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Emily sat back on the bed, exhausted. The maid offered to bring her breakfast to her room, and Emily agreed. She managed to sip tea and eat a few bites of toast before Galloway tapped on her door. Somehow he looked fresh and clean, though she knew he wore the same clothing as the day before. Only his neckcloth was missing.
“You look much better,” he said.
She blew out a breath. “I was just thinking the same thing about you. How do you look rested and...” He moved closer and she peered up at him. “Have you shaved?”
He waved a hand as though it was nothing. “How are you feeling? The doctor says your fever is gone.”
Emily sipped her tea to hide her face. So hehadbeen in the room with her the night before. Thank goodness she wasn’t having hallucinations on top of everything else.
“I will survive.”
“That good, eh?”
She gave him a rueful smile.
“The queen sent her personal coach,” he told her. “And this.” He held out a small square of paper, and Emily tookit, recognizing the queen’s hand immediately. She opened the paper and read the short note, then looked up at Galloway.
“She says no one else was injured and she spent the night in prayer for my recovery. She now prays for my safe return.”
“You are very dear to her.”
“As she is to me.” Was it her imagination or did Galloway look skeptical at her response? “I suppose we should not keep her waiting.” Emily stood and began to move slowly toward the door. Her leg ached every time she put pressure on it. She tried to remind herself that once she was in the coach, she could rest.
“Would you like to lean on me?” Galloway asked.
Emily did not want to be so close to him, but she would also rather not take a wrong step and fall on her face. “Thank you,” she said. She moved to put a hand on his arm, but he wrapped that arm about her waist and pulled her close, supporting her entire body. He was careful not to touch her leg with his, but his strength and stability meant she could put less weight on her injury.
She was thankful for his strength, but she wished it did not come with his closeness. She couldn’t help but feel his warmth and catch the scent of bergamot and oranges. She had come to love that scent, and she couldn’t seem to stop herself from turning her head to inhale it more fully. What was wrong with her? He was helping her walk, not asking to be the object of her lust.
But she did lust. She had enjoyed the marriage bed with Jack, and she missed the pleasures they had shared there. She was only one and thirty—too young to never enjoy a man’s touch again. Of course, just a few weeks ago she had been in mourning, and it was as though her senses were asleep. She had not even thought of ever touching another man. Then Willoughby Galloway had swept in and awakened her and now it wasdifficult not to think about touching him. She turned her head slightly. It was difficult not to think about kissing him.
Will looked at her, and she held her breath, wondering if he would kiss her. Instead, he gestured to the stairs. “How should we manage these?”
Emily blinked and looked down the flight of steps. It was not a steep flight, and the steps were wide. “I can hold onto the banister and make my way.”
Galloway frowned. “And if your skirts tangle about your feet, you will tumble all the way down. No, I think we’d better do it my way.”
“What is your way?” she asked.
“This.” He swept her into his arms, holding her as one might hold a sleeping toddler. Indeed, Emily had not been held like this since she was a young child.
“You can’t possibly mean to—”
He started down the steps, carrying her as though her weight was nothing. Emily closed her eyes, afraid they might tumble down together, but he was on the ground floor in a moment. Only he didn’t set her down. He continued to carry her past the servants, through the cottage, and out onto the drive, where the queen’s carriage waited.
“You didn’t have to carry me the whole way,” she said, breathless from being pressed against him.
“It seemed more expedient, and I didn’t mind.”
She hadn’t minded either. In fact, she wouldn’t mind being held by him like this for the rest of the day. She wanted to rest her head on his chest. She wanted to reach up, put her arms around his neck, and pull his mouth down to hers.
A footman opened the carriage door, and Will placed her gently inside. He helped her settle and place a blanket over her lap and then withdrew. “You won’t be sitting inside?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t betray her disappointment.
“I’ll be riding. I want to keep an eye on the countryside and make sure we don’t encounter any trouble. It was gracious of Her Majesty to send her coach, but it also makes us a target.”
Emily hadn’t thought of that, and she doubted the queen had either. She had simply wanted Lady Averley to travel back to London in the greatest comfort. She hadn’t considered that anyone who saw the coach passing might assume the queen was inside. “I see. You will take care as well, won’t you?”
He smiled. “I didn’t know you cared.”
