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F laherty sank into the tub and groaned as the hot water eased the worst of the ache between his shoulder blades. He’d landed hard and had a sneaking suspicion the lass had, too. Not that Mary Kate would admit it. She was too stubborn and strong-minded for her own good. His match down to the bone.

Garahan knocked on the door and walked into the guards’ former quarters. “Nothing’s changed in here since I left it the day I married Melinda. Don’t worry that ye’ll have to bring the lass back here tonight to sleep.”

“I don’t work for the viscount,” Flaherty scoffed. “I’ll be bringing her to stay at the guards’ quarters at Lippincott Manor.”

His cousin nodded. “True, though more than likely, the earl will be gifting ye with a cottage. He and the viscount have done so for all of us so far.”

“There are no guarantees in life, ye know that, James.”

“Well now, I cannot argue with that. Rest assured, Seamus, no one will be forgetting ye—ye’re the Duke’s Champion!”

“Some champion I turned out to be, shot three times in less than six weeks!

Garahan’s gaze narrowed on Flaherty. “Stop feeling sorry for yerself. There’s not one of us that hasn’t been clubbed over the head, slashed, or shot.”

“Aye, but I’m the only one so far who’s had three lead balls dug out of his hide!”

“Only two were extracted from yer sorry hide,” Garahan reminded him. “The third one left an impressive groove in yer face. Ye’ll have another scar to boast about.”

Flaherty had no ready comeback. Staring at the rapidly cooling water, he didn’t want to admit to his cousin what really worried him…that the lass would take a look at his disfigured face, turn tail, and run.

Garahan pulled his flask out of his pocket. “Thought ye might need another sip or two of the Irish.”

Grateful beyond words, Flaherty held out his hand.

His cousin chuckled and handed him the flask. “Are ye worried about tonight?”

Flaherty choked on the whisky he was swallowing. “Are ye thinking I need advice from a married man?”

Garahan snatched the flask back and took a swig. “Ye don’t, but yer bride-to-be may be a bit hesitant about the marriage bed. Have ye forgotten what nearly happened to her tonight at the hands of that blackguard?”

Flaherty had to admit, his cousin had a point. “To be honest, I was thinking I’d need to use me manly charms to sweep her off her feet so she didn’t stare at me face too long. She’d be helpless to resist me—just like all the others.”

“I wouldn’t advise mentioning that fact to yer bride, unless ye’re thinking of sleeping alone tonight.” Garahan waited a moment before he added, “As fer yer sorry mug, Mary Kate is not faint of heart, and I cannot see her tossing ye back for a tiny scar.”

“She counted the stitches, James.”

“Aye. Did ye notice she was trying to hide the fact that she flinched each time MacReady’s needle pierced yer flesh?”

“Nay.” Flaherty motioned for Garahan to hand him the flask, took a sip, and gave it back. “Thanks. That’s enough for me. I need a clear head if what ye’re suggesting turns out to be the case. I’m thinking it won’t be—the lass is stronger than ye know.”

“Even the strongest women need reassurance now and again,” Garahan said. “At least yer wife wasn’t abused. When I think of me wife’s cousin taking a switch to her back…”

Flaherty watched anguish contort his cousin’s face. Garahan shook his head, and the neutral expression he showed the world was in place once more.

“James, I—”

“I’ve resigned meself to not beating the man to a bloody pulp. I was given leave to level a blow or two—no more. I’d never ignore an order from His Grace.”

Flaherty motioned for Garahan to hand him the drying cloth. “But ye dream of it, don’t ye?”

“Aye.” Garahan scrubbed his hands over his face. “Hurry it up—the vicar should be arriving any time now.”

“Close the door behind ye!”

Alone, Flaherty ignored the twinge across his upper back, dried off, and dressed.

He didn’t bother to glance in the looking glass.

He knew his face was a sight—black and blue where the lead ball bruised the flesh that it had left behind.

’Twould be a rainbow of color over the next few days.

He’d never particularly cared about stitches and bruises before, but for the lass’s sake, he was caring now.

He didn’t want to frighten her tomorrow morning when they woke together for the first time in his bed.

Lord willing, they’d have exhausted themselves making love before they fell asleep.

Though he insisted to Garahan that she would not be, and though Flaherty would wish it otherwise, her first sight of his face—with the dark threads and bruised skin around the wound—might scare her.

The idea that she would be afraid of him bothered Flaherty, until he resigned himself to the fact that he had to see for himself just how bad his face looked.

