David couldn’t remain still. “I can’t wait. The sea.”
“We’re going to swim.” Harry raised a fist in the air.
Mrs. Parker dabbed her forehead with a handkerchief. “I can’t share your enthusiasm, lads. The sand ends up everywhere, the water is cold, and the salt dries the skin.”
“But we’re going to take a swim, aren’t we?” David gazed up at Ethan.
“By all means,” Ethan said.
“I’m starving.” Harry put a hand on his stomach. “Can we have dinner?”
The warm atmosphere inside the inn and the scent of stew lifted Cora’s spirits. David wolfed down two portions of stew under the proud eye of Ethan before she could finish half of hers. Harry, instead, ate slowly only because he kept talking. They all went up the stairs to their bedrooms with heavy feet, exhaustion catching up with them.
She exhaled when she lay down in her bed. David fell asleep next to her in a moment while Harry slept on a separate bed. Mrs. Parker had falls asleep quickly as well in the bed next to Harry. For a boy with endless energy, Harry had fallen asleep faster than she could blink.
The latest book David was reading rested on his chest as he breathed softly. She put the book aside. He’d changed so much in such a short time. He laughed, read, had a friend, and was excited as a boy his age should be. If being shot meant seeing David enjoying life, she would endure the pain time and again.
She’d changed too. Before the incident, she would have never trusted anyone, but Ethan was different. He deserved her trust and much more.
The knock on the door distracted her from her thoughts. “Cora?” Ethan said from the other side.
She slid out of bed and opened the door, clenching the lapels of her dressing gown. “Ethan.”
He eyed David with a fondness that touched her heart. “Already asleep, isn’t he?”
“All of them. Bursting with energy one moment, and utterly exhausted the next.”
“I just wanted to give you this cream.” He handed her a pot. “For your sore muscles. It contains camphor. It smells nice and soothes the pain. It’ll make the last hours of the trip more comfortable.”
She closed her hand around his, taking the pot. His tenderness towards her never failed to make her shudder. “You always think of my well-being.”
“Gladly.”
She should remove her hand. She was officially a married woman in her dressing gown with a sleeping chaperone; he was a marquess, standing in the hallway of an inn late at night. Hardly appropriate. His green eyes held her captive, and his fingers were warm and strong under hers. They were a promise of care without any demand. Not many men would have treated her with the respect Ethan had shown her.
The flutter in her chest had nothing to do with the fact he was undeniably handsome or with the heated moments they’d shared. It was his kindness and care that mesmerised her.
They kept holding hands over the pot and staring at each other until Harry stirred in the bed, mumbling something about swimming in his sleep.
They released the pot at the same time as thieves caught red-handed. The pot dropped, but Ethan snatched it before it crashed on the floor.
“Excellent reflexes,” she said.
“Yes, well…” He rubbed the back of his neck and handed her the camphor again. “Good night. If you need anything, my room is right next to yours.”
“Good night.” She closed the door and waited exactly two minutes before leaving her room because she needed something. She needed to apologise.
The hallway was deserted. The lamps cast quivering shadows on the wainscoting, mirroring the quivering in her heart. Now or never. She closed the door behind her and hurried barefoot to Ethan’s room. She knocked without hesitation, but when he swept into view, she couldn’t say anything. Her tongue knotted. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to tell him. How odd.
She fiddled with the sash of her dressing gown, racking her brain for something clever to say, or just something.
“Are you well? Is it David?” He started to go towards her room.
“I’m fine. David is fine, too. I just wanted to…” She exhaled. “Nothing. I’d better go to bed.”
“Wait.” He took her hand and tugged at it. “Tell me.” He gently pulled her into his room and closed the door, and escaping his presence was impossible. “If the wound bothers you, I need to know.”
“No, I’m fine.” She folded her arms over her chest and unfolded them. “I wanted to apologise for what I said in our last conversation. I didn’t mean to offend you, but it seems I did.”
