how I intended.”
“I understand what you meant, my lord.” She knew he only wanted to say that she and Rafe were sleeping contentedly. “It is my sincere hope that you and your son will find peace again soon. Be at ease, I am awake now and shall be on guard.”
She’d donned her boots and now took a moment to smooth the wrinkles out of her gown. Then she went over to peer out the window, careful only to peek from behind the drapes. Anyone standing outdoors would notice the firelight emanating from the bedchamber and easily spot someone outlined in the window.
But the villain would go unnoticed since he was standing alone in the dark. For all she knew, he could be aiming his pistol at her now. She doubted he would shoot while outdoors. Between the icy rain and strong wind, he could not be sure of the trajectory, assuming his pistol was powerful enough to propel the shot through this window.
No, the man would come at them from inside the house.
She stepped away and crossed the room to check the panel to the servants stairs. She then poked her head out the door to see if anyone was in the hallway. Satisfied no one was lurking, she bolted the door and moved the stool beside the hearth to take up her usual position.
From her vantage point she could see every access point.
The marquis’s boots thudded on the carpet as he took them off before settling his large frame on the bed. “Lass,” he said, calling to her with a soft chuckle. “Ye needn’t worry. I’ll no’ be removing anything more.”
“I’m a professional, my lord. I won’t be distracted by anything you do.”
He tucked his hands behind his head. “Is that so? Perhaps I’ll put it to the test once we’re safely through this mess.”
She could feel his grin from across the room.
“I suppose you think yourself a great wit.”
He chuckled again. “Och, lass. I’m going to miss yer smart mouth when this is over.”
I’ll miss you, too.
But she made no further response.
She was now on duty, one hand within immediate reach of her pistol and the other holding the ornate fire iron. She could clobber someone with it quite effectively.
As the hours passed, her back became stiff, but she did not like to roam too far from her excellent vantage point. She rose on occasion to toss another log onto the fire or to tiptoe across the room to peer out the window.
The villain was watching.
She sensed it.
What a madman he must be to risk his own life in the bitter cold for a delusion of love that Vera had never felt for him. Goosebumps tingled up her arms, but she wasn’t afraid. Merely on edge now that this wicked man was closing in on his prey.
The marquis could not have slept more than four hours before he was up again and slipping his feet into his boots. Rafe, however, was sleeping like a lamb. “Tell me more about yerself, Taffy.”
She was surprised by the request. What more did he need to know about her? “I’ve already told you that I spent my early years in an orphanage and was soon taken in by a good and decent family.”
“How did ye come to read and write as well as ye do? And your accent is that of an educated lady.”
“The Ralstons thought I was unusually clever for a girl and decided I ought to be schooled. They gave me a good education to prepare me for making my own way in life.”
He frowned lightly. “Did they not intend to provide for ye beyond yer childhood?”
“No. Why should they when they have nephews and nieces, and other family members to provide for? I am always welcomed for the holidays, and they send me little gifts from time to time.”
“But they do not treat ye as their own daughter,” he said with a curious sense of indignation.
Also, he’d stated it as a fact rather than posed it as a question, which meant he understood her circumstances quite perfectly. “They’ve shown me plenty of love. They raised me kindly and educated me, even helped me make a new start. I was allowed to take on their name. They treated me better than many parents treat their own children.”
“Aye, lass. I’ll not deny that. But why did they send ye off?”
“Isn’t this what children are supposed to do? Make something of themselves and start their own families? I know this is different