Page 16 of Two Nights with the Duke (Cherish and the Duke #3)
J ocelyn heard her husband’s gasp, but refused to turn around to face him.
“Ye think I want to be rid of ye?” he asked after a long moment of silence. “After all we’ve been through in these last sixteen days? Ye think I want ye out of my life?”
She nodded, unable to hold back her tears or her humiliation. “How could you not? My father lost his fortune on reckless investments, and it was not merely the dowry account or my shopping accounts that he must have lost. He would have touched those last and only in desperation. This can only mean he has nothing left.”
“Is this what has ye crying, lass? That ye’re worried yer parents will be destitute? They won’t be. I’ll take care of them, just as I’ll always take care of ye.”
His voice was so gentle that it made her feel even more ashamed of herself and her family. “Always, Camborne? Why ever would you? How can you stand me when I can hardly stand myself? I was caught cheating you out of your room at the Arbroth Inn. You must think we are horrid people. As detestable as Ballantry and Burling.”
She clutched her stomach, now feeling ill as she continued to revile herself and her Granby clan. “And never forget my fortune-hunting, devoid-of-morals cousins, who were only too happy to join Ballantry here for the sole purpose of humiliating us. Perhaps they meant to be more hurtful to me because I was such an uptight, righteous prig who was quick to pass judgment on them. I’m sure they propositioned you before they headed off for who knows where to cause more mischief.”
By his silence, she knew that they had. Camborne, being ever protective of her feelings, was not going to respond to her.
She began to fuss with the clasp of her locket.
She heard his sharp intake of breath, and then he came to her side and stilled her hand. “Do not take it off, Jocelyn.”
“I only mean to give it back to you.”
“I gave it to ye,” he said, his voice shaking. “It is yers forever, and I’ll not have it back.”
She turned to argue with him, but stilled when she saw the stricken expression on his face.
He appeared stunned, as though she had just slapped him.
“Camborne,” she said, wanting to throw herself into his arms and lose herself in his embrace, “all I have done is take from you.”
“How can ye say this? Ye’ve given me the most precious gift of yer heart. Do ye think a dowry can compare?”
It was true, the love she had given him was from her heart.
She loved him so much.
This was why she wanted to return this beautiful locket. Did he not deserve to be free of her if he wished it?
“Everyone takes from you,” she said, feeling her tears flow again. “And I am no better than those leeches and hangers-on. But don’t you deserve a better wife? Should I not be more than a penniless burden?”
“Stop thinking of yerself that way! Ye’re perfect. I would no’ change a thing about ye,” he said, his voice a harsh rasp.
“Perfect? Me? What a laughable statement. I’ve brought you nothing but scandal and chaos.”
“Ye brought me hope and happiness. Ye married me, and I think that was very right,” he said so gently, she was in dire risk of bawling like an infant again.
How could he care for her?
She started to unclasp her locket again.
He growled low in his throat. “Ye promised me ye would never take it off.”
“But—”
“Dinna take it off, Jocelyn. My teeth clanked against it every time I made love to ye, but I dinna care because it was right that ye kept it on. That locket is my heart that I gave to ye. If ye dinna love me, then take it off. Throw it back at me.”
She gasped.
“But if ye love me, lass…then leave it be. Leave it over yer heart. I dinna care how many teeth I lose knocking into it while attempting to worship yer breasts.”
She laughed as her tears began to fall again. “Camborne, I knew you had the soul of a romantic poet.”
“No, lass. I’m just a man with plenty of faults.” Instead of taking her into his arms, as she was sure he would do next, he left her side and sank onto the settee. Her heart broke as she watched him place his elbows on his lap and bury his face in his hands.
“Camborne?”
Was it possible this incident was tearing him up as much as it was tearing her? Was it possible he loved her just as deeply as she loved him?
She placed her hand over her heart, wrapping her fingers around the locket that represented his own heart that he had given her.
Dear heaven.
It was not some glib gesture, some token he was giving her to acknowledge an unwanted and forced marriage.
Only, he hadn’t been forced. He had wanted to marry her all along. Not because he felt honor bound to protect her reputation, although this was the reason he gave.
She could not believe she had just been so hurtful to her own husband.
This was too, too cruel of her, especially since her mother was right. She needed to calm down and think without her feelings clouding her judgment.
“I’m so sorry, Camborne. I lashed out in frustration, and it was not right of me.”
