I was afraid she had tried to return home but come to harm along the way. I found her sitting on an outcropping, just sitting there staring at the ocean while the rain poured down on her.”
“Oh, my. I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “She was frozen and soaked to the teeth by the time I got her home. My father summoned the best doctors in Inverness, but it was to no avail. She wanted to die. It was a blessed release for her.”
She reached out and took his hand. “It must have been so hard for you and Rafe.”
“Aye, mostly for Rafe. She and I, we’d had no marriage. I worried about the boy losing his mother. I tried to give him all the attention and love that I could. My brother Gareth and his wife did their best, too. They have children of their own and Rafe often spent time with them. He also has two doting grandfathers. My father and Vera’s. I feel worst for her father. He still lives with the pain of knowing how unhappy his choice in a husband made his beloved daughter.”
“It is tragic.”
“Aye. But it has also made me appreciate the importance of marrying for love. Ye are the one for me. Ye bring me joy, lass.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I hear Rafe scratching at the door. May I let him in?”
“Yes, of course.” She took the cloth he’d been pressing against her wound and held it there herself while he made certain she was decently covered by the sheet and coverlet before he strode to the door and opened it.
“I want to see Taffy,” the boy said, ignoring the enormous blood stain blotting the carpet as he rushed to Taffy’s side. “Careful, lad. She’s hurt, so ye must not hug her or jump atop the bed.”
She cast him a bright smile. “Why, Master Rafe. You are my hero.”
“I am?” He was excited to see her and hopping up and down beside her.
“Yes, I think I must give you a hundred points for playing the hide and seek game so well. You were brilliant.”
Gavin smiled, for the lass had such a pure and joyful way with his son.
“Papa! I have a hundred points!”
Gavin’s heart filled with a happiness he’d never known before.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
GAVIN REMAINED BY Taffy’s side while the doctor stitched her up. Lord! He’d never felt so helpless. He could do no more than hold her hand while she endured the pain of that needle repeatedly dug into her shoulder.
“It could have been so much worse,” she told him, the brave lass reassuring him when he was the one supposed to be giving her comfort.
“Aye, lass.”
The doctor gave her a dose of laudanum and instructed Gavin when next to give her another dose. “I’ll return in the morning, my lord.”
Taffy was drowsy and still in pain, but managed to fall asleep shortly after the doctor left. Gavin had dressed her in one of his shirts for the sake of modesty, but did not try to put her left shoulder, the injured one, through the sleeve.
Once she was asleep, he allowed the servants in to remove the damage and restore the room. There were still several loose ends to clear up, the most important being how that devil Gordon had gotten in here again? And where had he gotten the maid uniform?
While everyone went about their tasks, Gavin also asked for hot cocoa and ginger cake to be brought up for his son. He wanted to keep matters as normal as possible for him, although who could overlook this lunacy?
Within the hour, the bedchamber was restored. The debris cleaned up and a new carpet laid out. All the while, Taffy slept her drugged sleep. After finishing his cocoa, Rafe climbed into bed beside Taffy. “Papa, can I hold her hand?”
“Aye, son. But ye must do it very carefully and not make a fuss if she does no’ take it. She’s badly hurt and I dinna want ye to do anything that gives her more pain.”
He nodded earnestly. “I won’t, Papa.”
Gavin was proud of how cautious his son tried to be. He placed his little hand in Taffy’s but did not grab it or squeeze too hard. Then he gave a squeal of delight. “Papa, look.”
Taffy had curled her hand around his.
This is how his little boy fell asleep, his face scrunched against Taffy’s good shoulder and his hand wrapped in hers. Just as it should have been with