Page 58 of The Moonstone Major
He inhaled, hoping to catch her scent on his skin. To his frustration, he could not tell. All he could smell was his own foul breath.
Worse, he did not know if Chloe’s appearance last night had been a fantasy. Had he really kissed her breasts? Sweet heaven, they were lovely…but had he kissed them?
Only one way to find out.
He had to see her today.
It was Sunday and no work would be done on the construction, so he had time to pay a call on her.
But he was so spent by the time he made it upstairs to his bedchamber, the first thing he did was retch into his chamber pot.
He could have sworn he heard ghosts laughing, one a deep chuckle and the other a light, feminine titter.
He wanted to tell them to go away, but simply did not have the will to do anything more than collapse onto his bed.
It was noon by the time Mrs. Hawke clomped up the stairs to make certain he was still alive. “Oh dear. You look awful.”
“Good morning to you, too.” He groaned. “Is it Monday yet?”
“No, Major Brennan. You look as though you were caught in a grist mill, ground up, and fed to the cattle. Can you sit up? I’ll prepare a posset for you that will clear out your innards.”
“I think I’ve already done that.” He motioned to the chamber pot into which he had retched no less than three times. “I’ll carry it downstairs and empty it. My mess, my responsibility to clean it up.”
“You just worry about sobering up. You have business to attend to over at Westgate Hall.”
He frowned. “What business?”
“Lord Claymore danced with Lady Chloe last night and brazenly kissed her cheek. It is all anyone is talking about. They say he proposed to her.”
No wonder she had come to him last night in tears.
Or had he dreamed her up?
He had better find out.
He felt much better after he’d washed, dressed, and put solid food into his stomach. Nothing fancy, just plain scones that he ate dry. No jam or cream on them. The mere thought of those embellishments curdled his stomach.
By early afternoon, he no longer looked like something the cows had digested and then spat out. He rode over to Westgate Hall, not certain what he was to say to Chloe. Why had she not told him about Lord Claymore’s proposal?
Perhaps she had and he’d said something stupid in response.
Chloe was just coming up from the beach with Imogen and Ella when he rode into the courtyard. She looked glorious in her beach attire, a pale pink gown of homespun cotton and a large straw hat that hid most of her fiery curls and accentuated her big eyes.
She whispered something to the girls. They waved at him and hurried off inside.
He kept his gaze on Chloe as he dismounted and handed his reins over to the groom. His gaze remained on her all the while he strode toward her.
She looked about for a place to hide, but they were in an open courtyard and he was too close now for her to do anything about it.
Her face turned flaming.
So she had been with him last night, and he had slobbered all over her body. “Take a walk with me.”
She held back as he took her arm to lead her down to the beach. “But I just came from there.”
“I know. However, you cannot go inside looking as you do or everyone will know something happened between us.”
She touched her hands to her cheeks. “Am I blushing?”