“Jocelyn,” he said, the sound filled with an ache that tore from his throat. “I know how hurt and angry ye must be. All I wanted to do was keep yer family together. I wanted ye to look upon yer mother and father with the love ye’d always had for them. I told yer father I would replenish the dowry account. Ye know I did no’ marry ye for the expectation of enriching my coffers. Then I promised yer father I would never tell ye what we did. I regretted it the moment I uttered the promise.”
She took a seat beside him. His wounds were palpable, and she could feel his heart ripping apart as she took his hand in hers.
He eyed her questioningly.
She kissed him softly on the lips.
It was all so clear to her now, for she understood what had compelled him, and ached all the more for attempting to take off the locket that represented everything to him.
His own family.
The loss he’d felt when they died.
The love regained when marrying her.
The fear of losing her, too.
Her thoughtless words and actions were the cruelest thing possible to him.
She was in danger of crying tears again, but this time for happiness because he loved her. This big, hard, arrogant duke loved her.
It no longer mattered that he could not bring himself to actually say the words. She only had to be patient and he would admit it in his own good time.
Smiling, she cleared her throat. “Camborne…”
He eyed her warily because he was naturally cautious.
She shifted closer to him so that their bodies touched from shoulders to toes.
He arched an eyebrow. “Lass?”
She cast him a fragile smile. “I wanted so much to come into this marriage with something to my name. You have given me everything, and all I could think about was giving something back to you. It was so important to me and still is. I feel as though I am no better than that cur, Burling. Always with my hand out. Always grasping. But—”
She held him off, as he was about to protest.
“You’re going to insist that I haven’t grasped for anything. But I have. Four new gowns. Four shawls. Silk and lace unmentionables . Not to mention you are paying for my parents to stay at this inn with us and will have to pay for a private coach to return them to Granby. But—”
She held him off again as he was about to respond.
“—every morning I’ve told you that I love you. And every morning, I have not heard it said back to me.”
“That is my failing, not yours,” he interjected, his eyes etched with pain.
She shook her head. “No, it is not a failing. That is you . This is who you are, a man who speaks with his actions and often finds it hard to put his tenderest thoughts into words. But it does not diminish what you are feeling. It just made it a little harder for me to figure out, especially as I wrapped myself up in a cloud of shame and could not see anything clearly because of it.”
He gave her hand a light squeeze. “What do ye see now, lass?”
“A man who loves me. A man who would give everything to see me happy. Camborne, I will always be happy so long as I am with you. So, if you can put up with a reckless father-in-law, a delicate mother-in-law, Granby cousins who are completely immoral, and a harpy of a wife who is sometimes too stubborn and prideful for her own good, then I think we shall have a very long and exceedingly successful marriage.”
A smile began to spread on his lips. “Are we all right, lass? Am I forgiven?”
“Yes, but will you forgive me ?”
“For what? Ye’ve done nothing wrong.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Were you not listening to my mother? I did so many things wrong, starting with agreeing to marry Ballantry. But the point I would like to make is that I will never force you to say words or express feelings that you are not ready to reveal.”
He stared at her.
Was she wrong in thinking he loved her?
No, she could not have misunderstood his agonized looks and the heavy air of desperation.
“I will understand if you cannot say the words aloud yet. How could you when you have only known me for sixteen days?”
“Bollocks,” he muttered, raking a hand through his hair.
“Shall I stop?”
“Stop what? Stop talking?” He cast her an affectionate smile.
She snuggled closer. “Shall I stop telling you that I love you? Does it make you feel awkward? Is it too much? Too soon?”
He laughed. “Don’t ye dare stop telling me. I want to hear those sweet words from yer lips every day. As many times as ye wish to say them. Morning, noon, and night. It does no’ matter when. My heart was so empty until ye came along, lass. Yer words… Every day with yer lovely words, ye fill my heart with joy.”
“Then you don’t mind?” She was elated for so many reasons, but mostly because they had just made it through their first serious argument and come through it stronger. Hadn’t they?
She was glad he wanted her to love him and express it. This was enough for her.
“No, I dinna mind at all. But there is something else important ye ought to know. I dinna think yer mother knew anything about yer father’s financial problems until recently either. She only learned of them shortly before they arrived at the Arbroth Inn. Her heart palpitations…they were as much brought on by the financial strain as yer running away from yer wedding. That’s all I will say about it, lass. But I dinna want ye blaming yerself for her ill health.”
