Page 74 of The Nature of a Lady
Her fingers curled into his shirt over his heart. Pressed there. “I don’t care about any of that.”
No. She didn’t. And that was why his heart had melded so quickly with hers. “But you care about your family. Their approval matters.”
A truth she couldn’t refute. She sighed, and her shoulders sagged.“You’ll win them over. Just take them by the elbow and you’ll have them charmed in minutes.”
He had a feeling her brother wouldn’t be open to that particular tactic. He made himself ease away, though his stubborn hand refused to break contact entirely. It found hers again and held it tight. “For you, my sweet one, I’ll try anything. But I don’t ever want to cause trouble between you. I know too well how important family is.”
She mustered a smile that looked braver than it should have to be when the subject was something as sweet as the first blush of love.
Not that he was mentioninglovequite yet either. Perhaps it was the only word he could think of to describe this certainty inside him, but he knew once he spoke it, gave it that name, it would take on new power. Power that might try to run roughshod over the promise he’d just made her. That would seek its own bond with her above others’.
“A worry for another day,” she said. “Heaven knows today has plenty of its own.”
All the reminder he needed to step back into the corridor, tugging her with him. He left Morgan’s door open, though, in case he needed the solace of those memories later. For now, that stroll through the garden was a good idea. “Do you need to go back to St. Mary’s tonight? I can take you, or Mabena’s father would.”
His aunt and uncle had been among the visitors today, and they’d been none too happy to realize that their daughter had been injured too, and that they hadn’t been informed immediately.
Libby shook her head and fell into step beside him. “I don’t think so. Mabena isn’t fit for it yet, certainly. My only real concern is Darling. I hate to leave him so long—though I think I left enough food for him, and Mabena fashioned him a sandbox for his business. He refused to go outside when we left. He hid under my bed, and I couldn’t lure him out.”
Oliver chuckled. Her kitten had strong opinions, that was for certain. “Perhaps you should bring him with you when you come to Tresco.”
Libby walked with him down the stairs, her brows raised. “On a boat? Cats don’t like the water, do they?”
“Not as a general rule—but how do you suppose they got on the islands to begin with?”
That sweet smile sprang onto her lips. The one that meant she was amused at herself. “Well, I don’t suppose they flew here. Perhaps if I tucked him into a basket?”
“He may meow, but he’d be safe and probably quite happy to be wherever you are.” And if it resulted in her extending her Tuesday evening stays to Wednesday nights too, and perhaps even Thursdays ... well, who could blame him for removing her primary need to get back to St. Mary’s?
“We’ll have to talk to Mabena and see what she wants to do. If she wants to stay longer in general, someone can simply take me over for Darling and some extra changes of clothes. I only really need to be on St. Mary’s for the Wednesday deliveries for Beth.”
The reminder brought a quick splash of cold water. He’d been half expecting to catch Beth trying to break into the safe and steal back his copy ofTreasure Island. He’d changed the combination, just in case she tried it. Anything to delay her longer and improve his chances of catching her. “Perhaps you should distance yourself from that too. Given what Mabena reported Beth said the other night, if no one is there, the items will be left somewhere for her.”
“Exactly. And then we won’t know what they are. It’ll all be up to Beth again.” She hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, clearly waiting to see which direction he would lead them.
He turned them toward the hallway that led to the garden door. “I certainly don’t want my sister to face those men alone, but I can’t let you put yourself in danger for it anymore either. Too many people have already been hurt.”
“And the perpetrators won’t leave me alone now, Oliver—they thinkI’mBeth. Even if she showed up, they wouldn’t trust her now. They’d thinkshewas the pretender. Like it or not, I’m involved. So we simply need to determine how to solve this mystery, once and for all.”
Simply. Sighing, he led her out into the twilight garden. If only anything about this were simple.
20
Never in her life had a trip to St. Mary’s been such a cause for argument. And if Mabena’s head hadn’t still been screaming at her like a banshee, she might have even found it amusing that Casek and Oliver were facing off over which of them deserved the honor of sailing her and Libby to their cottage.
Amusing. But utterly irrelevant. And, headache or not, she needed to tell them so. So she stepped between them—always a dangerous undertaking—and first met her cousin’s gaze. “Why are you even arguing about this? You should stay home with your grandmother.”
The bobbing of his larynx told her how painful was his swallow. “There’s a better pharmacy on St. Mary’s. The doctor suggested a few things that might help, but we don’t have them here. I’d need to go regardless. I might as well take the two of you.”
“Very well, then.” It was thetakethat irritated her. She lifted her chin. “I’m not leaving theMermaidhere again though. Tas said he’d sail it over for me and then come home with whoever took us.”
Casek crossed his arms over his chest. Which drew her attention to the fact that his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he’d discarded his jacket after the school day had ended all of three seconds ago. He must have run to the quay to meet them here, despite the fact that she hadn’t told him she’d be leaving today.
Her head was enough of a muddle with pain. It didn’t need any extra confusion from him and his hovering and those eyes of his that kept staring into hers as if all the secrets of the universe could be found there.
“There’s no need to pull your father away from his work, dearover. I’ll take your boat for you. You can even come along with me to make sure I do everything just the way you like.”
As if he didn’t know how to sail her little sloop. And as if it would impress her that he knew well she’d have made such an argument against anyone else handling her on a normal day.
