Her Lady's Honor by Renée Dahlia

Author:Renée Dahlia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-04-01T18:08:31+00:00

* * *

‘Get it off me.’ A sharp shout broke into Beatrice’s sleep, and she sat upright. Nell thrashed about on her bed, yelling. Beatrice threw back her blanket and stood up.

‘Shhh, it’s just a nightmare.’ She reached out to touch Nell and soothe her, but Nell’s arm connected with hers in the dark with a painful slap. A string of curses flew out of Nell’s mouth, and Beatrice blinked hard. She’d never heard most of those words said aloud, and she stumbled backwards at the brutality of the torrent, landing on her bottom on her bed with a soft thump.

‘Nell. Nell...’ Beatrice tried to use a quiet voice, but nothing changed the violent way Nell wrestled with her nightmare. ‘Lady Eleanor.’ Beatrice tried her sternest voice, and Nell ceased moving. ‘That’s it, quiet now, it was just a nightmare.’ She pushed herself back up and reached out to stroke Nell’s cheek. Nell grabbed her wrist and pulled Beatrice’s hand towards her mouth. The harsh brush of Nell’s lips over her palm sent a rush of heat flying down Beatrice’s spine, and her legs wobbled.

‘Nell. Shh, wake up now.’

Nell groaned and half sat. ‘What happened?’

‘I think you had a nightmare.’

Nell’s breath was hot on Beatrice’s palm. ‘Did I disturb you? I’m sorry.’ The ease of the apology set this moment apart from earlier in the night, and Beatrice sucked in a deep breath. She’d come to terms with Nell’s behaviour at the funeral and she understood why Nell hadn’t been able to stand beside her and be the strong support she’d thought she’d wanted from her.

‘You don’t need to apologise for a nightmare. Was it the war?’ Beatrice cursed herself. What a silly question.

‘No, I just have nightmares thanks to my perfect upbringing with my wealthy titled parents.’ A subtle edge of humour rinsed away Beatrice’s worries.

‘I’m sorry. And thank you.’ For your war service, for being there at this personal cost. Beatrice wanted to trace her finger along Nell’s bottom lip, but she daren’t take a liberty while Nell was recovering from a nightmare. A shiver raced up her spine, and it was both wrong and right at the same time.

‘If anyone should be sorry, it’s me. I have these...ahh...episodes, ever since, well, never mind why. And it helps to wait them out in the dark, but I don’t usually have a loud nightmare.’ There was a vulnerability in Nell’s voice that Beatrice hadn’t heard before, and it made her heart ache.

‘Why do you think it was different this time?’

Nell growled, rather like an angry kitten, and pushed Beatrice’s hand away. ‘I don’t particularly like to be the subject of analysis.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Are you going to spend your whole life sorry for the goddamned war? It was hardly your fault the German Empire decided to implode, or an argument between cousins caused the deaths of millions. I’m one of the lucky ones, don’t you know?’ Nell’s cutting tone belied her own sacrifices.

‘You are one of the lucky ones.’ Beatrice needed to soothe Nell, just as she would a scared animal caught in barbed wire.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.