She nodded.
“She’s a caring mother, and that is a precious thing.”
“It will take me a little longer to forgive him,” she said, although she never doubted her father’s love for her. It was all the stupid things he had done to keep her from knowing of these disastrous decisions he’d made, and the fact he did not trust her enough to tell her. Perhaps it was hard for a parent to let their child know of the parent’s failures.
What a misery her life would have been had she gone through with her wedding to Ballantry. Looking back on it, her father had tried hard to talk her out of it. But she still could not forgive him completely, because all he ever had to do was tell her he’d lost her dowry.
Done.
No betrothal.
No mad dash across Scotland.
On the other hand, she never would have met this wonderful Silver Duke seated beside her. Was this all a part of some grander plan? Fate? Destiny?
She scooted onto her husband’s lap and wrapped her arms around him. “Camborne…”
“Och, lass. Yer smile is sunshine upon my heart.”
“It is raining buckets. We have still been married for sixteen days. And…I love you, my husband.”
“Lass,” he said, and she felt his heart begin to hammer within his chest. “Lass…”
She smiled and kissed him lightly on his finely shaped mouth. “Say it, Camborne. You are a Silver Duke, after all. Use that silver tongue of yours and tell me what you are feeling.”
“Lass…”
“I’m still right here.” She placed her hand over his heart, which was still pounding.
“Lass…”
She laughed. “If you say that once more, I am going to hit you over the head with the nearest heavy object I can find.”
He grinned. “All right, I give up. Willingly and with great relief. Just be patient with me, for it has taken me over forty years to get to a point I never thought I would reach. Not only that I never expected to marry, but that I never expected to fall in love with my wife. Yet here I am, madly, deeply, and quite unexpectedly…in love with ye. There it is. I love ye, Jocelyn.”
He kissed her fiercely and then rose to carry her toward their bed. “I loved ye from the first moment I set eyes on ye, and will always love ye with my full heart and the breadth of my soul.”
“You are a romantic, I knew it,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and soaking in the warmth of his very fine body.
“Och, no. Despite my reputation, I’m not one for silvery words.” He kissed her, then set her down on the bed and began to undress while keeping his gaze fixed on her. “I’ll only speak true and plainly to ye. If ye deem it romantic, then so be it. Just know that I will always honor and protect ye. I will always lie beside ye and hold ye safe in my loving arms.”
He removed his jacket, waistcoat and cravat. “And I will always love ye.”
She cast him a warm but impish smile as she watched him, loving the manly way he shrugged out of his clothes. “Should I undress, too?”
His eyes sparkled like dark emeralds. “If ye wish, lass. It would be most convenient if ye did. Let me help ye with the laces.”
“What are we going to do once you undress me, Camborne?”
“We’ll think of something, lass. It might take us all afternoon and evening to figure it out. Do ye mind?”
“I don’t mind at all.”
She opened her arms to him, for she loved this man beyond measure.
*
Come morning, she awoke to find her husband still fast asleep beside her. He lay on his stomach, one muscled arm wrapped around her waist as though he needed to hold on to her even while lost in his dreams.
She eased out of his light grasp and hunted for her nightgown to put it on before looking out the window. The drapes were slightly open, allowing dapples of light to stream in. She quickly tossed on her nightgown and padded to the window, drawing the drapes aside to allow in a little more sunlight. She wanted to look at her husband under the gentle rays of the morning sun.
Last night’s rain had moved north and left behind a sparkling day.
Camborne began to stir.
He noticed she was not in bed beside him, but smiled and rolled over to stretch on his back when he spotted her by the window. “Good morning, love.”
Her heart beat faster as she recalled what they had done last night.
Oh, heavens.
Some would call their intimacies sinful, but she could not wait for him to teach her more tonight. There was something to be said for marrying a Silver Duke. Her husband certainly knew what he was doing.
“Good morning,” she returned brightly. “We are married seventeen days now. The weather is sunny and perfect, and…I love you to pieces, Camborne.”
His smile was beautiful and blinding. “Mutual, Jocelyn. I love ye too.”
Jocelyn was still walking on air when they made their way down to the elegant common room set up for dining. Several of the inn’s patrons were already downstairs having their breakfast, including her parents and Terrence.
A pretty maid fussed around Terrence, the big, stoic man who appeared quite receptive to her attentions. He actually smiled at the lass, and then whispered something in her ear before turning to greet Jocelyn and Camborne.
