Ellie shook her head and crooked her finger toward Claire. “Come here a moment,” she said. When Claire reached her bedside, Ellie whispered in her ear, “And do you know what else I think?”

Claire shook her head.

“I think that someday you will be very glad that Charles wasn't able to wait for you.”

Claire turned to Ellie with questioning eyes.

“Love will find you when you least expect it,” Ellie said softly. Then she added, “And when you're old enough.”

Claire giggled, prompting Charles to grumble, “What the devil are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing,” Ellie replied. “Now then, let Claire run along. She has quite a bit of work to do.”

Charles stepped aside to allow Claire to dash from the room. Once the door had shut behind her, he turned to Ellie and said, “You were too lenient with her.”

“It was my decision, not yours,” Ellie said, her voice suddenly weary. It had taken a great deal of her already sapped energy to deal with a furious husband and sobbing cousin.

His eyes narrowed. “Are you in pain?”

She nodded. “Could I have that second dose of laudanum now?”

Charles moved quickly to her side and held the glass to her lips, smoothing her hair while she gulped the contents down. Ellie yawned and settled back down against her pillows, resting her bandaged hands carefully atop the bedcovers. “I know you believe I wasn't stern enough with Claire,” she said, “but I think she's learned her lesson.”

“I shall have to take your word for that, won't I, since you refuse to tell me what she said in her defense?”

“She didn't try to defend herself at all. She knows what she did was wrong.”

Charles stretched his legs out on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. “You're a remarkable woman, Eleanor Wycombe.”

She gave him a sleepy yawn. “I certainly don't mind hearing you say it.”

“Most people would not have been as forgiving.”

“Don't let that fool you. I can be quite vindictive when it's called for.”

“Is that so?” he asked, amusement lacing his voice.

Ellie yawned again and settled against him. “Will you stay here tonight? At least until I fall asleep?”

He nodded and kissed her temple.

“Good. It's warmer with you here.”

Charles blew out the candle and laid back down on top of the covers. Then, once he was sure she was asleep, he touched his heart and whispered, “It's warmer in here, too.”

Chapter 17

Ellie spent the next morning recuperating in bed. Charles rarely left her side, and when he did, he was immediately replaced by a member of the Pallister family—most often Helen or Judith, since Claire was busy cleaning up the mess she'd made in the orangery.

By early afternoon, however, she was beginning to lose her patience with Charles and his everpresent bottle of laudanum.

“It is very sweet of you to be so concerned about my burns,” Ellie said, trying to placate him, “but truly the pain is not as dreadful as yesterday, and beside that, I can't seem to last through a conversation without falling asleep.”