The Wayward Son by Warfield Caroline

Author:Warfield, Caroline
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical, Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2021-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Grey light filtered through the drapes when Rob returned to the drawing room. The candle had guttered out. He reached down and picked up the coverlet that had slipped to the floor next to the settee. Lucy’s face, peaceful in sleep, soothed him. The sight of her bunched skirt and tangled legs awoke parts of his body and soul better left dormant. He covered her as gently as he could, pulling the coverlet up over her shoulders.

“News?” Her sleepy voice came from behind him, where he stood at the door, poised to leave.

He turned to speak to her. “None. Farley came up an hour ago but saw no change. He’s sitting with Emma. She slept in the chair much of the night.”

Lucy swung her legs down and sat up, the coverlet wrapped around her. She ran her fingers through her hair, the moment painfully intimate.

“I hear your housekeeper in the kitchen. I’m on my way to see if there might be breakfast.” He left her to her privacy and sought the cold practicality of Agnes Spears bustling about the kitchen.

“Those as don’t eat are useless to everyone else,” the housekeeper muttered, putting down a slice of ham in front of him. “Bread’ll be out of the oven soon. I let it rise in the night. For now, here’s a bit of yesterday’s.”

Rob finished his second coffee before Eli stumbled in, drawn by the smell of sizzling ham and fresh bread. Rob raised a brow in question. Eli shook his head. “Was it you brought Farley and Emma coffee?”

Rob pointed his cup at Agnes. “This angel come to earth did it.”

It turned out there were rolls in addition to fresh bread, the smell giving light to a dark morning.

“I’ll just fetch these up to Dr. Farley and Mrs. Corbin,” Agnes said, laying a platter in front of them. “You two eat up. You need your strength.”

Eli plunged in with vigor, but Rob found he couldn’t. Lucy arrived in a clean frock and apron with her hair piled on her head in a way that gave Rob a view of the column of her neck.

This sight across the breakfast table every day would get my days off to a good start. He realized what the random thought implied and shoved it away. Don’t be a fool, Benson!

Lucy frowned at him so deeply he wondered what his own expression had conveyed. He forced his eyes down to the coffee in front of him.

“There’s no point in sitting here all morning,” he growled. “I want to go take a look at that bridge.”

“It would feel better to be busy,” Eli agreed. “I’ll go with you.”

Before they could move, the disturbance from above stairs drove everything else from their minds.

“Robbie,” Emma screamed down the stairs. “Come!”

Rob took the stairs two at a time, his brother close beside him. Agnes and the Thatchers stood in the hallway looking worried, but the joy on Emma’s face where she leaned on the doorframe relieved him. They hurried in to find Farley leaning over the bed, examining the shoulder wound.

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