Her parents looked upon them with strain as they approached. Her father in particular remained unusually silent but cast her a hopeful smile, while her mother took the lead in greeting them.
“Good morning, my dearest.” She gave Jocelyn a kiss on the cheek. “How are you?”
Jocelyn glanced at her husband, who winked at her. “Perfect, Mama. Quite happily in love.”
“Aye, Lady Granby,” Camborne said while holding out a chair for Jocelyn and then taking the one beside hers. “Yer daughter and I are good.”
“Excellent news,” her mother replied, releasing a breath.
“Aye,” her father said with a nod. “All I ever wanted was for yer happiness, lass.”
Jocelyn noticed her husband’s gaze sweep across the room and realized whom he was searching for. “Are you looking for Ballantry and Burling?”
He nodded. “I dinna see them here. Most likely, they are still up in their rooms. Doubtful they are early risers and have already eaten.”
Terrence took a sip of his coffee and then set his cup down. “The proprietor informed me this morning that Burling absconded in the night without paying his bill, just as ye were certain would happen. I took the liberty of settling it, as ye instructed, Yer Grace.”
Jocelyn’s eyes widened in surprise. “Camborne, I thought you were adamant on giving him nothing.”
“Still am, but I am not going to have the proprietor denied payment for his services when Burling was only here sniffing around because of us.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I agree wholeheartedly.”
Terrence nodded and continued. “Ballantry departed about an hour ago, muttering something about Italy.” He turned to Jocelyn. “Yer cousins left with him.”
Lady Granby shook her head. “Good riddance to those scandalous creatures. I am not surprised they decided to go with him. Not that either of them would care that one was leaving behind a dying husband and the other supposedly mourning her own recently deceased spouse. Shameful!”
“I’m glad they are gone, and they are welcome to Ballantry,” Jocelyn muttered, holding out her teacup as one of the maids came around to fill it.
She stared into her cup, watching the vapors of steam rise from it. As each column of vapor disappeared into the air, she realized her worries were also disappearing. Ballantry had signed the settlement, grabbed the money Camborne had offered, and was now off to spend it—no doubt unwisely—on an Italian sojourn.
As for Burling, he had stolen off like a thief in the night. She hoped he would not return to bother them for a handout ever again.
She turned to her husband, who appeared more relaxed than she had ever seen him. He was sipping his coffee and smiling at her to acknowledge he had noticed the same thing. “Camborne, is it possible? Is it over? Are we entirely at our leisure today?”
“Aye, lass.” He turned to Terrence. “Ye’ve been working hard on my behalf these past few weeks. Take the day off. I think there’s a lass eager to spend it with ye.” He nodded toward the pretty serving maid who had been lingering close to their table. She was removing her apron and appeared ready to go off duty.
Terrence’s expression remained stoic as he excused himself and made his way toward the lass, who smiled up at him with a look Jocelyn recognized.
Yes, love was a breathless thing.
“Jocelyn,” her husband said with a chuckle, “dinna concoct any romantic stories in yer head. He’s just met the girl. For all we know, she may already have a husband.”
“She doesn’t,” Jocelyn insisted, although she had no idea whether this was true. “I know the eyes of love when I see it.”
“Do ye?” His lips curved in an appealing smile.
“Yes.” She grinned impertinently at him. “It is the same way you are looking at me right now, Camborne.”
He chuckled. “Maybe, lass. Maybe.”
As he sat there in all his broad-shouldered glory, his deep green eyes sparkling with humor, and his beautiful mouth stretched in a magnificent smile meant for her, she considered herself beyond fortunate to have made this love match.
She truly loved him.
And he loved her.
He loved her.
What were the chances?
Her father cleared his throat to regain her attention, since she was obviously mooning over her husband. “Lass, yer mother and I are thinking of returning to Granby today. All’s well now, and there is no reason for us to stay.”
“Oh.”
“Aye, Jocelyn,” her mother said. “Ye have yer husband to look after now, and he’ll be looking after ye. We aren’t needed here.”
Her father cleared his throat again. “Camborne, may I impose on yer kindness for another favor? We’ll need coach accommodations.”
Camborne nodded. “I thought ye might. I’ve made arrangements with the ostler. Ye’ll have a fine carriage for yer ride home. Choose whichever one ye’d like.”
Everything suddenly moved so fast.
