Page 25 of Lavender’s Lost Duke

Tom removed his hat, bowed, and raked a hand through his long hair before replacing the hat. “Mrs. Bitters is out of porridge. Can she get anything else for Daniel?”

Lady Lavender stood from her seat and came to Thomas’s side. “What has happened?”

The duchess raised her eyebrows, obviously wanting the same answer.

“Jack picked up a pot he didn’t realize was still hot. He’s burned his hands, and the porridge is ruined.”

Lavender’s face paled a little, and she fidgeted with her long white gloves. “Take me to him.”

Thomas looked at the duchess, who picked up baby Colin. “I’m coming as well. Juliet, keep an eye on Daniel until I get back.”

Juliet nodded. “I will.”

Thomas led the women back through the corridor and down the stairs. “I’m sorry for the mess, Your Grace,” he said as he stepped over his own dirty footprints.

“I am not upset, Tom.”

He swallowed a lump in his throat. He wasn’t even the one who was hurt. Why then was he so out of sorts?

Lady Lavender led the way into the kitchen and went directly to Jack. She put a hand on his back. “I’m so sorry about your hands, Jack. May I see them?”

Jack kept his face down and lifted his hands out of the cistern. Angry red skin lined his palms and the pads of his fingers. He had a sharp intake of breath, and Lavender helped him put his shaking hands back into the water.

“The air hurts, doesn’t it?”

Jack nodded, tears streaming down his freckled face.

“You’ll be in pain for a while, Jack, but I know a few things that will help.” Lady Lavender looked at Mrs. Bitters. “Good thinking putting his burns in the water. It is the easiest way to soothe the pain. Can you soak some bread in milk in a large bowl?”

Mrs. Bitters went straight to work.

Thomas looked at Lady Lavender. “You’ve treated burns before?”

Lady Lavender rubbed her right arm and bit her bottom lip. Then slowly, she removed her long white gloves for the first time that Thomas had seen. The upper half of her right arm was a mottled mess of red and pink skin that puckered in some places. “It is a pain I do not wish upon anyone.” She showed Jack, her cheeks blooming crimson. “Don’t let my appearance frighten you—your hands are not burned as badly as I was. I only show you to let you know that I understand your pain. It will take time, but I believe your skin will heal completely.”

Jack smiled at Lady Lavender with tears running down his face. “If I can come out looking as pretty as you after this, it will be the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Lady Lavender laughed. “Goodness Jack, do you make all the girls blush?”

“Only in my dreams,” the boy muttered.

If Thomas had been envious of Jack earlier today for his happy demeanor, that was nothing to the jealousy he felt now. How was it that Jack and Lady Lavender were allowed to flirt and tease—in the company of the duchess, no less—and Thomas had to fight to keep his distance from her?

He looked again at Jack, the first person to accept him with all his insufficiencies in his role. He was the friendliest person Thomas knew. If anyone deserved to be doted on by a beautiful woman, it was Jack.

Mrs. Bitters brought over the bowl of bread and milk, and she set a spoon beside it.

“I know this will seem odd, but Jack needs to put his hands in this concoction,” Lady Lavender explained to Mrs. Bitters. “It helps take the fire out of the burn.”

Thomas’s stomach tied itself into a knot. Lady Lavender knew from experience how to help Jack. Even the idea of her suffering made Thomas want to strap a shield over his arm and go before her wherever she went. “How were you burned, Lady Lavender?” he asked before he could stop himself.

The duchess only raised an eyebrow at him, but then every eye in the room was upon Lady Lavender while Jack soaked his hands in the bread and milk.

“When I was fourteen, I was stung by a bee while I was looking for my elder sister in our garden.” She made eye contact with Thomas, and his heart hammered. He didn’t know how the bee sting connected with her burn, but he knew how wary she was of bees.

“I . . . I do not react well to bees. I panicked, and by the time I stumbled into the house I couldn’t breathe—I don’t know if it was because of the bee sting or because of my panic.” She closed her eyes, and it was all Thomas could do not to wrap her in his arms. Miriam put a comforting hand on Lady Lavender’s shoulder. “Either way, I fainted and hit my head before anyone found me, but I’d landed on the edge of the fireplace. Some of the embers were burned into my arm.”

Thomas was gripping the back of Jack’s chair so hard, his knuckles had turned white. “Who found you?”