His gaze bore into her. “It isn’t a risk I am willing to take, Catriona.”
“But you must understand that you put her in another kind of danger by not allowing her to be a child.”
He thinned his lips. She could see the wheels turning in his head, considering her words, but then he shook his head. “It’s better this way.”
“No, it isn’t,” she insisted. “Why don’t you come with us to the river tomorrow? That way you will be able to see that she is not in any danger yourself.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? Do you fear falling into the river yourself?”
Her small jest succeeded in making his lips twitch. “You know that isn’t the case.”
“I’m not so sure, Joseph. I am beginning to wonder if you may be afraid of the water instead. If not, then you have no reason to decline the offer.”
He considered it for a moment before he nodded. “Very well.”
Catriona smiled broadly. “’I'm sure Dorothea will be pleased to have you there.”
“And you?”
“Me?”
He tilted his head to the side, not taking his eyes off her. Catriona couldn’t look away either. “Will you be pleased to have me?”
“More than I should be,” she said without thinking. As soon as the words were out, Catriona wished she could take them back. She took a step back, heat rushing to her cheeks. “But this is really for you and Dorothea to bond.”
“I understand.”
“Yes, right.” She took another step back. “I should go back to my bedchamber then, if that is all you wished to say to me.”
Joseph nodded. She couldn’t read his expression, but she didn’t look long enough anyway, since he was staring at her so intently. “I will walk with you.”
“There’s no need. You can?—”
“I want to, Catriona. This is the most at peace I have felt all day, so I intend to savor it for as long as I can.”
He took her hand before she could think of a response, pulling her along. Catriona nearly stumbled, not because she couldn’t keep up but because she was so stricken with shock that her body failed to move in time. Joseph picked up the candle as he went by, guiding her out of the room.
They didn’t speak on their way back to her bedchamber. The silence was comfortable. Even though her mind raced along with her heart, her hand still captured in his, Catriona realized that she could agree with him. She too felt at peace. For those few minutes, it felt as if there were no barriers between them. No conditions. No walls.
Joseph came to a halt in front of her door, but he didn’t let go of her hand just yet. Instead, he brushed the pad of thumb against the back of it. “Goodnight, Catriona,” he said.
“Goodnight, Joseph.”
At last, he released her hand. Catriona felt cold without his touch. She tried to ignore the sensation as she gave him a small smile before entering her room. She released a slow breath as soon as she closed the door behind her, leaning against it. She listened for when he walked away.
He stood there for a long while. Long enough for her to wonder if she should go back outside, but just as she convinced herself to do so, she heard his footsteps moving away then the telltale sound of his bedchamber door opening then closing.
Only then did she move away from the door. She discarded her robe and climbed into bed, staring up at the ceiling. She didn’t fall asleep until an hour later because her mind was filled with too many possibilities tomorrow might bring, each more fanciful than the last.
Joseph wondered if he should send for the painter and have him immortalize this moment forever. Dorothea was an adorable little girl, and she would clearly grow up to have her mother’s beauty one day. But right now, she’d never look more perfect.
And it was all because of Catriona.
Catriona stood to the side of the drawing room, and Joseph didn’t have to look at her to know that she was wearing a broad, pleased smile. He would have, but his attention was fixed on his daughter, who was staring at him with the widest eyes andan open mouth. Any other time, he would have snapped at her, reminding her that a lady would never make such an expression.
But in that moment, Dorothea was not a budding lady but just a little girl. A little girl who was utterly struck dumb at the sight of her father standing in the drawing room at this hour.
