Too late. Though she would sooner die than admit it aloud. ‘All I know is this opportunity won’t come again.’
He exhaled. ‘Explain your plan to me.’
She cleared her throat. ‘I’ll simply write to Mother and tell her the invitation has been extended a few days. I assume if we take the note to the gate, someone will deliver it on your behalf?’
He continued to watch her. ‘Your mother doesn’t strike me as stupid.’
Blake exhaled. ‘If you would rather me leave—’
‘I’d rather you stay. I’ll take whatever time you give me.’
She swallowed. ‘Good. I’m going to need some parchment and ink.’
Chapter 26
Harlan woke to the sound of scrubbing coming from downstairs. He shot upright, looking around for Blake and finding the bed empty. Reaching for his trousers, he found them gone from the floor. A clean pair sat folded on the nearby chair. He snatched them up and tugged them on before heading downstairs, where he found Blake wrapped in a sheet on her knees, with a scrubbing brush in her hand and a pail of soapy water beside her. Her hair was swept up, but strands had come loose. She paused and tucked them behind her ears before resuming. He stood on the stairs, marvelling at her ability to look like a goddess while doing something so mundane.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ he asked, looking around at the dusted furniture and swept floors. ‘How long have you been up?’
She sat back on her heels, keeping a hold of the brush. ‘Just a few hours. Look at this floor. The wood is beautiful. Once I realised what lay beneath all that sticky dirt, there was no stopping me.’
His eyes went to the clothes drying in front of the fire. She had even done laundry. ‘I really don’t want you doing chores.’
‘This place is a lot of work for one person. You should welcome the help.’
‘I’d prefer to welcome you back to bed.’ He liked the way her cheeks coloured at his words.
‘Work now, fun later,’ she said, resuming scrubbing.
Harlan made his way into the kitchen to prepare some food and found it had also been cleaned. The pots had been rinsed and now sat lined up above the swept hearth. Guilt hit him once more. He did not deserve her, even for a few days. He had planned to fill her in on some things during their ride back to the merchant borough, but now it would have to wait, because he was not about to ruin the time they had carved out—time that would never come again.
‘I won’t lie,’ Blake said, entering the kitchen. ‘I snooped through your food.’
Of courseshewould not lie. He was the only liar between them.
‘How are you at frying eggs?’ she asked, pushing up onto her toes and kissing him.
He just wanted to pull her to him and devour that mouth of hers for the rest of the morning, but his desire to fatten her up won—just. ‘I’ll light a fire.’
They ate together at the table like a regular couple would in their home. Afterwards, she took the dishes down to the creek while he tended the horse. When she did not return straight away, he wandered down to the creek and found her floating naked, her arms sweeping the water’s surface as she stared at the trees above.
Harlan knew he would never visit that creek without seeing that image ever again.
He thought about joining her, but then she started to hum. It was the sound of her content, and he could not bring himself to intrude. He went to chop wood instead.
Harlan was almost finished when Blake finally climbed the creek bank. He stopped to watch her walk towards him, the dishes perched on one hip and her dripping hair swept to one side.
Another mental image to store away.
‘You need some goats,’ she called to him. ‘They would get these weeds down in no time.’
He smiled to himself. ‘Everyone needs goats right now.’
‘But yours might survive longer than five minutes. A goat in the merchant borough is another matter entirely.’
‘You’ve kept that duck alive.’
‘His name is Garlic. Why you refuse to address him as such, I have no idea.’
