“I… It is not… Henry, he still needs…”
“Henry will always need you,” he interrupted gently. “But… I do not want you to only live for your child, my lady. You ought… to find fulfillment beyond him.”
Irritation welled up in her, though she managed to suppress it.
“So… are you suggesting that I ought to prepare myself for re-entry into society and what? Are you planning on acting like afather and finding me a husband? Because I can assure you, I am perfectly capable…”
He raised his hands in mock-surrender. “All I am saying, my lady, is that… at some point, that is what society will expect. And I do not put it past the idle gossipers to… form assumptions and make accusations should you… we… I…”
He broke off, blushing to her surprise.
“It will be a scandal,” she supplied helpfully. “For you. Me. Henry.”
He nodded, almost relieved, and Amelia sighed. “I must admit, I am not… quite ready to think of remarrying, though I do understand the need for my son’s sake. Propriety’s sake…”
The thought, however, did not sit well with her. She could not picture herself as anyone’s wife, as another man’s property yet again.
“There is no rush,” Tobias said, sounding as if he would not like to speak of it.
But he was wrong. She knew as much. Seven more weeks of mourning, and then society would expect her to… move on, remarry, live again.
“I should check on Henry,” she muttered. “And… you ought to rest. Please… do excuse me.”
With that, she ran off—not giving him an opportunity to respond. Once she reached her son’s nursery, she closed the door behind her and pressed her back to it.
Tobias had risked his life for her. He had nearly died, putting himself between her and probable death without a second’s hesitation.
Her heart raced wildly.
He had saved her life. Touched her when he did, and she could still feel the beat of his heart so close to hers.
And then he had calmly mentioned her remarriage, as though it were no more than a business matter.
He… was not at all what her late husband accused him of being, she couldn’t help but think. He was kind and perhaps a tad unconventional. But he was no rake… was he? He was honourable, thought of duty, of propriety…
Because that was what honourable men did. They thought of duty and propriety. They did not allow their own feelings—if he had any—to influence such decisions.
Her eyes turned to her sleeping son, and she smiled down at him softly.
If Henry had to turn out like one of the brothers… she could not help but hope it would be like Tobias.
CHAPTER 10
For the life of her, Amelia could not sleep. She was quite certain that it was almost dawn, and she once more found herself in her son’s nursery, looking down at his sleeping form.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she relived the horse heading in her direction—and Tobias throwing his body in between them.
Which, of course, brought about a whole different set of emotions. Emotions that she was entirely unwilling to explore at this time.
“Mama?”
She moved forward when Henry’s sleepy muttering reached her ears and pressed a gentle hand against his cheek.
“What is it, my sweet?”
He didn’t answer—merely raised his arms out to her in a silent plea for attention, for comfort. She lifted him into her arms easily, pushing down the accusatory voice that said Edward never would have stood for this.
“The boy need not be coddled,”he had said on more than one occasion when she had comforted the crying infant.
