Page 105 of To Wed an Heiress
“Your bandages are gone,” she said. “And the sling.”
Ruthie nodded.
Mercy stood and went to Ruthie’s side.
“How does your arm feel?”
“A little strange, Miss Mercy,” Ruthie admitted, holding it out.
It was paler than Ruthie’s other arm, but that was the only change Mercy could see.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not at all. It does feel a little weak, but Lennox said that was to be expected since I hadn’t used it.”
“But you’re sure it doesn’t hurt?”
Ruthie shook her head.
When the other woman wouldn’t meet her eyes, Mercy was sure she knew why.
“I’m sorry, Ruthie,” she said. “I wish circumstances could have been better.” How could she possibly ease the other woman’s sadness? Words were sometimes useless. “I know you’ll miss Connor.”
Ruthie didn’t respond. Nor did she offer up a suitable superstition or saying. Instead, she went to sit on the edge of the mattress.
“You’ve always been my friend, Miss Mercy, as well as my employer,” she said, her attention on her clasped hands.
“I feel the same, Ruthie.”
“I thought this trip to Scotland was filled with peril, Miss Mercy. All the omens said so. But I wouldn’t have left you to travel alone.”
“I know that, Ruthie. Thank you for coming with me. With any luck the voyage home will be as easy.”
Ruthie glanced at her and then away. “Then we arrived and I met Connor.”
Mercy remained silent.
“I think I fell in love with him from the first moment I saw him, Miss Mercy.” Ruthie glanced at her once more. “I can’t go with you. Connor asked me to marry him. Oh, Miss Mercy, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Ruthie,” she said, feeling a combination of envy and sadness. She didn’t want to lose Ruthie, but neither would she stand in the way of the other woman’s happiness.
“Won’t you miss your family?” Mercy asked.
Ruthie nodded. “But Connor will be my family now.”
Such a simple sentence and yet it had the power of a spear.
“Would you like me to take a letter back to your family?”
Ruthie nodded again. “Would you mind, Miss Mercy?”
“I would be privileged, Ruthie.”
She went to the other woman and hugged her, wishing she didn’t feel so close to tears. Sadness had its place in this farewell, but so did joy. She wanted the best for Ruthie and she’d known how the other woman felt about Connor.
For years Ruthie had been her sounding board, the one person who understood her life, the only person who heard her confidences and kept them private. Ruthie wouldn’t be there any longer. That knowledge seemed to expand the hole in Mercy’s chest.
“I’m so happy for you,” she said. “But sad at the same time. I wish I could be at your wedding.”
