“That is because I do know everything,” Lord Heaton protested.
“I won’t deny that you are quite educated on these matters,” Catriona chimed in. “But it would be best to get the opinion of the actual physician.”
Lord Heaton threw his hands up in defeat and made his way over to where Ava and Maisie sat. “Very well, suit yourself.”
Catriona was fighting a smile when she returned her attention to Joseph. And Joseph was still reeling. This was too much. A violation of his privacy. He should send them all away this instant. He hadn’t married Catriona just so her close-knit family could overstep his boundaries like this. He didn’t need this sort of camaraderie. He’d been alone for so long that being thrust into situations like these made him uncomfortable.
Or, at least, it should have. But it didn’t.
He didn’t mind the fact that his sisters-in-law were lounging by his bedchamber window as if they’d lived here all their lives. He didn’t mind the fact that Lord Heaton had been studying him as if he were his patient. And he certainly didn’t mind it when Catriona stepped up to fuss over him again, touching his forehead and cheeks and murmuring about her uncle being right about the dehydration.
He felt… cared for.
“I’m going to call for the physician,” she said, mostly to herself.
Joseph caught her wrist before she could move away. It was fast becoming a habit, he realized, stopping her, so she would not leave his side. But he could not help himself. It seemed that every time he was around her, his mind told him to do one thing while his body acted in a completely different manner, as if drawn to her in ways he could not really explain. “No need. I’m feeling fine.”
She frowned, unconvinced. She seemed quite capable of ignoring her sisters, who had started bickering about Mozart this time. “You seemed fine last night as well, but then your fever returned. I want to be certain.”
“I’m certain,” he insisted. “You don’t need to call him. I just need food and water, and I should be right as rain by the end of the day.”
Catriona looked as if she was going to continue protesting, but then she sighed. “Very well. I will ring for tea then.”
Joseph nodded then attempted to get out of bed. He managed to take the sheet off him before Catriona threw herself in his path. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked him. “You need to remain in bed until you’ve recovered.”
“Remaining in bed will ensure that I am not recovered,” he told her. A part of him knew that he should be annoyed by her persistence, by the way she stood in his path with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. But he felt… touched.
“Or you may infect everyone in the house instead.”
“So, gathering all your loved ones in my bedchamber was how you intended to counter that?” he asked.
“I…” She glanced uncertainly at her sisters and her uncle. “I’m sorry… I didn’t think. I know that whenever I fall ill, they always keep my company, and it is always refreshing to have others bymy side during my low moments. I didn’t think about how you would feel, I’m… I’m sorry.” She began to turn away from him. “I will ask them to leave.”
“There’s no need,” he said, a little too quickly. “They’re already here, so they may as well remain.”
Catriona blinked, surprise coloring her eyes. “Are you not upset?”
“You ask as if you want me to be.”
“Hardly,” she responded with ease. “But many would think that what I have done is a bit too much.”
“You should know by now that I am not like many others.”
She stared at him a moment longer. And the sides of her lips curved upwards, the sight lancing him with sudden heat. “That’s right. How could I have thought otherwise? Shall we make our way to the breakfast room then?”
“I assume you will have your entire family follow us?” Joseph asked, raising a brow.
Catriona nodded, her smile brightening. “That is the intention, yes.”
He heaved a dramatic sigh, shaking his head at himself. But a smile touched his lips, amused. “Very well. Dorothea should join us as well.”
“She’s in the middle of her lessons, I believe.”
“Missing a few hours won’t hurt her.”
As impossible as it seemed, Catriona’s smile broadened. She turned to face her bickering sisters, telling them that they should all make their way down to the breakfast room, before she faced Joseph again, offering her arm for assistance. He didn’t need it, should have pushed it away and told her as much, but instead, he let her slide her arm around his back when he stood, let her believe that she was helping him move along. And he let himself believe that it was all for her sake.
Dorothea was ecstatic.
