“Do you want to keep the babe?”
She blinked slowly, something like surprise. “I cannae give a babe the life it ought to have.”
“Yes, you can.”
“What do ye mean?”
I shrugged. “Well, at precisely this moment, it doesn’t look like much—though that is entirely your fault. But a babe could have a good life here. Both of you. If that is what you want.”
“Yer willing to let both of us stay here? Indefinitely?”
“With Davina in London, I rather think I might find myself adrift without someone to humble me in every conceivable manner.”
“And ye’ll just house a bastard bairn?”
“As you’ve rightly pointed out—I’ve engaged in less… legal activities this very morning.”
Her expression was entirely unreadable.
“Think about it, Sorcha. I do not need an answer today. We can figure everything out. But I’m not your enemy, and this isn’t a trick.”
I turned to the hall only to find Tom standing a few feet away, refreshed and handsome.
“This is nice,” I said, stepping into him and tracing the neck of his slate, floral waistcoat.
“Thatwas nice.”
“You heard that?”
“I did. And it was very nice.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek, his free hand catching the other to keep me there.
“She is my niece, I want her safe and comfortable. Anyone would do the same.”
He chuckled, nuzzling my cheek. “No, they wouldn’t. Trust me.”
That was the moment I remembered his family. “Michael?”
“Mother was particularly cruel. And she encouraged it in Hugh and me as well. I was younger when Father died, andMichael took over the estate on Hugh’s behalf. It was harder to reconcile the things she said about him with the way he cared for us and our home. But no, not every family protects by-blows.”
“You’re not capable of cruelty, Tom.”
He hummed, dipping for another kiss. I slipped my hand between our lips. “If you do that we’ll never stop.” The words came out garbled against the back of my fingers.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he whispered before kissing my fingertips.
“Lock will be back at any time. We’ve already been caught once today.”
“Fine, if you want to be sensible about it. I need to split the logs for Fenella’s fold. Do you want to help?”
“No, but I want to watch.”
“You watched plenty yesterday. Come, I need a hand.” Tom caught my arm and tugged me along down the hall.
“I’ll giveyoua hand…”
“You just turned me down, now you want to?”
“That was before I knew the alternative was woodwork.”
