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He blinked his eyes open for a moment and quickly closed them. “Sophie?” he mumbled.
She moved to the bed and smiled. “Yes, Nicholas. I’m here.”
“Good,” he whispered and fell back to sleep.
At least he knew she was here.
As the sun set, Sophie dined with Dominic and Mrs. Griffon. Emma took a tray in her father’s bedchamber. Sophie ate only because she knew the baby needed the nourishment.
“You will sleep in my bed tonight,” Dominic said.
Mrs. Griffon gasped.
He waved his hand at her. “Not in that manner. I will watch over Nicholas at night while Miss Reynard sleeps. Nicholas would have my head if I let her stay awake the entire night in his room.”
“Of course,” Mrs. Griffon replied.
“Thank you.” Sophie knew there was no sense arguing with him. She stifled a yawn. She would never manage to stay awake tonight. At least she could sleep knowing Dominic was watching over Nicholas.
Nicholas squeezed his eyes shut as the morning light hit him squarely in the eyes. He groaned.
“Welcome back.”
Nicholas opened his eyes to see Dominic standing by the window. “How long have I been in bed?”
“Just a day.”
“Just a day?” Why didn’t he remember it? “Did I sleep the entire day?”
Dominic approached the bed with a grin. “I may have forgotten to tell the physician not to give you laudanum.”
“Forgot?” Nicholas sneered. “Damn you, Dominic, I know you too well. You did this on purpose.”
“It was the only way to make you stay in bed to get some rest. If the physician hadn’t given you the medicine, you would have tried to see Miss Reynard yesterday. Then you would have only become more ill.”
Nicholas frowned. Somewhere in his memory, he could have sworn Sophie had been here. At his bedside. But that was madness. She didn’t even know he was in Venice.
“I suppose you’re right, Dom.”
“So how are you feeling?”
“Like hell. And what kind of host doesn’t offer his guest some food in the morning?”
His friend laughed soundly. “I suppose I can take care of that for you. Should I send Lane in?”
Nicholas rubbed his rough face with his hands. “Not yet. I may still fall back to sleep. Damn that laudanum. I hate the fuzzy way it makes me feel.”
“See how you feel after you eat.” Dominic left to order food for him.
Nicholas wondered what Sophie would say when he arrived at her doorstep. Would she be pleased to see him or angry that he followed her? It didn’t matter how she felt, she was going to return to London with him.
Except, he could not make her do what she didn’t want to do. He’d assumed if he brought Emma along that she would help convince Sophie to marry him. But what if he was wrong about her? She might not want to have any children after being deserted by her father. They’d never talked about children, except how to prevent them.
He really should marry a woman who desired children. Although, as he thought back to when she met Emma, he would have sworn she enjoyed being with her. There was only one way to determine her feelings. He just wasn’t sure he was up to talking with her today.
Damn Dominic for letting the physician give him laudanum. And damn himself for not asking what the physician was giving him. He knew better. As did Dominic. For some reason, laudanum put him into a very deep sleep more so than other people.
A footman brought a tray in for him. Ravenous from not eating and from the dreadful food on the ship, he ate everything on his tray.
