She reached her other hand up and cupped the side of his face. He hitched a breath. She’d made the first move to touch him, and not only that, but the look in her tantalizing gaze was one he’d not seen before. Warmth spread through him, and his heart swelled.
He wanted to take her in his arms and show her with his lips how much this moment meant to him. But any one of his servants could walk by and see them kissing. Even Collin could catch them in an intimate embrace.
Expelling his breath slowly, he covered her hand that still touched his cheek, turned his head and placed a kiss on her palm. Her throat jumped with what must have been a hard swallow, and the pulse at her neck beat quickly.
“What can I do for you, my lovely Lyndsey? Name it and it’s yours.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Just send a note to my father. That’s all I need at the moment.”
Nodding, he took both of her hands and kissed each one before releasing her and heading for the stairs. Happiness filled him, giving him hope for a brighter future. At least for now, he felt she would be easier to convince that he wasn’t a horrid scoundrel after all.
TWELVE
Lyndsey was mentallyand physically exhausted. The doctor had examined Priscilla and thought that she might have typhus, which thankfully, wasn’t contagious. The doctor had noticed a bug bite on the back of her arm, and decided that’s how she became infected. Unfortunately, he wasn’t certain how long she would be sick – and he even suggested that typhus could take Priscilla’s life. Lyndsey knew that prayers were the only thing necessary to heal her sister.
Her father and sisters had visited earlier today, but left within a few hours. Adrian insisted that Lyndsey stay by her sister’s side, and he let her father know they were welcome to stay for as long as they needed.
She smiled as she moved her fork around her plate. She was the only one in the dining room, and now she wished she could have taken the meal in her room – the one next to Priscilla’s. The food smelled heavenly, but as she ate, her mind wasn’t on the taste. And her mind had moved away from fretting about Prissy’s health on to something else she needed to worry about.
Adrian.
He’d changed somehow. Either that or she hadn’t noticed before now just how genuinely caring he was. The last few times they’d been together, she suspected her feelings were softening toward him. And when she’d talked to him by the stair railing, it was all she could do not to throw her arms around him and kiss him soundly on the mouth. When he had brushed his lips across her knuckles, shivers of delight had rippled through her.
What she wasn’t sure about was whether he had really changed – or had those things she’d witnessed in the past few days, really been him pretending to have changed? If he had indeed become the kind and selfless man she’d wanted, it would be very easy to fall in love with him, especially since she’d been fighting those feelings since their first kiss.
“Lyndsey.”
Hearing her name from his deep voice brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up from her plate. He’d entered the dining room and was walking toward her.
“How are you faring, my sweet Lyndsey?”
She blew out a tired breath. “If I wasn’t so exhausted, I’d be able to tell you how I was faring.”
He sat beside her and touched her hand. “Caring for a sick relative takes its toll on us, that’s for certain.”
“You have taken care of someone who was ill?”
