When You Love a Scotsman by Hannah Howell

Author:Hannah Howell [Howell, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2017-11-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Abigail, you have company.”

Abigail slowly opened her eyes and looked at Mrs. Beaton. “Who?” she asked as she struggled to sit up.

“The lieutenant of course. He is waiting in the parlor.”

“All right. I will be down in a few minutes.”

“You are not sick now, are you? Although, come to think of it, Julia never was sick, was she?”

“Not at all. I’m not, either. I was just having a good, deep sleep. Need to freshen up a bit.”

“I will tell him it will be a few moments then.”

Abigail staggered over to the washstand and splashed the cool water on her face. It took a few doses of that to make her feel more awake. Drying her face, she then cleaned her teeth. What she really needed was a good night’s sleep.

After a quick brushing of her hair, she tied it back with a ribbon and smoothed down her skirts then began to make her way down the stairs. She walked into the parlor and saw Betsy sitting in the far corner of the room with her children. Mrs. Beaton was getting sneaky about chaperones, she decided, then smiled at Matthew.

“They were in here when Mrs. Beaton sent me in,” he said quietly as he bent to gently kiss her cheek.

“Chaperones. The woman is very good at sneaking one or more in. Very devious.”

He laughed softly. “Shall we go for a stroll then, Abbie?”

“That would be very pleasant, Lieutenant MacEnroy. I will just get my coat.”

Matthew gave Betsy a quick smile while he watched Abbie in the hallway put on her coat and the woman grinned and winked at him. “Nice to see ye again, ma’am. How is your husband?”

“He is doing just fine, sir. The wounds are healing beautifully.”

“Abbie is verra good at tending wounds.”

“She certainly is.”

Abbie was just buttoning her coat up and talking softly with Rose when he stepped out into the hall. He moved to stand beside her and wondered about the reason behind the deep serious looks both women wore. Something was still not right at the Beaton house.

“Oh, it looks to be a lovely day. This coat may be more than I need,” said Abbie as they went down the front steps.

“I believe I would not be put to the test too hard if I had to carry it for you.” He smiled when she laughed.

“It is good to get out of there for a little while.”

He took her arm and they started walking. “Is Julia still causing problems?”

“I fear so. It would be too easy to get angry with her except I know it is because she is not really well. I had hoped the baby would pull her free of what ailed her, but it does not seem to have accomplished that. Last night she took that newborn baby out to his father’s grave. She didn’t even get dressed or wrap the child in extra blankets. Just stepped out of bed, picked up the child, and went. If I had not tied a bell to the door, I fear we may have found both dead on his grave.

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