Page 41 of In Want of a Wife
He snickered. “I will survive. Only a bruised rib or two, a few lacerations on my face… I think.” He stopped and turned to her. “Are there any so deep that I would need stitches?”
She tugged his face closer, her thumbs gently gliding across his bruised skin as she examined him. The pit in her stomach grew deeper as he remained stoically silent.
“You have a few deep cuts, but they have all stopped bleeding. I think you will be well…” Her voice trailed off as her breath caught in her throat.
She thought the highwaymen were going to kill him. And even now, with his face securely in her hands, she couldn’t stop her arms from trembling.
He reached for her hair, tucking a curl behind her ears as his eyes quickly scanned her face. “Are you sure you aren’t hurt? I’m sorry…”
She shook her head. “Rafe, let’s find an inn and a doctor, and we will sort this out.” She was sure if she remained close to him any longer, they would kiss. And they had enough trouble to deal with without having to sort out what kissing would lead to between them.
A small villagewaited a few miles down the road. It was a long walk, only to discover a bustling center with carts, lots of stalls with fresh produce, and flowers and ribbons everywhere.
“What’s happening?” Rafe asked, surveying everything.
Lily shrugged, missing having something for her hands to hold. The entire walk she had faithfully inspected the side of the road for their luggage, wishing desperately that her mother’s telescope had fallen off the carriage.
She had found nothing.
And now she was arriving at a village with nothing but some coin and an injured companion whom she also wished so desperately to kiss. And she was bone-tired from their ordeal.
Several villagers turned to Rafe and Lily before continuing. What a sight they must be.
“I need to think some,” she said finally. “Maybe this is a mistake. Maybe I should consider spinsterhood. This all doesn’t seem worth it.”
“It’s a spot of bad luck.”
Lily stopped at a pen of clucking hens by a stall overflowing with rocket and broad beans, waving her arms out to her side. “We’ve nothing. I have…”
Rafe paused, turning slowly on his heels to meet her face-to-face. Well, she was met with the wall of him again. She shivered at the dark blood staining his cravat.
“It’s not as if your brother will want a bride who is more in love with the stars than with the idea of keeping house. I have been made aware that is not a desirable quality in a wife.”
“Lily.”
She cleared her throat and darted her gaze anywhere to avoid Rafe’s heated stare.
“Henry will replace the telescope.”
With a quick nod, she stepped around the chickens and proceeded down the crowded street. “It belonged to my mother. It can’t be replaced.”
“I know my brother, and you will be…”
“Fine. Yes, I know.” She spun around, walking backward for a moment to continue talking to Rafe. “We have discussed this as well. We will be suitable in that way. He will have a ‘fine’ wife, and I will possess a husband who cares little about me or my life.”
A little girl raced around them with a ring of chocolate smeared around her mouth before two smaller boys and puppy chased by.
“Isn’t that what you wished for?” he asked over the crowd.
“Yes, of course.” She shrugged. “I mean…”
Lily pushed up to her tiptoes, peering over the slowly moving crowd. Several men broke out in a large chorus of laughter. A mother towing along two small children brushed by, her cheeks red as she tried soothing the fussy, wriggling baby in her arms.
She wished only for an inn, only for a moment of quiet right then, suddenly overwhelmed by the noise and the busy village center.
Rafe gently took hold of her upper arm and steered her into a quiet corner beside a tavern. There in the shadows, the air cooled, and she caught her breath even as her heart hammered in her chest.
“They’re gone,” he said as if reading her mind. “And you’re safe.”
