“I’m still alive?” he asked, his eyes bleary. He tried to raise his head and fell back with a soft moan.
Relieved that he’d regained his senses, she rose and moved over to smooth his covers. “Lie still. The surgeon says you’ve had a lucky escape. He removed the ball cleanly and believes there was little damage done.”
“That’s all very well for him to say.” He grimaced in pain. “Have they arrested that fellow Gormley yet?”
She shook her head. “The guards are still searching for him.”
“Dash it, I should have reacted faster, gotten that gun away from him. Is Miss Sullivan safe?”
“She’s here at the hotel, but she’s very upset that you’ve been hurt because of her. I doubt she wants to come to England.”
“I thought as much. It would be daunting to leave her home and the village she grew up in.”
Erina tried to tamp down her exasperation. Harry made perfect sense even when half-comatose. “But how can Cathleen remain in Ireland with that madman lurking about? He tried to kill her.”
“He’ll be arrested before long. She’s safe at the hotel. Tell her to stay indoors.”
“She’s gone to see the guards and inquire if Gormley has been found yet.”
He groaned. “Didn’t you try to stop her?”
Erina chewed her lip. “I couldn’t dissuade her. I’ll go and look for her.”
Harry slid an arm out from beneath the covers and reached for her hand. “Don’t, please, Erina. I don’t want to lie here worrying about you.”
His strong fingers curled around hers. Erina hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions. She wanted to confess she’d found the special license. To reassure him that such a noble act was entirely unnecessary, but now was not the time. “Very well.” She slipped her hand from his.
He watched her, his eyes heavy-lidded with pain. “Write to your father, Erina. It is time to tell him the truth.”
She moistened her dry lips. “Yes, I know.” With Cathleen reluctant to come to England, Erina had been wondering how to couch the letter in terms that wouldn’t shock her father too much. So far, she’d come up with nothing. It would have to be the plain, unadulterated truth. She and Harry must remain in Dublin until he was well enough to travel, which could be weeks. She picked at a cuticle. What a dreadful coward she was. How furious her father would be with her. Erina steeled herself to bear his condemnation.
“Why are you fidgeting?” Harry sounded fretful.
She folded her arms. “What about your father?”
“Ask yours to notify mine. But don’t turn it into a tragedy, Erina. Write that I’ve been winged in an unfortunate accident, but I am on the mend and will be on my feet in a matter of days.”
“I doubt you will be, Harry.”
“No.” He sighed. “What a bumble broth. I’ll be flat on my back fora couple of weeks at least. You’ll be terribly bored cooped up here.”
“We shall make do,” Erina said, although she wasn’t at all confident their fathers would accept that. “When you’re feeling better, we can play cards.”
His lips quirked up. “Not sure how long that shall sustain us when I consistently beat you. And you’re not gracious in defeat, Erina.”
She raised her chin. “Oh, that is untrue! And I seem to remember beating you resoundingly at Rountree Park!”
His eyelids dropped. “You had me at a disadvantage.”
“I don’t see how,” she said, delighted to find him sparring with her the way they used to.
“You wore that low-necked gown. The green one. And I, understandably, had trouble keeping my eyes on my cards.”
“I beat you fair and square!” Pleasure mixed with annoyance, but any reply that danced on her tongue had to wait for another time. Harry was snoring.
“Coward!” she whispered as she tucked his hand beneath the covers. When assured he was sleeping peacefully, she sat back and watched him. The lines of strain around his eyes and on his brow, which might have appeared during his years at war, were smoothed away as he slept. He looked younger. How had she not noticed before how handsome he was? If she were honest with herself, she had always thought him handsome but had tried to ignore it when he’d made it plain he didn’t want her.
An hour passed while Erina pleated her muslin skirt and chewed her bottom lip. She was never good at waiting. And she simplyhadto discuss the special license. How could she dissuade the stubborn, innately decent man from this foolish idea that he had to marry her because he considered himself responsible for her?
