Page 139 of Winterset
I gave Lord Jennings a grateful smile.
“Also,” he said, “the surgeon was skilled, and we are all here to help Ollie through his recovery.”
“Thank you, my lord. I know that will mean so much to him.”
Damon sat with me for several more minutes. “Well, I suppose I should excuse myself. Mother, Hannah, and Charlie are not so patiently awaiting an update. I will go tell them he looks much better this morning.”
“Thank you,” I said again, and he quietly quit the room.
I stared down at Oliver. I’d come so close to losing him last night. I did not know what I would have done if he had died. I loved him so much. I could not bear to think of life without him.
I raised his hand to my lips and kissed it.
Oliver’s eyes fluttered open and found mine.
A shuddering sob escaped my mouth. “Oliver.”
He gave me a weak smile. “You’re here,” he whispered.
“Always.”
“Markham?” he asked.
“We don’t have to worry about him anymore,” I said.
Oliver closed his eyes, the relief of the nightmare’s end visibly sinking in. When his eyes reopened, he tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me closer. “I know I don’t deserve you, Kate, but I swear I will work every day for the rest of my life to give you everything you desire. I want to give you the world. I want you to have everything you have ever wanted: Paris or—”
I laid one finger over his mouth, silencing him. “I only wantyou, Oliver.”
“You have me, love. Every beat of my selfish heart, every breath of my prideful lungs belongs to you. Iam yours, Kate.”
“And I am yours.” I leaned over him and gently kissed his forehead, careful not to jostle him, then sat back. “I love you, Oliver. So much. And I am grateful for all the places you want to take me, but as lovely as Paris might be, I just want to go home. I want to return to Winterset with you.”
“Nothing would make me happier, my love.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of my hand. “How long must I wait to call you my wife?”
“How soon can we marry without causing a scandal?”
“Oh, darling. We have already caused the scandal of the century. I daresay there is not anything we could do to surpass it.”
Oliver
It had been two weekssince I’d been shot, and most mornings, my sore shoulder still woke me before the sunrise—a small price to pay for Kate’s safety and survival. I was lucky that the bullet had passed clean through my shoulder and that the wound it had left behind had not become infected.
Not wanting to wake Charlie needlessly, I slipped on my dressing robe and walked to the window to watch the sunrise. How many mornings had I stood in this very same spot as a boy? I couldn’t count.
It was strange being back at Summerhaven, sleeping in my boyhood bedchamber. So much had changed since last I’d lived here.Ihad changed. I’d seen so many places, met so many people. I was no longer the same selfish boy but a man ready for marriage.
Kate and I decided not to wait long to be wed, only until I was well enough to travel and the banns were read, but every passing day without Kate as my wife felt like an eternity.
Restless, I went downstairs to the drawing room and found myself standing at the pianoforte. I pulled out the bench and opened the lid. Sitting, I placed my fingers on the keys. Or at least, I tried. My right shoulder hurt too much to play, and I set my hands back in my lap.
“May I join you?” Damon said, startling me. He stood at the drawing room threshold, dressed for his morning ride.
“If you have time,” I said.
“I always have time for you, Ollie.” He walked to the pianoforte.
I slid over to make room for him on the bench. “It’s been a long time since we have sat here together.”
