Page 45 of The Duke's Improper Bride
* * *
As morning broke,Nora rolled over and grinned at her sleeping husband.
She slipped out of bed and snatched her robe which had been discarded over the chair by the bed. Nora had mended things with Isaac, and well, she thought, but there was still so much left to figure out. What was she to do in London? As a duchess?
And then there was seeing Danny safe. She hadn’t come this far to see harm come his way again, or to the little Irish boy, Alex.
Nora glanced in the mirror and quickly pulled a brush through her curls, then gathered her hair and pinned it back. She should get dressed and have breakfast. Why, it was already almost eight in the morning. In Scotland, she would have scaled a mountain by now. City life was already taking a toll on her.
“Draw the curtains, and come to bed,” Isaac announced drowsily against the pillows. “You should be sleeping.”
Well, it wasn’t entirely city life that had altered how she spent her mornings.
Nora pushed back from the small table and mirror and padded over to the bed. “I need to talk with Danny. We can’t stay h-holed up in this hotel forever. Eventually, we will need to return to London, and he will need to figure out what he would like to do next.”
Isaac reached for her hand and kissed her open palm. “I don’t know if I could love you anymore than right now.”
She sat beside him, half tempted to lay back down. After Ireland, she could sleep for weeks.
“No harm is going to come by Danny when you’re so ready to fight, Nora. Need I remind you that you pulled a gun on me?”
She laughed softly, stroking her fingers through his black hair. “All bark, d-dear.”
“Your aim was excellent.” He tugged her forward for a slow, drugging kiss. “But then again, you always did know how to bring a man to his knees.”
Nora had never had full dance cards or admirers paying calls. Nora arched her brow. “I’m just the poor MacAllen girl.”
“You’ve never been the poor MacAllen girl. I pity anyone who tries to stand in your way. You needed to see for yourself what you’re capable of. I only wish I could have been there…”
She bent down and kissed his cheek before rising. “I’m ready to leave Liverpool. And it might be best for Danny and Alex as well.”
“Leave Liverpool and go where?”
Nora heard the edge of doubt in his voice. “Home, Isaac. I’m going h-home with you. To London.” She strutted to the door and paused, peeking at him over her shoulder. Laid out in bed, he might as well have been a king, so recklessly handsome in the golden wash of morning light.
“You were n-never a mistake.”
“But not coming back to this bed after saying that could be.”
Nora winked, shaking her head before slipping out of the room, smiling more when she heard her husband’s deep laugh behind her.
Some twenty minutes later, Danny strode through the door of their suite’s sitting room, the smell of bay after bathing still clinging to his body. He smiled at Nora, before embracing her in a strong hug.
“I rang for tea,” Nora said. “Will you join me?”
He pulled away, his hands strong on her shoulders as he studied her face. “My dear, sweet Nora.”
The ache in her chest blossomed. A hint of hope ballooned at the small smile on his lips. “There’s much to discuss, and I d-don’t know where to begin.”
He sat opposite her, crossing his ankle over his knee. “I am not…well, I will tell you in time.”
She held up her hand, waving him off as she took a sip of tea. “What matters is that you’re safe, and Alex is recovering.”
“All thanks to you. You’re much braver than you give yourself credit for. I didn’t deserve you breaking in and rescuing me like you did.
Nora set down her tea, her brows set in a line. “You c-certainly didn’t deserve to be there in the first place. That was no h-hospital.”
Danny relaxed, resting his head back to gaze up at the millwork on the ceiling. “That place was where people with money hide their secrets away to die.” When he looked at her, his eyes were filled with sadness. “My family is disgusted by me. I’ve lost them forever because I was a fool to fall in love.”
