Redemption of a Fallen Woman Page 0,73

my sweet.'

'Do I?'

'You'll feel better with some hot food inside you. Shall you object to dining in here?'

She returned a wry smile. 'I think it would be best under the circumstances.'

He grinned. 'So do I. The sight of you like that would cause a local scandal.'

She thought that the same could be said of him, but ventured no reply.

He went to the door and summoned Jack, who had been loitering in the corridor for the purpose, and sent him off for some food and a jug of mulled wine. A short time later the servant returned with the wine and the intelligence that the food would follow. Harry relieved him of the jug and goblets and, after delivering an injunction to take himself off and find something to eat, bade him farewell and shut the door. Then he poured two generous measures of wine and handed one to Elena.

'Drink this. It'll warm you.'

The wine was sweet and fragrant with cloves and cinnamon. She took a sip and swallowed, feeling the hot liquor carving a path all the way to her stomach. It was also dangerously heady, rather like the man opposite. Slowly the combination of inner and outer warmth began to take effect with a painful tingling in her hands and feet.

Seeing some of the colour return to her face Harry felt more reassured. It had been no lie when he said she'd given him some anxious moments earlier. His heart had been in his mouth. For a little while he'd really feared he might not find her. The thought of the alternative turned him a lot colder than the river ever had. In that moment he truly understood how much she meant to him. He also knew he wasn't going to fail her as he'd failed Belen.

A discreet knock distracted him. When he opened the door this time it was to see Concha bearing a large tray. On witnessing Harry in such a state of undress her eyes widened. She shot a swift glance past him to Elena and, on seeing her mistress in like case, sent a conspiratorial smile that way. Then she handed over the tray and left them.

Harry pulled the table closer to the fire and laid two places. Then he set out the dishes and drew up two chairs. The tray bore a tureen full of rich and savoury stew. It was accompanied by a loaf of fresh bread. It was a simple meal but it tasted delicious and they ate hungrily. Gradually the chill receded and was replaced by contented warmth. Afterwards they lingered over the rest of the spiced wine. Harry leaned back in his chair, surveying her over the rim of his cup.

'Better?'

'Very much better,' she replied.

'You look it.' It was an understatement, he thought. Her colour had returned and, now that her hair had dried, an unruly mass of dark curls tumbled over her bare shoulders. The linen towel clung to the contours of her figure and, since it finished just above her knees, left a pleasing amount of shapely leg on view.

Aware of his scrutiny to the last atom of her being, she realised that she should have felt embarrassed or ashamed, but she didn't. Those feelings were long gone. When Harry looked at her it engendered a very different sensation.

'Thanks to you,' she replied. 'It's thanks to you that I'm here at all.'

'I beg you will not mention it.'

'Not mention it?' She regarded him incredulously. 'You saved my life, Harry, and risked your own to do it.'

His gaze locked with hers. 'You are too precious to lose. I did not know how precious until that moment.'

With an effort she managed to keep her voice level. 'You don't know how much it means to hear you say that.'

His heart performed an unusual and risky manoeuvre. He hesitated, fearing to ask the next question but knowing he was going to anyway. 'Then am I to understand that the sentiment is returned?'

'Yes, it is returned. I wanted to tell you before but, in view of what had happened, I didn't know how.' She rose from her chair and moved round to his side of the table. Taking his face in her hands she bent and kissed him. 'It took an icy bath in the river to bring me to my senses.'

Harry put an arm about her waist and drew her on to his lap. 'I think I am the one who needed bringing to my senses.'

Her arms slid around his neck and