Page 69 of The Texan Duke
She must be his equal in courage. She focused on his face, now too pale.
“Was the war terrible?” she asked. She’d never known anyone who’d fought in an actual war. Would he consider the question naive or silly?
He opened his eyes again, looking as if he were trying to focus on the ceiling before he turned his head slightly.
He had the McCraight brown eyes, but his seemed different somehow, deeper, the color more intense. They seemed to have a sparkle, as if God had, just prior to his birth, dropped gold dust in them.
How foolish she was becoming.
She didn’t know how long their gazes locked. It felt like a very long time. She wanted to ease his pain, both the physical pain he was enduring now and what she saw in his eyes.
“Yes.”
It took her a second to realize that he was answering her. Yes, the war was terrible.
Her hand squeezed his.
She heard her name being called and reluctantly glanced toward the duchess.
“I do believe Mrs. Ferguson has the situation well in hand,” Rhona said. “Besides, the doctor is here.”
In other words, she should release Connor’s hand, stand, and exit the room, to be subjected, no doubt, to the duchess’s scrutiny and interrogation.
She didn’t want to leave.
She didn’t want to leavehim.
“Elsbeth.”
It wasn’t a request but a command.
Mr. Kirby placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be here, Miss Carew.”
She nodded, gently released Connor’s hand, her fingers stroking softly along his palm. Resolutely, she stood, looked down at him, and forced herself to smile.
Be well. Words that never made it past her lips to be heard by the others in the room.
Chapter 22
“I don’t see why we have to move,” Anise said.
Muira put down her fork and stared at her sister. “Because we don’t belong here. Not anymore.”
“But that’s silly. Someone can’t just come along and tell us to move and we have to obey them.”
Elsbeth stood in the doorway regarding the sisters. Barely two hours had passed since she’d brought Connor home, and yet they were acting as if nothing had happened. Had they always been as selfish and she was just now noticing it?
Maybe she was being too harsh. They’d been given a shock by Connor’s decision and that was at the forefront of their minds. But couldn’t they spare a moment or two for thoughts of him?
Lara was reclining in one of the wing chairs by the fire. She didn’t look at all well. A cup of tea was sitting beside her on the table, but she wasn’t drinking it. Instead, she was staring at the fire as if to see the future in the flames. Her feet were on a footstool, one that bore the McCraight clan crest in needlepoint.
Muira was helping herself to another piece of chocolate cake, one of Addy’s brilliant pastry confections.
Anise was walking in front of the windows, turning and retracing her steps. Pacing wouldn’t make the situation any better than it was. All it would do was annoy the people who had to watch her relentless marathon.
At least Felix was nowhere in sight. Normally he was to be found wherever Lara was, as if he was afraid his wife might forget about him.
What kind of man had no occupation? He simply had moved in after their marriage, obviously content to live off Gavin’s generosity and his wife’s allowance. He purchased what he wanted when he wanted it, offering no excuses or apologies to anyone for being a spendthrift.