He flinched as he studied his reflection.

“I’ll see if I can have the lass stand on me good side for the vow taking.

” He nodded to his reflection. “Well then, ’tis time to get it done.

Next time I see me ugly mug, I’ll be a married man.

” He grinned, and his reflection grinned back at him.

“A happily married man who will have wed and bedded his wife.” The thought of it had him whistling as he made his way to the manor house.

His life was about to change for the better.

*

Mary Kate couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

The whirlwind of activity that surrounded her once she’d dried off from the bath made her head spin.

She sat obligingly in front of the looking glass while Lady Aurelia’s maid fussed with her hair.

“I usually just bundle it up, fasten a few pins in to hold it off my shoulders and my face. I don’t need anything fancier than that. ”

Aurelia disagreed. “Nonsense. Let Jenny pin it up and pull a few tendrils free near your temples and the nape of your neck, and a curl or two that will dangle in front of your eyes.”

Mary Kate frowned. “How will I see where I’m going?”

“We’ll help you,” Calliope volunteered.

Aurelia smiled. “Once you are standing beside Flaherty, he will not be able to resist reaching out to brush a wisp of hair out of your eyes.”

Mary Kate was confused. “Why would I want him to do that?”

“You want him to notice everything about you. He’ll be seeing you differently when you are saying your vows. Before tonight, you were the woman he was courting. After the vicar marries you, you’ll be his wife, and Lord willing, the mother of his children. You want him to treasure you.”

Calliope sighed. “He already does, Aurelia. Did you not see how he looks at Mary Kate whenever he enters the room?”

Aurelia nodded. “Besotted.”

“I mean no disrespect to either of your ladyships,” Mary Kate murmured, “but I think you both have attics to let.”

The two women dissolved into laughter. The sound lifted a bit of the worry from Mary Kate’s shoulders. “What if I hesitate when he’s ready to seal our vows? What if I laugh? What if I cry?”

Lady Calliope motioned for Aurelia’s maid to step back. “You look beautiful, and you will not cry. You may laugh, but warn him ahead of time that you are prone to laughter when you are nervous.”

“Oh dear! I do laugh when I’m nervous, don’t I?”

“Yes,” Calliope agreed. “Remember, forewarned is forearmed. He’ll be expecting you to be nervous after you warn him, and will expect your laughter, and not take it as a slur against his manliness.”

Mary Kate digested that thought. “That would not do, would it?”

Aurelia shook her head. “Is there anything else that has you concerned? We did answer the few questions you had, but please do not be afraid to ask. And do not worry—we will never betray your trust or speak of what we discuss here tonight.”

“Thank you, your ladyships. You have been so kind and have answered most of my questions. There is just one more thing I have been wondering—something I overheard one of the Lady Kittrick’s scullery maids boasting about.”

“This sounds intriguing,” Lady Aurelia said.

“What did she say?” Lady Calliope asked.

“She said the young man she was…er…with—Oh, never mind!”

“Come now,” Aurelia urged. “You know you can trust us. Just ask.”

“Is it possible for a man to, um… How can I put this without sounding like a complete hoyden?” Mary Kate blew out a breath, and in one garbled word, asked, “ Canamanrisetotheoccasionmorethanonceanight? ”

Aurelia answered first. “Absolutely!”

Calliope blushed. “More than twice, actually.”

Mary Kate swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Isn’t it too painful the first time to…you know?”

“Make love,” Calliope murmured. “What happens between a man and a woman within the sanctity of marriage is called making love. If I’m right, and Flaherty is the man I believe him to be, the pain will be fleeting.”

“Trust him to ready you to accept him.”

Mary Kate frowned again as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Aurelia sighed. “Blush all you want, but do listen. Your husband will no doubt be far larger than you envision when you see him unclothed for the first time. Trust me when I tell you that you may worry that there is no possibility that he will—for lack of better explanation— fit . Trust him when he tells you he needs to stretch you to ensure that he will.”

Calliope turned a darker shade of pink with embarrassment. Aurelia nodded to emphasize that she knew what she was speaking about. Mary Kate had lost the ability to speak altogether.

“Well then, I do believe you have succinctly answered Mary Kate’s question, Aurelia.” Turning to Mary Kate, Calliope said, “Trust me when I say that Flaherty loves you—”

“And you love him,” Aurelia interrupted. “Trust him with your body—”

“As well as your heart.”