Jocelyn’s parents had little to pack and were ready to leave within the hour. Camborne stood beside her as she fiercely hugged her mother and father, finding it difficult to bid them farewell. She might not see them for months and months.
At first, she had been reluctant to hug her father because she had yet to fully forgive him. But she could not bring herself to part on bad terms.
Perhaps she was too forgiving of his deception. But was she any better with her headstrong ways that led her to so foolishly choose Ballantry?
There was such a look on her husband’s face as he stood by and watched her with her parents…a yearning for all the good and the bad that existed within a family and had been denied him all his life.
“I love you, Papa,” she whispered in her father’s ear.
“I love ye beyond the sun and the moon, Jocelyn,” he whispered back, struggling to hold back his tears. “I’m so sorry I disappointed ye, my sweet lass.”
He was crying and smiling as he climbed into the carriage after her mother, who was there to console him as she had done throughout the years. Indeed, she was the steady hand in their marriage.
Jocelyn wished to be that for Camborne, but knew he would likely be the steady one in their marriage.
The coachman spurred the team and drove off with her parents.
In the distance, she saw Terrence walking toward the harbor with the pretty maid beside him.
The sun warmed Jocelyn’s face, and all suddenly felt delightfully peaceful as she stood beside her husband. “Where are we to go next?” she asked him. “Fishing?”
“No, lass. I was only going there to contemplate the changes needed in my life. That got taken care of when I found ye in my bed.” He smiled as he caressed her cheek, but his expression then turned serious. “I dinna have any close family, but I have two friends who are as close as brothers to me, and they will likely be in London for the month of September. I’ll need to be there anyway, for there’s parliamentary work to be done and Scotland’s interests need to be represented.”
Jocelyn knew there would be no one better to protect those interests than this big, handsome Scot who was now her husband.
As for those friends who were close as brothers to him, she knew he was referring to his fellow Silver Dukes, Bromleigh and Lynton.
“I’d like to introduce ye to them. They are my family. I think ye’ll like them. Despite our bad reputations, we are at heart decent men.”
“Sounds perfect,” she said, her smile brightening. “They’d have to be fairly awful to be as bad as my own family, don’t you think? I’m eager to meet them. Perhaps they will decide to marry once they see how happily wed we are.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Och, lass. How likely is that?”
They decided to remain the week at the Balgownie Arms and explore the countryside around Aberdeen. They rose early and returned late to the inn, although there were a few rainy days when they did not leave their bedchamber at all.
But the day before they were to leave for London, Jocelyn went on her own to do a little shopping in the afternoon. She wasn’t lacking much, only a few items she might need on the journey south. Her parents maintained a London townhouse, so she had a wardrobe there already sufficient to get her through most of the daily activities once they arrived. She would require some finer evening gowns, but this was not urgent and she would make do with those she already had. Her first task upon reaching London would be to have the Granby staff pack her clothes and send them to Camborne’s residence. This was another coincidence, for his Mayfair home was only in the next square over from the Granby house.
How had they never met before?
She shook her head and laughed softly to herself, her mind whirling as she walked up the high street toward the shops.
It did not take her long to find what she wanted, and she was soon walking back to the inn clutching her few purchases, which included some fragrant soaps and a small bag to tuck her grooming essentials in. She had also decided at the last moment to purchase a pair of woolen stockings and a sturdy nightgown suitable for colder weather, and had that larger package neatly tucked under her arm.
As the afternoon shadows began to stretch across the roadway, she hurried along to the inn. Several shops had already shut and others were about to close for the day. This was a fairly quiet part of town, but suddenly felt too quiet.
But she shrugged off the prickles running up her spine. The area was by no means abandoned, and there was activity noticeable by the inn, carriages arriving and others departing. Camborne had spent the afternoon with his solicitor attending to matters concerning his estate and should also be returning about now.
A moment later, she saw him in the distance and recognized his confident stride as he walked toward the inn. But he did not notice her because she was approaching from the street above.
She was about to call out to him when someone suddenly grabbed her from behind and brandished a small pistol that he held at her head. “I’ve been waiting to catch ye alone, my prideful lady.”
Burling.
He was drunk, for his breath was foul and reeking of spirits.
He had one hand around her neck, pressing his fingers against her throat so that she could hardly breathe, much less scream. The other hand held the pistol to her temple, and she dared not make a sudden move for fear his finger would slip and the pistol would go off. It was one of those small pistols a lady might carry in her reticule, not very powerful, but still quite deadly at this close range.
