Chapter Seventeen
Gideon’s mind hazily wandered on a wave of the heavenly scent of lavender and rosemary.
He hadn’t felt this relaxed in years and he knew without any doubt that he didn’t wish to wake up from the dream he was experiencing.
Coolness swiped over his forehead and down his scarred face to be replaced by fingertips, gently massaging his temples.
Yes… if this was heaven, then he never wished to awake.
A lock of his hair was brushed back from his forehead before a cool cloth was placed on his brow.
Once more he felt a profound sense of contentment.
And then he heard the sweetest of voices that surely must be that of an angel.
Slowly he opened his eyes to see none other than the beautiful woman who had been filling his mind of late.
His very own Angel. She was sitting at his bedside reading from a book.
His movement upon the bed must have alerted her that he was now awake because she quickly closed the tome and set it on the nightside table.
“Thank goodness you’re awake, Sir Knight,” she whispered with what sounded like relief.
He tried to answer her but realized his throat was parched. “Water…” he managed to mutter.
“Yes! Of course,” she remarked, helping him to sit up in the bed before reaching for a glass from the nightstand and filling it with water from the pitcher beside it.
He took the glass with trembling hands and she placed hers over his to assist him. It was then he noticed that the sheet had slipped down from his chest. He quickly grabbed at the linen, knowing how inappropriate this situation had become.
“You shouldn’t be here alone with me, Angel,” he murmured once he found his voice, “although I am grateful to any assistance you may have given me in my recovery.”
“I haven’t minded taking care of you with Dr. Thornberry’s additional help.
I brought things over from the local apothecary that I thought might aid you from the headaches you’ve had in the past and your wound.
I was told you and Major Dawkes got into a brawl after I left,” she said while tears welled in her blue eyes.
“I don’t know how I would ever forgive myself if I had been indirectly responsible for you, or anyone, to suffer. ”
“You were hardly at fault.” Gideon watched her when she put both of her hands over her face in anguish. He took one of them and with his thumb made a slow lazy motion across her skin. “You must know I would do anything to protect you.”
“But… why? You are not responsible for me and we barely know one another.”
The pad of his thumb—his whole hand, really—tingled as he continued to skim it over the softness of her skin.
Unable to stop himself, even though he knew it was inappropriate, he turned her hand over and placed a kiss at the base of it, at her wrist. He could sense when her pulse began to race as his lips lingered there.
He lifted his eyes to hers and began to search their depths.
“I think there is no sense in denying that there is some kind of a connection between us. Your pulse tells me you feel it too,” Gideon spoke, his tone husky in the moment of intimacy that had fallen between them.
“When I am well, will you allow me to escort you throughout the Season to see if we might suit?”
“I… I don’t know. I had planned to return home after the incident with the major,” Angel replied in a shaky tone. “I am not confident that he won’t try something else in my future.”
“All the more reason for me to stay close to your side for your own protection.” Gideon gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Won’t you give us a chance, my lady?”
“I’m not sure.” Her voice shook with her uncertainty.
“We can take this one step at a time and go as slow or fast as you’d like.
We can even keep our nicknames for one another if this is what you want.
We can learn about one another day by day with no expectations, other than allowing me to ensure your safety.
What do you think?” He hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath waiting for her answer until she finally replied after several uncomfortable moments.
“Very well, Sir Knight, but only after Dr. Thornberry has given his approval that you are well again. Your head wound required several stitches.”
He gingerly touched his head and felt where the doctor had sewn his wound back together. “Then I will look forward to getting out of here and being allowed to accompany you around town,” he replied and for the first time in a long while he felt hope for his future.
She gave a light laugh. “I can see for myself that the prospect brings you much joy,” she declared, reaching over for a jar on the nightstand.
She put some of the ointment on her fingers, rubbed them together and then came to sit on the edge of the bed to massage his temples.
“By the way… you really don’t need that stupid patch over your eye, Sir Knight.
If you keep it covered all the time, how am I to gaze adoringly into those magnificent green eyes of yours? ” she said with a cheeky smirk.
A gasp escaped him as he immediately reached for the patch that always covered his right eye to find it missing. “It’s a ghastly scar for any woman to gaze upon.”
“We should get this straight from the start, Captain,” she began with a warning look, “I am not just any woman. There is nothing wrong with your eye. You should see the world for all its beauty without covering a scar that only shows the sacrifices you made for our country. I will be proud to be seen with you just as you are.”
“You will?” he asked, aghast that he might have just found the one woman who could accept him for who he was… a wounded soldier with a prideful character that could only be tamed with the right lady at his side.
“Yes, Sir Knight, I will.”
The smile she gave him melted the ice surrounding his heart. Yes… she truly was an angel sent from the heavens above. How did he ever get so lucky as to have found her?