Page 81 of The Duke's Inconvenient Bride
“I’ll see what Mr. Travers has for you.” Daisy took the glass and left Emma alone with her thoughts again.
She lowered herself back into the bed and wriggled over so she wasn’t lying in the same damp patch she’d woken up in. She really would like to bathe. Perhaps Daisy would help her after she’d eaten.
She gazed at the ceiling, weariness settling into her bones, until the scent of beef wafted into the bedchamber. She sat, checking the tray Daisy carried to see what she’d brought.
“There’s beef broth,” the maid said, nodding toward the bowl in the center of the tray. “Some bread to go with it. And, because I talked him into it, a nice piece of apple pie for after.”
Emma’s heart warmed, and some of the disappointment of waking alone faded. “Daisy, you are a gem.”
Daisy grinned. “Everyone insists broth is the proper thing for recovery, but personally, I always feel better after eating pie.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.”
Daisy positioned the tray on Emma’s lap, then pulled a chair alongside the bed and sat while Emma ate. She made her way through most of the broth and bread without casting up her accounts, so she decided to try the pie.
Tart, sweet, and with a deliciously spicy undertone.
“Send my compliments to Mr. Travers,” she said. “The pie is wonderful.”
“I know. I had some earlier.”
Emma was glad to hear it. She knew some aristocratic families did not permit the servants to eat the same fare as theydid, but she was of the opinion that servants worked far harder than she did and ought to eat just as well.
She’d asked Mrs. Travers what the protocol was soon after she’d arrived, and she had been relieved that things were already run as she liked, so she wouldn’t have to have words with the duke about it.
Speaking of the duke….
“Is my husband at home?” Emma asked.
Daisy pursed her lips. “His Grace left the house earlier.”
Emma’s stomach plummeted. So much for her sweet dreams of an attentive man who’d hovered over her and treated her like she was precious. Instead, he was gallivanting around the countryside without a care in the world.
“He’s gone?” Her voice was hollow.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
She must have imagined the whole thing. If so, what a horrible trick for her mind to play. To give her a thread of hope to cling to after learning how he intended to leave her.
Did he even care she’d been ill at all?
No, that wasn’t fair. Vaughan wasn’t unkind. No matter how upset she’d been to discover that he intended to leave her, she shouldn’t make assumptions that were probably untrue.
“Did he say when he would be back?” Her heart rate picked up. He wouldn’t have left for London. Not when she was unwell. Would he?
“I’m afraid not, but I don’t imagine it will be late.” Daisy smiled encouragingly. “He’s a sensible man, the duke.”
“Hmm.” Emma couldn’t think what else to say.
“Although not entirely sensible,” Daisy mused. “He was quite temperamental when it came to your health.”
Emma cocked her head, surprised. “Pardon me?”
“Oh, yes,” Daisy said. “He didn’t move from your bedside until this morning. He sat by you day and night until the fever broke.”
Emma’s heart took flight. She hadn’t imagined it. Hedidcare. At least a little.
CHAPTER 19