He stumbled as he began to drag her into a nearby alleyway. She saw her chance and immediately pushed against him, knocking him backward in the hope he would fall.
But even drunk, he was too heavy for her to shove to the ground.
Still, she managed to loosen his grasp and began to scream to draw attention to them.
“Ye stupid cow, I only wanted yer money!”
He shoved her hard against the rough stone of the alley wall. A blinding pain shot through her temples as her head struck hard stone.
He laughed, then grabbed her reticule and began to sort through it. “Where’s yer blunt? Do ye carry nothing of value?”
It took her a moment to recover her senses, although it could hardly be called recovery when she was still fighting not to pass out.
All she could feel was relief he hadn’t shot her, for he was a big, stupid oaf and not thinking clearly at all. Did he not realize she could identify him to the authorities? Did he not understand the rules of thievery? He was supposed to simply snatch and run, not linger and fumble through his mark’s belongings.
Well, he was not spry enough to outrun a three-legged dog or even an old woman.
Her heart pounded savagely as she staggered out of the alleyway in the hope of taking advantage of his drunken distraction to edge away. Her head was also painfully pounding, and blood trickled down her forehead.
She ignored the discomfort and dizziness as she tried to run away, then released a breath of relief when she saw the blurred outline of two men who resembled Camborne and Terrence racing up the street toward her. “Thank goodness.”
As she tried to run toward them, Burling grabbed her again. “Where are ye going, lass? I think I had better hold on to ye.”
The drunken fool was attempting to use her as a hostage, and was now in obvious panic as her husband and Terrence approached. “Don’t do anything foolish, Burling. I won’t press charges. Just let me go.”
“Let ye go?” Burling said against her ear. “Aye, I’ll let ye go and take him instead. Say farewell to yer beloved.”
He aimed his pistol at Camborne.
“No!” Jocelyn screamed, at the same time shoving Burling’s arm upward.
He angrily turned, intending to shove her away and run. But as she fell to the ground, landing painfully on her side and then rolling onto her back as the breath rushed out of her, he also stumbled and lost his balance.
His pistol went off.
Jocelyn felt a painful impact to her chest.
Her husband’s anguished cry split the air just as everything began to spin. She felt herself absorbed into the cobblestones and dragged into a dark abyss.
“Jocelyn! Jocelyn!”
Camborne was calling out to her as she tumbled into the darkness.
“Dinna leave me, lass! Oh, Lord. Dinna leave me!” He held her in his arms. She tried to wrap her arms around his neck, needing to hold on to him, but he stopped her. “No, love. Dinna move. He shot ye. Lie still in my arms, my love. Someone get a doctor! Now! Bring him to the Balgownie Arms.”
A crowd had begun to gather around them.
“Aye, Yer Grace!” Someone ran off to fetch the doctor, probably one of the inn’s staff, since they knew who Camborne was.
“He meant to shoot you,” she whispered, her throat so dry that her words came out scratchy and almost unintelligible. “I love you, Camborne. I couldn’t let him.”
“I love ye too. I love ye so much.” His voice was thick with the pain of a thousand torments. He suddenly sucked in a breath as his fingers found the rip in the fabric at her chest where she had felt the impact. He groaned in agony. “Jocelyn, dinna move. Oh, Lord. Dinna move.”
She couldn’t even if she wanted to.
But she could talk, and meant to tell him what had happened, although it was all coming out disjointed. “He pushed me against the wall… I felt my head bleeding… I tried to run.”
“Hush, lass. It’s all right.”
“Something hit my chest.”
“I know, sweetheart. I…saw.” His breaths sounded raw and ragged as he delicately sliced open the hole in the fabric with his knife, and then she felt the warmth of his hand ever so lightly upon her bosom. “Where’s the blood? How could he…? Lie still, love. Och, Jocelyn. I love ye, lass. Dinna move. Oh, Lord. How can ye still be conscious? How can ye still be talking? How can it be? There’s not a mark on ye, lass. It isn’t possible. Not even a break in yer skin.”
Was he crying?
Were Silver Dukes capable of tears?
“My heart is a little sore,” she said, still feeling that impact to her chest.
Camborne’s breaths were now coming fast, and she felt his fingers trembling as he drew the fabric further apart. “Jocelyn, my love. My sweet, sweet love. My miracle.”
