Tempting Taffy (House of Devon #8) - Meara Platt Page 0,25
was no substitute for a doting mother. She sighed. No, if what the marquis had told her was true, Vera had never been particularly warm to the boy.
The boy had even said it himself.
She slipped off her boots. Despite feeling quite uncomfortable, she settled atop the covers beside Rafe. “Take off your hat, Taffy,” Rafe said with a giggle, no doubt finding it very strange that someone wore a head covering to bed.
Did these Scots never wear a night cap to bed despite the Highlands chill? Obviously, the boy was not in the habit of wearing one since he found hers so funny. The marquis – oh, heavens – slept naked, so she doubted he’d bother to put a cap on his head when the rest of him was…she cleared her throat, suddenly feeling the air between them turn charged.
Wordlessly, she took it off and tucked it over the drawstrings of her apron.
She was afraid to look up at the marquis, but felt his gaze on her, and it was hot and intense. Why would he care what she wore or did not wear on her head?
“Papa, read to me now.” Rafe scrambled atop his covers and snuggled his little body against hers, so she moved her arm under him to hold him in an embrace.
How was it possible to fall in love with father and son in the span of a day? But she was glad the boy felt comfortable with her. Everything she’d taught him was planned to be something fun, so that if the situation grew extremely dire and he had to run while she held off a madman, he would remember and know exactly where to go and hide.
He’d racked up so many points finding his way to the library, he could now do it in the dark. And he knew the best places to hide, which had been the point of the hide and seek game they’d played amid the bookshelves.
Her eyelids turned heavy as the marquis began to read in his smooth, rumbling brogue. There was something so comforting about the deep resonance of his voice. Of course, to be sinking into a mattress as soft as this one also felt heavenly. She’d never known such luxury.
She had trained herself to be a light sleeper, but the effect of a sumptuous meal, a warming fire, and now lying in the most comfortable bed in existence while the handsomest man in existence read to her, and the sweetest boy in existence was nestled at her side, had her out cold before he’d finished reading the first page.
The next thing she knew, someone was gently shaking her awake. “Lass, it’s midnight.”
She recognized the deep, honeyed smoothness of the marquis’s voice. His hand felt warm and gentle on her shoulder. She nodded and forced her eyes open. “Thank you, my lord.”
A fire was still burning in the hearth, no doubt recently replenished, for there was a soft, golden glow about the room. His smile was also soft as he gazed at her. “I hated to wake ye, lass. I think ye needed the rest. Ye looked so peaceful.”
She sat up and rubbed her eyes, then took another moment to glance around the room and finally at the window. “Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”
“Och, no. And I’ve been keeping careful watch. The snow has stopped, but there’s still an icy drizzle. There’s no moon either, for the clouds are a thick blanket covering the sky. They’re not breaking up, either, or moving out to sea despite the howling wind. I canno’ see a bloody thing outside. Nor can I imagine a man surviving all day in that weather. Even this villain would need to find shelter, and we know all the outbuildings are under watch. Chances are, he returned to wherever he’s been hiding out, and will come for me tomorrow.”
“Perhaps. I hope so. Not that I wish him to get anywhere near Hartland. But every day he lingers in the vicinity increases our chances of catching him before he ever gets close to you and Rafe.”
She swung her legs off the bed and reached down to find her boots. “I’ll be out of your way in a moment, my lord.”
“Blessed saints, lass. Ye’re not in the way. Ye looked like an angel curled up beside my son. I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight in my bed.” He groaned as he ran a hand roughly through his hair. “That did not come out quite