Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
The light. Merciless light slipped through the cracks between the curtains and Peregrine squeezed his eyes tight against the invasion.
Pain pounded in his shoulder, a flash of memory pulling him out of his daze.
Blinking, he opened his eyes, assessing his surroundings. Bright, buttery yellow wallpaper surrounded him, and lux golden fabrics hung over the bed. Soft linens brushed against his skin as he moved.
His hands skimmed over his half-naked torso, the movement producing pain in his right shoulder.
He was half-naked in an unfamiliar bedroom.
His arm ached from his injury, the source of which was a blur of memories.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Lifting his good arm, he propped himself up, careful not to lean on his injured limb.
A wave of memories clashed within his mind.
He had been shot.
Mercury nearly finished the job of killing him.
Then somehow, he was transported to this mysterious place. Perry frowned, his brows gathering as he tried to make sense of the images floating in his mind. His heart raced within his chest as panic seized him. He must find someone. Anyone. To give him answers.
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood and immediately regretted the decision. His vision blurred around the edges, and he braced himself back on the bed.
“Oh, dear! No, you mustn’t stand, my lord. ’Tis too soon,” a maid fretted, rushing to his side and helping him slip between the sheets once again.
“Where am I? Who are you?”
The small, round woman chuckled. Her dark brown hair was tucked back into a severe chignon at the base of her neck.
Fluffing the pillows behind his neck, she then stood back and placed her fists on her hips, as though assessing him beneath her gaze.
“You are at Fermoy, my lord. That dear horse of yours brought you right to our doorstep. Right on the brink of death, I would say you were,” the woman explained. “I’m the housekeeper, Mrs. Higgins, and I’m so pleased to see you awake. We’ll have the doctor brought round to see you.”
Leaning back into the pillows, Perry closed his eyes, exhausted by the mere action of standing. A thought slid into his mind, and he sat up in bed. A whisper of a memory from his drug-addled recollections. Surely, it was a dream.
Could she be here?
“Is there another woman in residence? I remember someone else caring for me,” he asked while Mrs. Higgins bustled about the room tidying. She placed a stack of fresh linens on a velvet bench that stretched against the foot of the bed.
“Ah, you must be thinking of Aamina. Yes, she did help watch over you at night when I was resting. I keep her busy with household chores. You won’t see her much,” she explained. “Can I bring you some food, my lord? Some broth would help strengthen you.”
Before he could bring himself to reply, the servant dismissed herself and went in search of sustenance. Dropping carelessly on the pillows, Perry grunted as a shot of pain went through his arm, a stark reminder of the purpose of his stay on the estate.
Gripping the sheets until his pain subsided, he grew lightheaded at the thought of being within the walls of her domain. The place where she once walked the halls.
Closing his eyes, he could picture the soft swish of her gowns as they moved fluidly around her beautiful legs.
The touch of his hand on her skin could elicit the most delicious gasps that he couldn’t help but want to taste for himself.
The smile on her face as she turned to watch him as they gallivanted like fools through the meadow.
And they were fools.
Perry smiled at his reverie.
Because they thought they were free.
They believed the joy might last.
Turning his head to the side, Perry’s gaze wandered to the window, overlooking a large expanse of gardens.
How proudly she had shown him each and every one of her prized flowers.
How willing she had been to share all her treasures with him.
Some would say she was far too generous.
The agony of her loss clung to him still.
Trapped somewhere in a world between pain and gratitude for having been able to share those precious moments with her, Perry turned away from the excruciating scene.
It was torture to remember how they laughed together.
The memories were too tempting to ignore and his mind refused to look elsewhere.
Closing his eyes, he could see her there, standing proudly in her garden, a darling touch of pink coloring her cheeks.
If paradise existed on earth, then surely he had found it that summer.
“Do not pick the roses for me. They are meant to live,” she had said with a giggle, shaking her head and turning her lips into an adorable pout.
“Where is the crime in wanting to give a beautiful woman a flower? It will wilt over time if I leave it here. Better to enjoy it.” A smile teased Perry’s lips.
“This is not a courtship.” She turned her gaze back to the roses, stroking her fingers delicately along the bright pink petals. “You have no reason to give me flowers.”
They strolled along between rows of scented flower beds. The summer rains had given them a reprieve, and the blooms were flourishing in the warm sunshine.
“Surely we can pretend sometime? Like we are not otherwise engaged? For the mere fun of it?” Perry presented her with the fragrant rose, twirling it between his fingers with a mischievous smile until she snatched it from him.
She gave a delicate snort. “Pretending will only prolong the pain when we must return to our normal lives. Where is my maid? I swear, she was walking with me before you snuck into the garden.”
Like an ardent lover, he hurried to walk beside her, maintaining an appropriate distance while his heart thudded in his chest.
“I paid Aamina to disappear. Please, do not punish her.”
She laughed, bringing the delicate blossom to her nose. A soft blush crept up her neck, and he reveled in the beauty of the dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Peregrine was no fool. He knew he was in love.
He also knew it was a doomed love.
Both were promised to marry another.
At last, he understood that the heart wanted what it wanted.
He could no more stop his love from flowing than he could stop the next rainstorm from soaking the countryside.
He would happily suffer the pain of separation if it meant one more day with her.
One more moment. One more kiss. And he had taken as many of those as he could.
“Very well. You can accompany me, but you’ll have to catch me first,” she teased, lifting her skirts and racing into the maze of hedges.
Flushed and breathless, he chased his delicious quarry, knowing the bounty that awaited him once they were away from prying eyes.
They were masters of hiding away the secret love that flourished between them that carefree summer.
And he was an expert in catching his prey.