He removed his jacket and wrapped it around her before carefully drawing her back into his arms. All the while, he told her how much he loved her.
She raised a hand to his cheek.
He kissed her palm. “It’s a miracle, sweetheart.”
“What is?” She was a bit dizzy and confused.
“The locket. It stopped the shot that should have ruptured yer heart. The locket saved ye, lass. Ye’ve not a scratch on yer chest. It saved ye.”
She swiped her thumb along his cheek to wipe away his tears.
“No, Camborne,” she said as realization dawned on her. “It was your love that saved me.”
“I canno’ take credit, lass. Perhaps yer guardian angels saved ye, the same ones that led ye to me that fateful night in Arbroth.”
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “That second night was the best. You made all my fantasies come true.”
“Naughty girl,” he said with a rush of relief. “Ye made mine come true, too.”
He was about to carry her back to the inn when a constable hurried over.
“My man, William Terrence, has the culprit,” Camborne said, seeming to be once more composed and speaking with authority. “Ye can speak to my wife after the doctor sees to her. We have rooms at the inn.” He nodded in the direction of the Balgownie Arms.
“Aye, Yer Grace. I’ll run the knave in and then return to speak to Her Grace at her convenience.”
Camborne carried her up to their suite and gently set her on the bed.
His heart was still pounding so loudly through his chest, she could hear it without need to press her ear to it. And his eyes were once again clouded with tears.
“Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord,” he said, his voice still raspy and his always-steady hands now shaking as he drew a chair beside her and gently began to wipe the blood from her forehead with a moistened towel.
“I did not realize Terrence was his family name. I would have called him William, or Mr. Terrence.”
Camborne laughed. “This is what ye have to say, lass? Ye were almost shot through the heart, and ye’re talking about how to address Terrence? Och, sweetheart. I thought I had lost ye. I should have stayed close. I should no’ have let ye go out on yer own.”
“You think this is your fault? I’m a grown woman and have been independent for years. I went up the street in broad daylight and remained in sight of the inn. Don’t you dare blame yourself for something Burling has done.”
“Ye told me to pay him off. I should have done it, lass.”
“No, Camborne. I saw the hate in his eyes when he shoved me against the alley wall. No matter what we gave him, it would never have been enough. He would have squandered it and resented us for it when he came back for more and we refused him.”
She started to sit up, but he wouldn’t allow it. “Not yet, sweetheart. Let the doctor check ye over first.” But he took her hand and pressed it to his lips. “I love ye.”
Until this moment, Jocelyn had been certain that she loved him more. Hers was the greater love; it had to be. She was the first to feel it and recognize it for what it was. She was the first to admit it. She was always the one telling him that she loved him. She was the one mooning over him, sighing and swooning whenever he smiled at her.
Did any man have a more beautiful smile?
She was the one melting whenever he removed his clothes and settled in bed beside her. She was the one who sighed and cooed every time he drew her into his arms, purred every time he touched her and made love to her.
Ah, yes. She was a veritable font of contented animal sounds.
He was much less obvious about his feelings. She hadn’t been sure until now that he loved her.
Yes, he’d told her. But he was never as effusive as she was. Mostly, he’d kept his thoughts so private that she honestly believed he was still in the midst of falling in love with her. Not quite in love yet. But she’d been confident he would eventually get there, and believed he was close enough to loving her that he felt comfortable telling her on occasion that he did.
But she was wrong.
He loved her so much, she was a fool for not realizing it sooner.
If there was any good to come out of this awful incident, it was the knowledge that his heart was fully invested.
He loved her completely. It was even possible he loved her more than she loved him.
The pain reflected in his dark emerald eyes was intense. His mask was down. His protective walls had crumbled. She saw into his heart, understood the depths of his sorrow, and realized he was reliving the agonizing loss of his family, the parents and siblings he’d adored and still missed to this day. He was looking at her and despairing that he had almost lost her, too.
The possibility devastated him.
“You must tell your jeweler about the locket’s saving me,” she remarked, hoping to lessen his torment. “Won’t he be pleased? You must tell him, Camborne. He’ll understand and appreciate that it was your love that truly saved me.”
“Aye, I’ll tell him.” He emitted a shaky laugh. “Lass, do ye think the rest of our marriage might be a little more peaceful? I think I just lost ten years off my life. Indeed, I would no’ be surprised to wake up in the morning to find my hair had turned completely white.”
