Page 43 of Her Temporary Duke (Rakes and Roses #2)
TWO WEEKS LATER
“ T here you are, Cherry! Luke said you’d stepped out for air. Were you sleeping all this time?”
Charlotte blinked up at the voice, disoriented.
The sun had climbed high in the sky, but there was a chill breeze coming from the north ahead of dark rain clouds.
Sleeping at night had been increasingly difficult for Charlotte in the two weeks since she had arrived at Strathaven.
Nightmares plagued her. Dreams of Amelia’s death to begin with.
Then of Seth. She did not know which was worse.
She blinked, sitting up. She’d meant only to sit for a moment beneath the old oak on the hospital grounds—but sleep had claimed her before she realised it.
How long ago was that?
She stirred, stiff from the cold. A blanket had been laid over her shoulders—one she did not recall fetching.
“Did you put this over me?” she asked, her voice hoarse with sleep.
“I? No,” Amelia replied, her hand lightly resting on Luke’s arm. “I’ve only just come out. Doctor McGill insisted I take some air.”
“Must have been one of the orderlies, or someone passing by,” she murmured, brushing off leaves as she stood.
She turned to her sister and paused, studying her face. “You look better,” she said, a note of cautious hope threading through her voice. “There is colour in your cheeks again—none of that pallor you had this morning.”
Amelia beamed, and beside her, Luke gave a warm, silent smile, hands tucked behind his back.
“She has been brighter all morning,” he added with a chuckle. “And restless enough to start giving the nurses orders.”
Amelia nudged him lightly, scowling. “Luke’s found us a house. It is just outside a village called East Kilbride. There’s land, some tenants, even a kitchen garden. Doctor McGill thinks I’ll be well enough to visit it in a fortnight.”
Charlotte smiled for her sister. “Do not overdo it. And do not try to run before you can walk. But I am happy that you have found somewhere. However did you afford it?”
“Doctor McGill insisted on returning a fair portion of what he was paid,” Luke shrugged. “He means to publish a paper on Amelia’s recovery. Says the recognition will be worth more to him than any fee.”
“Do you not wish to return home?” Charlotte asked quietly.
Amelia and Luke exchanged a wordless look, smiling secretly. Charlotte felt a pang of utter desolation, remembering when she briefly thought that she had found such happiness.
But he is gone now. I only hope and pray he succeeds. I could bear anything but his resentment.
“I thought you might want to introduce Luke to London society,” Charlotte said lightly, schooling her features into a smile.
Amelia shook her head. “I find that my time walking in your shoes has shown me how much more preferable a quiet life in the country is. I shall learn how to manage estates and farms. It will be quite the adventure, I think.”
Charlotte smiled again. It took considerable effort, but she wanted to show Amelia that she was genuinely happy for her.
She could not be anything else. Her sister was slowly recovering from the illness that had deprived both of them of their mother.
She was married to a man she loved and who loved her.
Charlotte was glad—truly, deeply glad.
But her own life now stretched before her like an empty road.
Time will heal. Once, I did not believe I would ever recover from Mama’s passing. But I did. Seth's leaving will be a memory, too, in time.
“That is excellent. I look forward to being given a tour as soon as it is ready,” Charlotte added brightly.
“Oh, I was hoping you might live with us, Cherry,” Amelia frowned, taking her sister’s arm and looking into her face with concern.
Charlotte patted her sister’s hand. “I will visit. A lot. But, no, my place is back at Hamilton House, I think. That is where I belong.”
“But not for a long time,” Amelia insisted, “over the years, I have been quite remiss at seeing you outside of our little game. London does demand so much of one. I let the ton take up all of my time. I had no space in my head for anything else. But now…” she wrinkled her forehead, “now, I am free of it, and I want it to be like it was when we were girls!”
Luke was smiling fondly, besotted with his wife’s infectious enthusiasm. Charlotte kissed her sister’s forehead.
“Scotland and Yorkshire are not so very far apart as all that. Of course, we shall see each other lots. Now we had all better get indoors or that rain will give us a soaking. I have never known a place to be so wet in the middle of summer!”
When the rain had passed and Amelia was resting, Charlotte led her horse down the hill along Kirk Street.
It ran straight between rows of weavers’ cottages to the castle.
Bridge Street crossed the swift-flowing Powmillon Burn that ran through the middle of Strathaven and provided geese, ducks, and otters with a playground.
On the other side of the burn, adjacent to the green, was the town's blacksmith.
The only way to combat despair is to be active. That is how I coped when I lost my mother and when I was separated from Amelia. I set myself tasks and focused on achieving them. This is no different. I will eventually need a good horse to return to Hamilton House.
She had noticed that when taking her horse around the hospital grounds for exercise, the mare seemed to be favoring one leg slightly.
Charlotte was well-versed enough about horses to check for the most common problems and had found the missing nail in her shoe quickly.
So, she decided to go to the village smith and have it repaired.
That is my simple task for today. A horseshoe nail. Then I will think of one for tomorrow. And the day after, and the day after...
She arrived at the smithy. The sound of a hammer against the anvil and the deep-throated whoosh of bellows sounded from inside. Charlotte tied her horse to a post and knocked on the tall gate that separated the yard from the street.
“See who’s at the gate, Set!” came a deep Scots voice. “If it’s hard graft, I’m busy for the week. If it’s somethin’ light, ye can take it on yersel’!”
Charlotte heard footsteps approaching the gate and had just enough time to step back. Her heart leaped into her throat at the name she had just heard. The gate opened, and Seth stood there.