“Nae. I’ll grab another bite to eat later when ye’ve gone back to sleep.”
His comment gave her pause. “How many meals have you had while I’ve been here?”
“Three, if ye count my breakfast this morning. There’s a decent inn just down the road. Marcus and I spent the night there.”
“The night?”
“Aye.” He laughed when she kept on staring at him. “Ye were shot yesterday afternoon. After ye went back to sleep ye were out for twelve solid hours”
“I see.” She had no sense of time at all, but it did explain his change of clothes.
“According to the doctor and the surgeon who operated on ye, ye’ll be ready to leave the hospital tomorrow. We’ll see how ye do from there, aye?”
“Aye,” she agreed, and bit into a crunchy apple slice.
20
As expected, Charlotte was discharged from the hospital the following afternoon with instructions to keep her wound clean by gently washing it and re-applying fresh bandages twice daily. She was to return immediately at the first sign of infection.
“Will this do for now?” Blayne asked when he showed Charlotte to the room he’d acquired for her and Daisy. The maid looked like she might throw herself into her mistress’s arms, though she did manage to restrain herself. Blayne couldn’t help but smile. He knew precisely how Daisy felt.
“It’s perfect,” Charlotte assured him. She reached out and took Daisy’s hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you looking so well, miss. You gave me a right awful fright.”
“Me too,” Blayne said. “But our Charlotte is made of stern stuff. I’ll let ye get settled. When ye’re ready, ye can meet me downstairs in one of the supper rooms. Daisy, ye can escort her, right?”
“Of course. I’ll not let her out of my sight.”
“Good to know.” Blayne left the two women and went to drop his new hat and gloves in his own bedchamber before heading downstairs. He wished he and Charlotte could share a room so he could look after her himself, but since they weren’t married yet and Daisy was here, he had no excuse to dismiss propriety in such a way. But it was one of the subjects he meant to discuss with Charlotte, so he launched straight into it as soon as she arrived by asking, “After everything that has happened and all ye’ve learned about me these last few days, do ye still want to be my wife?”
“Yes, Blayne. Marrying you is the only thing I want at the moment.”
Seated beside her, he leaned closer so he could kiss her. “Thank God, for I dinnae ken how I’d survive if ye walked away from me now.”
“I’ll never leave you, no matter what. But there’s something you should know. My father said he would withhold my dowry if I followed you to Scotland, so we won’t be able to count on that money.”
It didn’t really seem fair since the money had been Blayne’s to begin with. He wondered if Charlotte had mentioned this to her father, but decided it didn’t matter. No sense in bringing up something that wouldn’t be able to help them.
Closing his eyes, he placed his forehead against hers while holding her hand. “Our lives willnae be as easy as we had hoped. We’ll have to give up the townhouse I rented. Unless ye were able to reacquire the rights to yer book before coming after me.”
She stiffened. “About that…”
Leaning back, Blayne met her gaze. “What is it?”
“I received a letter from Mr. Agerson right before departing for Scotland.”
“And?”
“He invited me to meet with him and the imposter in order to sort out the mess, but if I chose to do so, I would have had to delay coming after you.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just a book, Blayne. I can always write another.”
Undone by the sacrifice she’d made for him, Blayne drew her against him with careful movements so he could kiss her as thoroughly as she deserved. “It’s nae just a book, Charlotte. It’syerbook and ye deserve to get paid for it.”
“I agree, but you are still more important to me than any book I’ll ever write.”
By all that was holy, he wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve a woman who loved him with such devotion. “We’ll get it back. Mark my word, lass, I’ll make certain of it.”
She smiled against his mouth as she kissed him, and blushed all the way to her hairline when a serving girl cleared her throat. The servant had arrived without either of them taking notice and was ready for their order.
