“Oh no, they do please me,” she rushed to say, even forcing her lips into a smile. “I was thinking about Walter.”
“Am I such a bore then?”
“No indeed. I fear, however, that he will eat some valuable piece of furniture or artwork while I am gone.”
“Let me know if it’s a painting. I have one in my front entrance my brothers have recently told me they loathe; you can have it.”
The man was far too appealing when he was attempting to make her laugh.
“Thank you for your kind gesture, my lord.”
“Anytime, Miss Brown.”
“Has there… have you been safe, my lord?” Excellent; she sounded like a simpleton. “I mean, have there been any more situations like the one with Henry?”
The thought that someone had tried to kill this vibrant man terrified her.
“No more situations. All is well, Dimity.”
His arm brushed hers, and Dimity fought the shiver.
“Have you seen Abby?”
“Pardon?”
“My sister. Have you seen her, Dimity?”
“I have not since the day you fell from the chair,” Dimity said, pleased he’d changed the subject and equally pleased she sounded her usual self. She had always been good at hiding her thoughts. But in her bed late at night, she worried about him. Why had someone tried to poison him?
“Thank you for reminding me.”
“You are most welcome.”
“Callous woman.” He smiled down at her. A gentle smile that made his eyes crease and her heart flutter, pathetic fool that she was.
For so long she’d thought she disliked this man; it seemed she’d been wrong.
“I have no doubt your brother has ensured you do not forget, or indeed suffer, my lord.”
His sigh was loud. “Michael speaks of it endlessly. He says it is not often I humiliate myself, so he must make the most of it.”
She swallowed the laugh.
“I worry for her,” Lord Raine said.
They were back to Abby again, and she could hear the genuine concern in his voice.
“She is strong; something you and your brothers never realized.”
“I may not have shown it, but I know my sister has strength. I ensured it,” he said with the arrogance she’d heard many times before. “But I also know that women often die in childbirth, Dimity.”
“Not Abby. She will have the best care, and I have no doubt she will deliver a healthy babe. In fact, I know she will.”Please let that be the case.She would not allow herself to contemplate any other scenario.
“Do you really believe that?”
She saw the worry in his face. Understood then just how much he loved his sister and brothers. She’d always thought him overprotective, and he was, but it was love that had him behaving that way.
Dimity’s father had loved her, but no one had wanted to protect her like this man did his family. Fiercely, and with every part of him.
