Chapter 20

CHAPTER20

“Marina?”

Nancy blinked through foggy eyes, unable to trust her sight. The woman at her bedside looked like her cousin, but that was impossible. Marina and her mother had returned to London after the wedding.

“Oh, thank goodness! Everyone has been so worried!”

The woman sounded like Marina, too.

“Is it… really you?”

Marina dipped a cloth in a basin and climbed up onto the bed, laying the cloth across Nancy’s forehead. “It is. I was summoned to help you, and though my mother complained that I would miss countless balls, I knew I could not refuse the request. So, I am here until you are recovered.” She smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“Swampy,” Nancy said, rubbing her eyes. “I feel… unpleasant.”

Marina chuckled. “You have been bathed frequently, though you have been asleep.”

“I have?” Nancy froze as a vague memory pierced the haze in her mind. A memory of Adam lying beside her in the bed, holding her close, sharing his warmth with her as she shivered through the chills and heat of her fever.

Was he the one who had bathed her? Indeed, where was he? Why was he not beside her, where she remembered him being?

Marina nodded, plumping the pillows behind Nancy as she helped her to sit up. “Mrs. Holloway has been tending to you as if you were her own daughter. I have been scolded more times than I have ever been scolded in my life for interfering, or for applying compresses the wrong way, or for not letting the medicinal tea cool enough before helping you sip it, though I know she means well. She has been so terribly worried about you.”

“And what about Adam?” Nancy could not help it, she needed to know.

Marina hesitated. “He was the one who sent for me. He thought you would prefer familiar company.”

“Oh…” The explanation soothed Nancy somewhat, her heart warmed by the kind gesture. “When did you arrive?”

“Two days ago.”

Nancy stared at her cousin in disbelief. “Two days ago? How long have I been asleep?”

It had seemed like minutes since she had been in her husband’s arms, though the memory was fuzzy.

“Four days or so,” Marina replied. “The physician could not explain the cause, but he said you would recover soon enough, being young and otherwise healthy.”

Nancy expelled a frustrated breath. “Well, this is not how I thought I would spend the first week of my honeymoon. I have not yet explored the grounds, nor have I dined with my husband.”

“I wonder if you would be able to eat at all, sitting across from him,” Marina said shyly. “He might be a rake, but there is no denying that he is extraordinarily handsome.”

Nancy laughed, ignoring the small stab of jealousy that pierced her ribs. “He is, is he not? There are times when I see him, and I cannot believe that he is real. I have to pinch myself to ensure that I am not dreaming.”

She was about to dive into the magical tale of their ballroom waltz, when deep, throaty laughter rumbled through the half-open doorway, heralding the arrival of the very man she had been waxing poetic about.

“You are too kind, ladies,” Adam said, wearing his most mischievous smile. “But I assure you, I am quite real.”

Nancy’s cheeks flooded with warmth, adding to the heat of her receding fever. Embarrassed, she chose to glare at him. “You are not a schoolboy, Adam. You should not be hiding behind doors, eavesdropping on conversations.”

“Ah, but you would not have said such sweet things if you had known I was there,” he replied, chuckling. “And I was not deliberately eavesdropping. I was on my way to see how you were faring when I heard your delightful compliments. I cannot say I am sorry that I heard them. Now, how are you faring? It is heartening to see you awake, at last.”

Nancy touched the back of her hand to her cheeks. “I am much improved.”

“I am pleased to hear it,” he said, walking over to the other side of her bed. He leaned over and took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips. “How can it be that you have been asleep for days, and yet you do not look rested?”

She scowled at him. “That is not very polite. I am certain you are supposed to lie to your wife when she does not look her best.”

“I do not lie,” he reminded her. “You do not look your best, but your worst, my dearest, is most ladies’ best. You say you do not think I am real sometimes, but I find myself gazing at you, and I wonder if you have been sent from the heavens to punish me for all my former wrongdoings. A vengeful angel, tormenting me with kindness and sweetness and beauty, until I have seen the error of my ways.”

Nancy dropped her gaze, feeling suddenly shy. “And have you?”

“Have I what?”

“Seen the error of your ways.”

He smiled and kissed her hand again, but before he could answer, a knock sounded at the bedchamber door.

“Am I missing a party in there?” It was a vaguely familiar voice.

“Just a moment, Harry,” Adam replied, setting Nancy’s hand gently back down on the coverlets. “I promised him we would ride today. He has been terribly bored without me, so I thought I would alleviate his monotony for a few days while Marina is here to entertain you.”

Nancy frowned, struggling to hide the small twinge of hurt that pinched her heart. “I see.”

“I do not know why we did not consider it sooner,” Adam went on, making it worse. “We should have invited the two of them to join us on our honeymoon from the beginning, for they both know the situation, and I imagine it would have made your arrival here much easier. Indeed, I want you to feel comfortable enough to invite whomever you please, whenever you please, for this is your home now.”

Nancy turned her gaze away, terrified he might see the hurt he was causing. “I am glad to have Marina here.”

“Excellent.” He made his way to the door. “Rest well, dearest Nancy. I shall visit again when we have returned from our adventures.”

“Are we not going to dine together this evening?” Nancy asked in haste.

He paused. “You are not yet well enough, my dear. You have awoken, yes, but you should remain here until you have regained some of your strength. I do not imagine it shall be long, for Mrs. Holloway will assuredly feed you until you cannot manage another bite.” He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “Soon, we shall dine together, and as we now have our friends here, it shall be a merrier dinner for it.”

“Of course,” Nancy said, wondering what had happened in the four days she had been asleep.

She was certain she had not imagined him lying beside her, holding her close, telling her to rest on him, encouraging her to steal his heat so she could break her fever more swiftly. And he had all but told her in the ballroom that he had felt something growing between them—magic that he did not dare speak of, in case she hated him for it.

Is that why he has changed? Is that why he must surround himself with others? So he does not get too close to me again?

She watched him leave, baffled by his behavior, and baffled all the more by her own.

Why did she care if he had friends in residence? Why did she care if he no longer wished to be alone with her? Why did she care if he had cooled toward her?

He was her husband in name only, and she would do well to remember that.