Page 63 of The Rake’s Convenient Bride

She smiled at him. “I’m here,” she repeated.

“I love you.” He gripped her hand, as if he could convey the depth of his feelings with his grasp on her. “I love you.”

Her eyes sparkled. “I know.”

His brow furrowed in thought as he combed through his mind to recall when he might have told her. “Did I…had I told you already?”

She shook her head. “I already knew. I thought back on the way you never cared what others thought when I tripped, or how you intentionally pulled the focus of others off me to spare my feelings when I spilled or did something clumsy. I thought about how you made it a point to spend time with me every day before we even decided that being publicly visible together would be more convincing. And in the time we spent together, I could tell you enjoyed our conversations as much as I did.” Her teeth sank shyly against that full bottom lip he loved so much. “And there are other ways in which we appear rather compatible…”

He knew exactly what she implied with such a statement, and he grinned.

“Was that why you came here?” she asked. “To tell me?”

Here?

Where the devil was he?

For the first time since he’d woken, he looked about at his surroundings. The room was awash in delicate sea-foam green, the furniture carved with flowers and vines with accents of gilded petals.

A woman’s room.

“Did I make it to Spinster’s Space?” He sat up slightly and the room spun. “Is this your bedchamber?”

Wincing, he lowered himself back down on the bed.

Elizabeth reached for him, gently guiding him back to the plump pillow behind his neck. A sigh escaped him as he sank into it once more, allowing the softness to cradle the weight of his aching head.

“Spinster’s Sanctuary,” she corrected with a laugh. “And you did not make it entirely.” Her mirth faded as her expression sobered. “Devil’s Snare appeared in the yard and took me directly to where you had fallen and hit your head.”

Ah, that explained the pain radiating from the base of his skull. “A tree stump?” he deduced.

“You remember?” she asked.

He smirked. “No, but it is the only thing Devil is afraid of.” He placed his palm at his brow. “How long have I been here?”

“Only an hour,” Elizabeth soothed. “The doctor just left and said you will need rest for a few days.”

A few days?

He would need to notify Bess, to let his secretary know to manage the estates without him.

“I’ve already sent word to your grandmother to let her know,” Elizabeth said, as though reading his thoughts.

Jasper relaxed. The estate would be in good hands with Bess. In fact, it might be in better order when he returned back to London. The woman knew how to run things in perfect order.

“If I wasn’t so certain Bess would never do anything to hurt me, I’d assume she put that tree stump in my path to ensure I remained here for several days.” He chuckled, imagining just how far Bess might go otherwise to secure his match with Elizabeth. His happiness.

“You may stay as long as you need.” Elizabeth held his hand.

She remained thus, at his side, her small hand curled around his, keeping him company until he fell asleep. When he awoke again, he found her quietly reading one of the volumes of Sense and Sensibility he’d purchased for her, and she read to him until he drifted into slumber once more. Every time he woke, she was still there, meeting his sleepy gaze with a smile and asking after what he might have need of.

“No one has ever been so attentive toward me before,” he said as she handed him a fresh cup of tea, steeped just a minute longer than necessary, exactly how he liked. “My grandmother tried, but I think at that point, I was much older and not inclined to be coddled.”

“Why is that?” Elizabeth asked in that frank way of hers.

He held the teacup in his hand, letting its heat sink into his palms. “I think I was too angry, which I’m sure you’ll ask me about next.”

Elizabeth tilted her head in agreement. “I’d wager this had something to do with your life before you left for your grand tour. You brushed off my question about it when we took the carriage ride in Hyde Park, and I didn’t want to pry…”