacqueline explained.
"Has she been punished for everything she has done?" Danielle asked.
"We were waiting until you woke up so that you could witness it," Marie said. "You deserve to see them punished for how they treated you."
"I understand. Now, you can punish them as you see fit," Danielle said.
"Yes, we can. And Marguerite is being given leniency since she informed us of many things she has done, including everything about how she treated you," Marie said.
Danielle nodded before turning toward the window of the room. It had been in the midst of harvest when the ball had been held and now it was the middle of winter. The trees were bare and snow covered the earth.
She turned away from the window and faced the man she loved. She knew that he had spent the past few months at her bedside, begging her to wake up. She could feel his love for her in her comatose state. He proved just how much he loved her and that he deserved her forgiveness.
"Henry," she said, holding out her arms.
He didn't hesitate and flew into her arms, embracing her gently, not wanting to hurt her. The rest of the group left the couple alone. They knew that Henry and Danielle had a lot to talk about.
Henry pulled back and helped Danielle sit up and he held her hands tightly, as if he were afraid to let go. "Danielle, these past few months, I had been so scared when you were laying here. The doctor said that with your injuries, you could have died, but you fought to stay here," he said to her.
"I was ready to give up, Henry, until I heard your voice. You kept me here. You helped me to live so that I could be here to see Rodmilla be punished and I saw that Marguerite when I awoke. I saw that she had changed," Danielle told him.
"She has changed. She actually helped the servants and the doctor take care of you all these months," Henry explained to her.
Danielle smiled. What a way to humble her stepsister.