Nightingale by Ervin Sharon

Author:Ervin, Sharon [Ervin, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, Historical
Published: 2015-06-02T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Devlin had not mentioned his brief glimpses to anyone but the ophthalmologist, so he maintained his silence regarding his sight during his tussle with Jessica.

Although his vision returned for longer periods each day, it was not fully restored; he rationalized in not sharing the news.

After Jessica left the library, Patterson helped the smiling duke to his feet and tidied his clothes. Devlin sobered as he thought of other aspects of his returning sight. He wanted to see again. He should be grateful that Jessica and others prayed for the restoration of his eyesight.

He smiled recalling her pique, and then grew thoughtful. His recovery would cost him dearly if it cost him her. As she said, without his handicap, he would no longer need her. She would return to Welter — to her ailing mother, her shiftless brother, her hens, and John Lout.

She should realize that as long as she remained with him, she had many alternatives.

What a ridiculous coil. He had lost his eyesight, but she was the one blind to what the future might hold for a bright, beautiful woman with intelligence and an enchanting face and form.

He raised his eyebrows remembering her curvaceous form. That was unexpected. Perhaps eating and sleeping at Gull’s Way and here in town had put meat on developing bones. He had been misled by her long arms and legs and narrow waist. Originally, he had mistakenly concluded that she was young and sparingly made. Her figure — and her clothing, too — made her a scarecrow to a blind man that night.

Why hadn’t anyone corrected his error?

She tried to tell him, of course, but none of the others in his household had verified that. Why had they not?

“Patterson?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Why did you not tell me Jessica was a fully developed young woman?”

Patterson, intently straightening the hem of the duke’s trousers, hesitated for a brief moment, long enough to raise Devlin’s suspicions.

“Quite naturally, Your Grace, I assumed you knew.”

“How would I have known when I could not see?”

“When you arrived, you were wrapped together rather … shall I say … rather intimately. I assumed you had taken the liberty … that is, the opportunity … to, ah … That is … I supposed you were aware of her dimensions.” Patterson finished with the trousers and stepped back, studying the duke’s countenance. He saw bewilderment as Devlin nodded.

“Had my prior reputation with ladies anything to do with your conclusion?”

“Yes, Your Grace, it had.”

“I see.”

• • •

Devlin’s eyesight returned the next morning and lasted until noon. He did not mention it to either his mother or Nightingale. Nor did he speak of it the next day, when his sight continued into the afternoon.

He felt guilty about the ruse, but each time he started to confess, he stalled, thinking one more day might be enough for Jessica to realize she had changed. Like a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly, Jessica had transformed, from peasant girl to noblewomen, a fit companion for a peer of the realm.

In

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