“How do you feel?” Kate heard Max ask as she brought the mulled wine to Rory, along with a large wedge of gingerbread. Placing it on a tray Max had moved closer, she resisted touching him to see if his temperature had risen.
“I am well.”
Now that was a lie.He looked like a ghost. A pale, disturbing one. Weak and scared, Rory was hurting but would never allow anyone to see those feelings. She could almost feel his pain, which was unsettling.
Just looking at him made her breathless. The collar on his coat was turned up, and even though it was warm in here, he had it buttoned to the chin. His tawny hair was windblown, and she could see the hurt etched deep in his eyes. He’d been running away from them when Cam intercepted him, she had no doubt about that.
Could it really be true he was the one meant for her? Her response to him was certainly different from what it had been to any before him. His kisses too—she’d wanted those. But was he the one?
“I will be leaving here soon.” Rory said the words directly to Max.
“That’s a shame, when we have just found you.” Cam ignored the tension that was thick between the brothers. Her cousin liked to make people feel at ease and often did this by teasing them.
Kate retrieved a small cushion from the chair she’d been sitting in. “Lift your arm and place this under it, it will relieve the pressure.”
He looked surprised she was helping him, and who could blame him after what they’d shared in that room. What he’d said to her had been crude and mean, but she’d understood the place it had come from. Seeing Max had upset him. Then there was the small matter of someone shooting him and leaving him to die. He was off-balance and trying to push everyone away.
“How is the pain?” Essex asked, coming forward.
“I am well.” The words were clipped and cold enough to be covered in the ice that was on the ground outside.
“Very well, but I will give you something soon to help with that and to continue fighting the infection.”
Essie pushed his jacket and the nightshirt aside. He tried to stop her, reaching for her hands, but she was stronger. This gentle sibling was a lioness when dealing with a patient. Kate had watched and learned from her, and it was said she had many of her traits. Each one, she would be proud of.
“The bandages are still clean, so you have not reopened the wound, which is good and will stop another scolding from me.”
Kate took the seat next to Rory, for some reason needing to be close. He stirred something inside her. He was battling hard to show no emotion, and yet surely he felt something. How could he not when faced with a brother he had not seen in many years?
Max too could hide, but exposure to the Sinclairs had softened him. His eyes could not quite hide the longing when he looked at Rory.
“Don’t badger the man,” Cambridge said, winking as he moved to stand before Rory again. “Right, now I’m going to introduce you to this rabble. A few are missing, but it’s better to ease into this family or you’ll go mad trying to work out who belongs to whom.”
“There is no need. I am to leave here soon, so—”
“Max you know, and his wife, Essie, my sister, plus your guardian angel, Kate,” Cam said, ignoring Rory. “There are seven of us Sinclairs all named after the places we were conceived in.” He added those words so only Rory could hear.
“You’re not serious?”
“Perfectly. The eldest and most pompous of us is Devonshire, but he is up at the castle with his family at the moment. He helped carry you here. Next is Essex, then me, the most important member, as I’ve already explained.”
This comment produced loud scoffing from the others in the room, Kate included. She was part of this now… this wonderful, loud, boisterous family. Part of their secrets too.
“Eden is there.” He waved to where the Duchess of Raven sat with her husband standing behind her. “Supposedly she is the beauty of the family, and the only one of us with gray eyes. James, you have met. He’s the Duke of Raven and lives in that monstrosity above us. That is Wolf, Kate’s brother.”
Rory moved only his eyes as he took in the people Cambridge introduced.
“And I’ve saved the best for last. This is my wife, Emily.”
There was little doubting Cam’s love as he introduced her. Like the others in this family, he loved with his entire being.
“There are more, as I have explained. Wolf’s wife, Rose, and Alice, their sister, and her fiancé, Nicholas, are up at Raven Castle. My younger siblings also, and James’s sister Samantha, plus nieces and nephews. We did not want to overwhelm you. It seems by the look in your eyes we’ve failed. I forget sometimes how much we can be.”
“I am not overwhelmed,” Rory said slowly.
“I’m often overwhelmed, and I’m part of them.”
James walked forward again.
