Page 98 of The MacGregor's Lady
And on the train north, she could lay her head on his shoulder, pretend sleep, and know she could not be censured for her presumption.
“You are not asleep.”
She would not be believed in her deception, either, but Hannah made no move to sit up. “I ought to be asleep. I ought to be asleep for a week after dancing with all of your brothersandSpathfoy. You Scots take your celebrations seriously.”
“We do.” He wrapped her hand in his, the gesture having at some point become automatic for them both. “Our betrothal ball was the first time many of the clan have seen me since I was a boy. They grieved when I was declared dead, they rallied to Ian’s side, and before they could rally to mine, they needed to see me, to know I would not abandon them again.”
“I was hoping you’d come to that conclusion.” Hannah certainly had, and while she’d been pleased for him, pleased to see the sheer number and vigor of his extended family, she’d also grieved.
An earl she might have allowed herself to remove to Boston, but not a laird. Not when there were so few left who could live up to the name.
“How are you feeling, Miss Cooper?”
Subject changed. She silently thanked him for it.
“Glad to be on my way to your home. One hears the Highlands are beautiful.”
“They’re bloody cold is what they are. I think it’s one reason the Scots leave home so successfully. Even Canada looks like a fine bargain—the winters are no worse, and there’ll be no clearances to part us from our property there. A few bears and wolves are nothing compared to the threats we endure from our neighbors to the south.”
He had preferred bears and wolves to home and family. Hannah took some comfort that his priorities had shifted.
His thumb stroked over her knuckles. “May I ask you some medical questions?”
Ah.Thatsubject.“Of course.”
“Are you having to use the necessary more often than usual?”
She considered her answer. “I am not.”
“Are your breasts tender?”
She might have replied in several ways, some of them flirtatious. “Not particularly.”
“And your dresses are still fitting?”
“They are.”
“You aren’t abruptly sleepy at odd times of the day?”
“I would say I’m tired generally, from touring the city with you or from being up half the night dancing.”
He fell silent, though his point was clear: there might be a baby.Theremightnot.
In this too, he held her hand. On the strength of that connection and trust, Hannah shared a thought that had plagued her since they’d left London. “I’m told there are herbs, Asher—”
“No, my heart. Those herbs are not reliable, and they are not safe, particularly not as a pregnancy advances. I would never ask such a thing of any woman, much less one I cared for deeply.”
The immediacy of his reply and the reason for it both warmed her heart. The next words slipped out, no caution or forethought to them at all. “Asher, I don’t know what to do.”
His lips grazed her temple. “Was that so hard to say?”
He sounded proud of her, but she didn’t dare look into his eyes, not when her uncertainty had been made audible. “I have never voiced such a sentiment to anybody, not even Grandmama.”
“Would you like to say it again? In some endeavors, practice is advisable.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
He was quiet, reassuring her with his steady presence and with his warmth rather than with words. “I was married before, you know.”
