Page 55 of Ghost of the Ton

“Why don’t you call me Euphramia? Miss Lucas is overly formal.”

“Euphramia?”

“It is my name. You said it once, though, of course, at the time you hadn’t expected to speak it again.”

Fuck. Could she make him feel even guiltier?

Then she laughed, and he caught his breath at the mirth in her eyes that rendered them quite beautiful, gleaming with myriad colors in the sunlight. Gone was the broken creature he’d rejected. Standing at the threshold of a cottage she’d made into a home, she looked freer than he’d ever seen her. Perhaps the prospect of dissolving their union had given her a sense of hope—enabled her to blossom and breathe.

“May I stay?” he said. “For a while, at least. I’d like to see what ye’ve made of the place.”

“A laird’s inspection?”

Ballocks, could he not say the right thing?

“No…Euphramia,” he said. “I only want to make sure that ye’re comfortable here.”

His heart warmed to see the smile on her lips.

“I’m very comfortable,” she said. “Shall I make tea? There’s a pot on the boil, so it’d be no trouble—unless you take sugar. I have none here.”

“Tea without sugar would be perfect, I thank ye.”

She ushered him inside, then led him into the parlor. It had been transformed from the last time he saw it. Gone was the broken chair. Instead, there were two armchairs beside the fireplace, each covered in a plaid blanket. A table, covered in what looked like a pile of rags, was in the center of the room, with a chair at each end, and a chest of drawers had been placed in the corner. One wall was now covered in shelves containing an array of jars and bottles. The threadbare rug was still there, but the pattern seemed a little brighter. And the smell of must and damp had gone. The air was now filled with the warm scent of peat and pine, together with an exotic aroma of herbs and spices. A fire crackled in the fireplace with an iron kettle suspended over the center.

“I recall ye saying this was where ye’d treat yer patients,” Hamish said.

“And receive guests,” she replied. “Sit, please, and I’ll make the tea.”

He placed his basket on the table, then took the chair she indicated. Then she exited the parlor, returning shortly afterward with a tray bearing two mismatched cups and an earthenware teapot with a crack in the spout. Using a cloth, she lifted the kettle from the fire, then poured water into the pot, giving it a stir before replacing the lid. She began to fold the rags on the table, placing each one in the chest of drawers.

“You don’t mind if I continue with this, do you?” she said. “I’ve so much to do before your mother visits.”

“Of course not—are ye wanting help?”

“You’re my guest, Lord MacLennan.”

“Hamish, please.”

“Hamish.”

His name on her lips, though barely a whisper, sent a little thrill through his body. What might it be like to hear her crying his name while she begged him to take her?

Tempering the little pulse of lust, he crossed his legs and gestured to the furniture.

“Where did all this come from?”

“Rory, mostly,” she said. “He brought the table over, and secured the shelves.” She indicated the chairs. “Maisie gave me those, and the blankets were a gift from your mother. I’ve promised to return everything before I leave.”

“Ye should keep the blankets if Ma gave them to ye,” he said, “to remind ye of Glenblath.”

She colored and looked away.

“And,” he continued, “all this?” He motioned toward the items on the shelves.

“Bounty from your estate,” she said, winding a strip of linen around her hand before slipping it off and placing it in a drawer. “Save a few things I brought with me.” She plucked a jar from the lower shelf and held it up. “This is heather liniment,” she said. “It’s what I’ve been using to treat your mother’s condition.”

“Her…condition?” he said. “She’s merely old, is she not? Dr. Chisholm said that she was suffering from…what did he say? Ah yes, a rapid onset of decrepitude, giving rise to sensations of acute discomfort in the upper appendages.” She snorted, and Hamish tempered his annoyance. “Do ye take offense at the diagnosis of a renowned doctor from Edinburgh?”