She laughed softly. “You would still be the handsomest man in all of Scotland.”
The doctor arrived soon afterward and confirmed she was in no danger of dying but needed bed rest for the injury to her head. He then set about properly cleansing the scrape on her brow and bandaging it. “I’ll return tomorrow to remove the bandage,” he said while packing up his medical bag.
Camborne thanked the doctor, his poised facade back in place as he escorted the man out of their suite.
But the facade came down the moment he returned to Jocelyn’s side.
“Lass,” he said with a moan as he sank heavily into the chair beside their bed, “he says ye’ll make a full recovery. Ye’re to take it easy for the next few days, and ye’re not to lift anything until the lump on yer head subsides.”
“But we were leaving tomorrow.”
“We’ll leave at week’s end instead. The constable will want to speak to ye, anyway. I left word with the proprietor that he’s to come around tomorrow afternoon to take yer statement. But ye let me know if ye’re not up to it and—”
“I’ll be fine.” She smiled up at him. “This also means Terrence will have more time with the pretty maid.”
His eyes lit up with amusement. “Aye, lass. That ought to please him.”
“Camborne, you have to promise me something,” she said, her expression now serious.
“Lass, ye know making promises to ye Granbys is no’ a good idea.”
The comment had her smiling again. “We have been difficult, haven’t we?”
He kissed her softly on the mouth. “Ye’ve been a blessing. I’m sure ye were sent to me by yer guardian angels. What happened today was a holy miracle.”
“Perhaps those angels are your family and they sent me to you,” she said, only half teasing. “They certainly could have chosen someone a bit less chaotic for you, don’t you think?”
“No, lass. Their choice was perfect. Although we’ve experienced more excitement in these few weeks of marriage than most couples have in a lifetime.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I should have been with ye. I should have been there to protect ye.”
“I will kick you if say that again.” She sighed and took hold of his hand. “Camborne, you weren’t to blame for your family’s fate, nor are you to blame for mine. Burling was not your fault. If anyone is at fault for bringing him upon us, it is me. But I do not blame either of us. He was an opportunist whose sole aim was to extort whatever he could, whenever he could, and from whomever he could. It was always going to end badly for him.”
“He almost took ye down with him.”
“But he didn’t. So get that guilty, anguished look off your face or I will get out of this bed and kick you fiercely. I’ll do it, too. My reputation as a harpy is not completely undeserved.”
“All right, I surrender,” he said with full-bodied laughter. But then his voice turned aching and raspy once more. “Just don’t ever leave me, lass. I could no’ bear it.”
“No worries. I will not go meekly. I’m too happy with my situation and have no inclination to change it. You are stuck with me.”
“The lump on yer head should subside in a day or two. That’s what the doctor said.”
She wanted to nod, but her head still hurt. “Oh, I just realized…”
“What, love?”
“I’ve lost my packages. In all the commotion, I dropped them and now they must be gone.”
“They are easily replaced.” He kissed her softly on the mouth again. “ You are not.”
“Will you sleep beside me tonight?”
“Aye, lass. Tonight and every night hereafter.”
He helped her to undress and don her nightgown, since the doctor’s orders were that she was not to get out of bed tonight. Then Camborne ordered supper brought up to their room.
“Only broth for me?” she muttered, peering under her silver salver.
“Aye, lass. And a soft bread to dip in it. The doctor felt ye should no’ overdo it this first night.”
“But you’ll stay beside me?”
He nodded. “Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
He’d propped pillows at her back, and she was at ease while he spooned the broth into her mouth. “I can do it myself, you know.”
“Aye, lass. I know. Let me fuss over ye.” He cast her a look that revealed he was still in pain over the incident.
As night fell, which it did late in the summer, he climbed into bed beside her and drew her into his arms. “Can ye manage? Am I hurting ye?”
“No, Camborne. This is perfect.”
“Are ye certain, love?”
“Quite certain.” She nestled against him, her thoughts drifting back to the night they first met.
She had been elated at the prospect of sharing two nights with this duke, and that second night on the eve of their wedding had been deliciously sinful.
But there was nothing better than a lifetime with him.
“I love you, Camborne.”
“I’ll love ye forever, Jocelyn.”
She drifted off to sleep while wrapped in the warmth of his arms and soothed by the strong, steady beat of his heart…a heart that beat with love for her.
She was going to enjoy every night with this duke.