She recognized Nathan’s room. She had only been in it a few times, but she knew it as well as she knew her own. And she was lying, wrapped in what must be a dozen blankets, before a blazing fire. It was Nathan’s unshaven face that had scratched her cheek, the weight of his body that kept her from moving.
My God! They were both naked! They lay in the middle of the floor like man and wife. Delilah couldn’t immediately recall how she’d come to be there, but she was certain she wouldn’t have forgotten her awn wedding.
When the door opened and Mrs. Stebbens entered, Delilah flushed crimson from head to toe.
“Praise be!” Mrs. Stebbens cried. She was so overcome she had to sit down on a chair to wipe the tears from her eyes. “There was a time I thought you’d never blush again in this world.”
“How did I get here?” Delilah asked. She was mortified to be caught like this by anybody, even kindly Mrs. Stebbens who didn’t seem to find anything unusual about it, but there was no use being modest now. She had to know the truth.
“Mr. Trent found you on the river road well-nigh frozen solid. We wrapped you in quilts, put you next to the fire, and poured brandy down you, but nothing worked until Mr. Trent lay down beside you. It would have been more proper with another female, but I didn’t figure he would do you any harm, not with you cold as a mackerel and me popping in with hot water bottles every half an hour.”
“Not to mention the fact I have an aversion to taking advantage of women when they’re lying at death’s door,” Nathan muttered, still half-asleep. “I know you’ll say it’s just the English coming out in me, but I can’t help it. We’re funny that way.”
Delilah blushed furiously all over again.
“I’ve got to get up. I can’t stay here, she protested.
A wicked, teasing light came into Nathan’s eyes. “Do you want to go first, or shall I?”
“Seeing as you’re both mother-naked, I can’t see that it makes any difference,” Mrs. Stebbens remarked.
“Since you’re the invalid,” Nathan said to Delilah, “I shall rise first.”
Both women reacted to his throwing off a layer of quilts with shocked protests.
“Does this mean you want to get dressed while I watch?” Nathan teased.
“No, it doesn’t,” Delilah assured him.
“You’re a wicked man,” Mrs. Stebbens said with a chuckle.
“It means you have to cover your eyes while I get up,” Delilah explained. “Once Mrs. Stebbens has helped me dress, she will leave, I’ll cover my eyes, and you can get dressed.”
“How do I know you won’t peep?”
“As if I would,” Delilah replied hotly.
“I was warned about American women. I was told they could be shockingly familiar.”
“It would be hard for any woman to be shockingly familiar around yo,” Delilah stated. “By the time you were done with your familiarizing, there’d be nothing left to shock.”
“Give over you two. You’re not getting dressed, Miss Delilah. You’re getting in that bed and you’re staying there until I say you can get up. You came as close to dying as a mortal can and still be in this world. Mr. Trent will turn his eyes away while I help you into the bed.”
“Am I not to have even a tiny peep?”
“Not a one,” Mrs. Stebbens told him, punctuating her comment with an indulgent chuckle.
“After sleeping on the floor and giving generously of my heat, I think myself sorely used.”
“If you want to really be sorely used, you just peep,” Delilah threatened.
It took just a moment for Mrs. Stebbens to help Delilah into a thick, flannel gown and get her into the bed. She immediately pulled all but one of the quilts off Nathan and spread them over Delilah.
“Now that I’m of no further use, you don’t care if I freeze to death,” Nathan said.
“You’re more like to suffer a heat stroke,” said Mrs. Stebbens, fanning herself. “I don’t know how you stood it all night.”
“Neither do I,” Delilah said, no trace of amusement or mock seriousness in her voice. “I owe you my life.”
“If you keep me lying on the floor, you’ll have my life in exchange” It was easier to joke than to yield to the emotion which threatened to overwhelm him. Relief and happiness that Delilah was well made it difficult for him to speak.
“I’m going,” Mrs. Stebbens said. “Don’t be long in dressing.”
“How will I be sure she won’t look?”
“Because she’s a decent woman,” Mrs. Stebbens declared. “And decent women don’t have any interest in men’s bodies. Make sure you keep your eyes closed good and tight, Miss Delilah. I wouldn’t put it past that man to do something disgraceful just to shock you.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Delilah was deliriously happy. For two days Nathan had barely left her side. Though he had temporarily moved into the room he had used before his uncle’s death, he treated his own room as though it were still his. He came in and out at any hour upon the flimsiest excuse. If Mrs. Stebbens thought Delilah might like a thick soup, nothing would do but for Nathan to inquire personally. He checked the fire every few minutes to make sure it never fell below a roaring blaze. If Delilah wanted to take a nap, he had to tuck her in. If she wanted to sit in the drawing room, he would wrap her in twice as many quilts as she needed and carry her downstairs so she wouldn’t tire herself.
“I never thought I could be cossetted too much,” Delilah told Mrs. Stebbens after Nathan had spent ten minutes deciding the room was too large to heat properly and that a screen he remembered seeing in the attic would help protect her from drafts. “After being the one expected to do the cossetting, I find it surprisingly uncomfortable. And I thought I would like it so much.”
