“I couldn’t agree more,” he said somberly, his mind instantly returning to Crimea.
“I’m so sorry.” Miss Worthington’s breath touched his face as she crouched beside him. “That was thoughtless of me. I didn’t mean to remind you—”
His hand found hers on the arm of his chair and covered it. “You keep my mind from the dark places more than you can imagine. But they will always be there, lurking. And when they force their way out, it is good to know I have someone besideme.”
“I am glad to be here.”
“I hope so,” Theodore said quietly. She had been here three weeks—two as his assistant. They had been the best two weeks he’d experienced since returning from the war, and perhaps even the best two weeks he’d had before it, including his time at the Milfords’ soiree. Miss Worthington placed no societal expectations upon him. She’d not a false bone in her body nor hair on her head. She was not above doing even the most menial tasks and found great joy in the simple pleasures of life, many of which he had been missing out on before she came.
Humbling himself to accept her help hadn’t been easy. But she had made it as painless as possible, sharing stories of her former mishaps when her arm had been healing and then laughing with him at his attempts in the dining room—most often a fiasco when he was left to his own devices. She encouraged him at the bars each day, praising his every step, urging him to take one more. She taught him how to function in his current dark world—how to use his fingers to count the spaces on the table and locate his glass on his own. The angle at which to hold his fork so he didn’t stab himself in the chin every time. She was kind and patient and the godsend he hadn’t realized he needed in his life. The weeks of summer were slipping away, and already he feared they wouldn’t be enough.
“THE RAIN HAS foiled our plans today, hasn’t it?” Lord Hughes said as Logan wheeled him into the library.
“I suppose it has,” Beatrice agreed, looking at the large drops smattering the windowpanes and thinking wistfully of their planned visit to Clava Cairns, the ancient burial site and circle of standing stones the earl had told her about, that would now have to wait. “In England, stormy days meant the choice between being trapped inside or walking in the rain.”
“You chose the rain?” Lord Hughes guessed as he rolled his chair toward her.
“I did.” She gave a determined nod of her head.
He sighed. “I’ll have Mrs. McNeil locate the umbrellas.”
Beatrice turned from the window to face him. “Perhaps later,” she said. “I have another idea. We can play chess.”
Lord Hughes’s mouth opened in surprise, then his lips turned down into a pout. He placed a hand over his heart as if wounded. “You mock me, my lady.”
My lady.He really shouldn’t say things like that. “Not at all.” She hurried toward him. “I have always wanted to learn to play and never had the opportunity. Today I do, and you can teach me.”
“Hmm. The blind leading the blind, or something like that.”
“Exactly.” She beamed. “I’ll get the chess board.”
TWO HOURS AND two sandwich trays later, Theodore found himself in the midst of the most leisurely, yet most enjoyable game of chess he’d ever played. It was slow going of necessity, as he’d patiently explained each of the pieces, their positions on the board, their purpose, and their manners of movement, all while unable to see. It was a nice change of pace to be teaching Miss Worthington something. He wondered if that hadn’t been her intent all along.
“Remind me again all the things this piece does and if it’s very valuable.”
Theodore held his hand out, and she placed a piece in it. His fingers traced the curves. “A knight. Somewhat valuable, yet also expendable. It is the only piece that can jump over another.”
“Is it also the one that moves in an L? That is what I’ve written in my notes.” Per his suggestion, she’d written a list of the pieces and the movements each made to refer to throughout the game and any future ones they might play.
“Yes, two over in either direction and one up or down.”
“Or one to the left or right and two up or down,” she finished, taking the piece from him.
“Yes, but it only captures what it lands on.”
“It has just landed on your rook.”
Theodore frowned briefly, then clapped his hands. “Well done...perhaps. Describe to me the board now so I may see what that move cost you.”
“My brave knight to your queen.” She surrendered it to him and made the move, playing for him as well. “I believe you are going to win.”
“Technically,youare going to win,” he corrected, “sinceyou have been playing for me.” He reached for another sandwich, found one, then brought it to his mouth easily. A week ago, he might have knocked the whole tray over in his clumsy effort, but Miss Worthington had taught him how to gently search with his hands in a manner that helped compensate for his lack of sight. He was trying to repay the favor by sharing with her all his best chess strategies.
“It is a win that I am learning how to play at all. Thank you for agreeing to teach me.”
“It has not been as frustrating as I had anticipated. You have done a good job being my eyes.” It had been most enjoyable, sitting near her like this, chatting and eating and strategizing together.
“And you are an excellent teacher.”
