No timid hush shall keep my truthsapart;
I shall honor thee with deed as well asheart.
To tend love’s hearth, as thou hast wiselyshown,
I shall not bring flowers false, but bread wellgrown.
I will walk beside thee through sun andstorm,
And guard thy soul, and keep thy spiritwarm.
Not perfect—nay—but willing toamend,
Your faithful lover to the veryend.
And shouldest thou, in thy time, call me to bethine,
No treasure on earth shall I more richly prize asmine.
“My faithful lover to the very end,” she whispered. She traced the words with a trembling finger. He would guard her soul and keep her spirit warm. Walk beside her through sun and storm.
She hugged the note to her heart. This was as precious as a wedding vow. She fanned herself with the letter, determined not to weep in front of the inn’s patrons. Ever so carefully, she refolded the precious words and, after a surreptitious glance around, tucked it inside her bodice next to her heart. It was time to go upstairs and speak with him face to face.
Her steps slowed as she climbed the stairs. How could his room possibly seem so far away? When he’d suffered with the fever, she had flown up and down this stairway, helping the maids fetch anything andeverything that might help him heal.
He had very nearly died.She halted at that sobering thought. What if he had? She clutched a hand to her heart. Thank the Almighty, he had been spared. Now, it was time to do something with this chance they had been given.
When she reached his door, she stared at it for a long while before summoning the courage to knock.
Mrs. Bean pulled it open barely a crack, rewarded her with a toothless smile, then swung it open wide. “Come in, Lady Felicity.”
Lady Felicity?The term of address surprised her. Mrs. Bean had always called hergal, even after discovering her full identity. Felicity didn’t mind. Mrs. Bean had become a good friend. “Thank you,” she said as she stepped into the room, forcing herself to walk with a calm demeanor and not run to Drake’s bedside. But when her eyes met his, a shuddering gasp escaped her.
He reached for her, his smile hesitant yet hopeful. “Felicity?”
“Your vow renewed,” she said as she went to him and took his hand. “Did you mean it? Every word?”
“I would not have written it if I had not meant it.” He pressed her hand to his mouth, closing his eyes as he treated her to a lingering kiss across the backs of her fingers. “I will prove I meant them. Each and every day for the rest of our lives.”
“I be going to fetch more linens,” Mrs. Bean announced in an overly loud voice. “A maid will be up soon with more water.” She left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft thud.
“Thank you,” Drake said in a hoarse whisper. “Thank you for the opportunity to make us right.”
Easing her hand free of his, Felicity drew a chair closer to the side of the bed. While it was scandalous enough for her to be in here without a chaperone and her reputation already hung in tatters, she refused to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.
“Thank you,” she said, “for saving my life.”
“You are my heart.”
Struggling to do more than sit there and lose herself in his hazel eyes, she forced her gaze away. But it didn’t stray far. She boldly reached out and touched the perfectly sculpted line of his jaw. “You need a shave. That is more than a day’s dusting of stubble.” But she liked it on him. It lent him a wildness, a wildness that fit him well.
“Mrs. Bean promised to see to that this afternoon.” He arched a brow. “There are not many whom I allow near my throat with a well-honed blade.”
“You are highly thought of, my lord.” She remembered what Chance had told her. “Once people realized you were not your uncle, they considered you a good man, like your father.”
“His Grace told me about the merchants forgiving my debts.” He slowly shook his head in disbelief. “They are too good to me. Especially after Uncle George took such unfair advantage of them.”
“You paid them some of what was owed. They appreciated what you tried to do.”