“Fair unsettles you, doesn’t it? Don’t worry. It won’t last. He’ll come to himself soon enough.”
But he didn’t. The weather made going out impossible, so nothing prevented Nathan from giving Delilah his full attention. She finally decided if she didn’t soon find something for him to do, he would set her recovery back a week.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something, but I don’t know if I should,” Delilah said.
“You know you can ask me anything.”
“It’s about that painting of me, the one in the other room. I found it when I was putting away your things.”
To her surprise Nathan wasn’t angry at all. Rather, he looked like he’d been caught in a guilty secret.
“Why didn’t you tell me you could paint?”
“I suppose it’s something I wanted to forget.”
“Why? I can’t wait for you to finish it.”
“I doubt I’ll touch it again.”
His tone of voice upset her. It wasn’t angry or petulant. It was final, as if after a long struggle Nathan had finally put something behind him.
“I don’t understand.”
Nathan pulled his chair up to the bed. He took her hand and squeezed it tight.
“I guess it’s about time I told you a little about myself.” From the expression on his face, Delilah decided he wasn’t going to enjoy making these revelations.
“My father decided if his sister could marry the son of an earl, his son could marry the daughter of one. When he found I could paint, he decided I should become a portrait painter. Gainsborough and Reynolds were making huge amounts of money just then. More important, they had entree into almost any house in London.
“He sent me to an expensive school and hired the best art teachers he could afford. By the time I was twenty-two, I was being asked to paint portraits for people who couldn’t afford Gainsborough or Reynolds. Mother decided I was to marry one of the Earl of Glencoe’s daughters. Fool that I was, I didn’t see anything wrong with the prospect. I even obligingly fell in love with her.”
“Who was she?”
“Lady Sarah Mendlow. She was the fourth daughter and even more beautiful than you. She was willing to marry me as long as I was r
ich. Unfortunately, my father chose that time to lose his business and with it the only reason Sarah had for marrying anyone like me. I would have understood if she had simply broken off our engagement. I was never so deeply in love I didn’t realize she wouldn’t have married me without the money. But she felt shamed, and she determined to ruin me. She chose a time when the house was full of guests to accuse me of attempting to force myself upon her. She even ripped her gown to make it appear I had tried to take her against her will.”
Delilah didn’t need Nathan to tell her the humiliation he must have endured. His face went blank, like a mask, all lines of expression smoothed away, and his voice was even, low pitched, dead, as if he were telling a story that bored him slightly. His eyes, focused on something she couldn’t see, were empty.
He was like a living shell.
“The earl, shouting that he would ruin me, had me thrown out of the house. By the next day all my commissions had been withdrawn. There wasn’t a footman in town who would allow me to leave my card. It was as if I had never existed.”
Nathan was silent for a few minutes.
“I went to work for my father, as I should have in the beginning. I may be a good painter, but I’m a good businessman, too. Unfortunately, we discovered this too late. We were at war with the colonies then, and other merchants refused to give them credit. My father thought the colonies would lose and all accounts would be collected by the British army. He gave credit to everyone who wanted it. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late. I held things together for a time, but in the end we lost everything. Even though I begged him not to, my father wrote his noble brother-in-law, but the earl refused to answer his letters. He even put an announcement in the Times saying he would not be responsible for my father’s debts. My parents died of shame and poverty.”
“So that’s why you hate Americans so much.”
“I used to think it was their canceled debts that ruined my father, but I realize now he ruined himself. He was too concerned with pushing me into the upper class to pay proper attention to his affairs. And he made a bad business decision because he wanted to make a lot of money fast.”
“And your painting?”
“I only began the portrait when I thought I would never have you.”
“I think you ought to finish it. Not just because of me. You ought to be very proud you can create something as beautiful as that.”
“Do you really like it?”
“Very much.”
“I’ll think about it. In the meantime, it’s time for your nap. You’ll never become strong again without your rest.”
“But I’m always sleeping. Can’t I stay up a little longer?”
“Not today. If you continue to do so well, Mrs. Stebbens says you can start getting up for a few hours tomorrow.”
“Mrs. Stebbens has nothing to do with it. It’s you, and don’t think I don’t know it.”
Nathan grinned, not at all abashed at being found out. “We worked it out together.”
“Bosh,” Delilah said, but she took her nap.
Jane came over in an ox cart.
“I want to see my sister-in-law,” she announced to Mrs. Stebbens. “I know she’s here.”
“Sit yourself down,” Mrs. Stebbens said. “You don’t look like you ought to be out and about.”
“I’ve got to see Delilah.”
“You might as well take a seat. Nobody’s going to see Miss Delilah without Mr. Nathan says so.”
“She’s my sister-in-law,” Jane began.
“Then you ought to keep her at home instead of letting her go about in blizzards. Sit down. I ain’t going to hurt you.”
Jane sat.
“Now you enjoy a nice cup of coffee while I go find Mr. Nathan. It’s a nasty cold day out, it surely is.”
Nathan entered the kitchen in less than a minute. Mrs. Stebbens discreetly remained in the butler’s pantry.
“I’m Jane Stowbridge, and I’ve come to take Delilah home,” Jane announced the minute Nathan stepped through the door.
