He reached out and took hold of Emma’s shoulder.
Bridget could see that his grip wasn’t rough. But even so, Emma let out a soft whimper of distress and buried her face in Bridget’s stomach.
The duke scowled. “Emma, there’s no time for this.”
“She’s upset,” Bridget said. “Your Grace, this is the reason you agreed to let me come. Because after all she’s suffered, we agree that I know how to care for her. You have to let me do the job you brought me here to do. You have to let me care for her, to let me tell you what she needs.”
“She doesn't want to be with me? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“No. What I’m saying is that she feels secure around me right now,” Bridget said. “She sees me as a safe person, because I was the first one she learned to trust after whatever happened to her. I don’t mean to say that she doesn’t trust you. But she needs to see that you aren’t going to take me away from her. She needs to know that things are going to be stable for her from now on.”
The duke sighed. “Very well,” he said, and Bridget felt a wash of relief.
But then he spoke again. “I’ll get a room for all three of us,” he said.
Bridget’s jaw dropped. Her blood seemed to freeze. “All—allthreeof us?”
“That way I won’t have to leave her alone with a stranger, and she won’t have to be parted from you,” the duke said. “A perfect solution.”
“Are you the same man who was just pointing out how scandalous it was for us to stand in the vicar’s study together?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly. “And now you want me to share your bedroom?”
“It’s not a matter of what I want. It’s a matter of what you say my daughter needs,” the duke said. “If this is the best way to care for her, as you suggest, then it’s what we’ll do.”
Without another word, he turned and strode into the inn.
Bridget looked at Mr. Dodge.
“Better follow,” he said with a soft smile. “Don’t worry. He’s an honorable man. You’ll be perfectly safe.”
Oddly, Bridget realized, she hadn’t been worried about that. She believed that he only wanted to keep his daughter where he could see her, and that was understandable. And with Emma in the room… an eight-year-old child wasn’t exactly a chaperone, but her presence did make it highly unlikely that anything untoward would happen.
So, Bridget summoned her courage and walked into the inn, gripping Emma’s hand.
The duke was already speaking to the innkeeper. “I need two rooms,” he said. “One for my driver and manservant, and another for myself, my daughter, and my wife.”
Bridget froze.
Hiswife?
With a deep breath, she managed to steady herself. Of course he had said that. He needed to say something to ensure that this didn’t appear too scandalous. Still, she had to fight down the blush that threatened to creep over her face.
The innkeeper nodded. “I’ll take you right up,” he said, beckoning.
Bridget gripped Emma’s hand and followed the group to the stairs. Suddenly, she was just as anxious as the little girl beside her.
CHAPTER 6
Emma was asleep in minutes, but Bridget lay awake, trying to convince her body to relax.
She and Emma were sharing the room’s only bed. The duke had pulled a blanket over to the settee and was lying there. His body was too big for it, and his feet hung off the end. Bridget watched them in the darkness, wondering whether he was still awake, waiting to see if he was going to move or not.
He didn’t.
So perhaps she was the only one lying awake. Perhaps she was the only one who felt strange and uncomfortable with their current situation. Was it possible that this seemed normal to the duke? Sleeping in a room with a woman he hardly knew? She just couldn’t turn her mind from the knowledge that there was a man a few feet away from her, no matter how hard she tried.
With a sigh, she sat up, moving slowly so as not to disturb Emma. The fact of the matter was that there was no chance of her getting any sleep tonight. And lying in this room pretending otherwise was only making matters worse for her.
She eased herself slowly out of bed, eyes on Emma as she moved to make sure she wouldn’t jostle her awake. But Emma was sleeping more heavily than she ever had at the orphanage, which Bridget tried to take as a good sign. It must mean that she was feeling comfortable. Whether that comfort came from having her father restored to her, or from the knowledge that Bridget was still with her, Bridget couldn’t guess. But it was good to see this child, who had suffered so much, finally able to relax.