Nathan didn’t bother to fence. “How did you know Delilah was here? I’ve strictly forbidden anyone to breathe a word.”
I guessed. I got a message from Reuben, saying he was all right and not to worry but that I was to keep Delilah from going after him again. I knew then she’d left Pelham. This was the only place between our farm and Pelham she could be.”
“As long as she was alive and able to get here.”
“Nothing’s happened to Delilah, has it?”
“Yes, something did. She nearly died.”
Jane went dead white. “And now?”
“She still has to spend most of the day in bed, but she’s recovering. I don’t think she’ll have any permanent damage, but I’m worried about her lungs. She has a persistent cough.”
“I’ll see she gets the best possible care once I get her home.”
“You may see her, on conditions, but she’s not going anywhere until I’m satisfied she’s fully recovered.”
Jane’s expression hardly changed, but her indignation was easy to see. “May I remind you she’s my family, Mr. Trent. Not yours.”
Nathan’s eyes grew hard. “Pity you didn’t remember that before you let her go off to Pelham.”
“I was ill. I didn’t know.”
“It was your business to know.”
No one, most especially a stranger, had ever taken Jane to task for anything. She could only stare at Nathan in surprise.
“I’m taking care of her now. As soon as she’s strong enough, we’re going to be married.”
Jane’s body stiffened, and her eyes grew cold and hard. “I wasn’t aware she had accepted an offer from you.”
“It seems to me, ma’am, that all you are aware of is your husband and your hatred of anybody he hates.”
“I won’t sit here and be talked to like this.”
“You will if you want to see Delilah. I won’t have you upsetting her by making her feel it’s her duty to be home, waiting on you hand and foot. You’re going to tell her she should stay right where she is until she’s completely well. You’re going to tell her you can do without her for a while longer. And you aren’t going to tell her anything about Reuben that will upset her.”
“And if I don’t agree?”
“You’re welcome to some more coffee before you leave.”
Jane studied Nathan carefully, but she couldn’t see much of the man Delilah had described. He looked just as cold and implacable as Ezra Buel ever did. It was easy to believe they were kin.
Jane made up her mind. “I dislike you, and I don’t trust you, but I’ll do as you wish because I believe you have Delilah’s best interest at heart. And because I believe you will do what you can to insure her reputation is unharmed.”
“Delilah has done nothing to be ashamed of.”
“After being here alone with you for a week, I doubt the rest of the world would agree.”
“The rest of the world can go to hell, which is where I’ll send anyone who tries to hurt Delilah.”
“Tm her sister-in-law. I love her.”
“Prove it by trying to think of her first instead of Reuben or yourself.”
Nathan didn’t think much of Jane, but he had to give her credit. She’d taken his accusations without flinching. The woman had plenty of courage. Why hadn’t she used it instead of bleeding Delilah dry?
“Jane,” Delilah cried happily when Nathan ushered her sister-in-law into the room. “You shouldn’t have come to see me. What about your condition?”
Jane was shocked to see Delilah looking so pale and weak.
“I’m fine. I came in the cart. How are you feeling?”
“Much better. If Nathan’s not after me to rest or eat some soup, Mrs. Stebbens is up here making sure I don’t get out of bed for as much as a glass of water. I’ll be thoroughly spoiled by the time I’m better. I won’t be fit for work. How is Reuben?” Her face tightened with worry.
“He’s fine. I don’t know where he is just now, but I’ve heard no reports of fighting.”
Delilah relaxed. “Maybe there won’t be any more. Now tell me about the boys. Daniel was trying so hard to act like a little man.”
Nathan left the two women to catch up on family news, but he made a note of the time. Jane would get twenty minutes and not a second more, even if she did have to travel nearly an hour each way.
Still, he would have to make some pretense of feeling more charitably toward Jane. Delilah loved her family, and if he didn’t want to give her pain, he must do his best to get along with them. But the Stowbridges would have to do some of the giving. And they weren’t going to keep plaguing her the rest of her life. If he had to, he’d take Delilah someplace where she’d never see them again.
“She seems weak still, but she’s in good spirits,” Jane said when she met Nathan in the downstairs hall.
“She nearly died. She’s lucky to be alive.”
“I appreciate the care you’ve given her.”
“Damnation, Nathan cursed. “I didn’t do it for your appreciation or out of Christian charity or any other laudable reason. I did it because I love her. Why is it so hard for you and your husband to believe that?”
Jane’s expression didn’t change. “At least you’ve made her stay in bed. It’s more than I could have done.”
Nathan’s attitude softened a little. “It’s easier here. At home she would want to help. Here she knows we won’t let her lift so much as a spoon.”
“Can I see her again?”
“Come anytime. I’ll send the buggy for you. I only ask that you do not tire or upset her.”
“It may seem hard for you to believe, Mr. Trent, but we love her, too. We just see her differently. I’m used to her being a tower of strength. You see her as someone fragile to be protected. I suppose both of us might be right.”
“It doesn’t look the way I remembered it,” Delilah said. Nathan had brought his easel into the bedroom so he could put the finishing touches on her portrait.
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