Page 53 of Rescued from Betrayal
Guiding her back through the door, he led her right to her bed. “Get under your covers, and I will stoke the fire to fight the chill.”
She did as he bade, watching him remove a few lumps of coal from the small bucket kept by the hearth. After he fed the fire, he turned, and catching her gaze, actually smiled.
“There. Hopefully after I plug up the draft under your door, you will be able to rest well the remainder of the night.”
“And what of you?”
He shrugged. “I will be fine.”
“I do not believe you. That room is not fit to sleep in.”
“Then I shall find one of the guest rooms.”
“You would wake the servants in the middle of the night to make up a bed for you and light the fire?” Her mother may have been so thoughtless about the comfort of those she employed, but she’d not considered Sir Nathaniel to be quite so oblivious.
He tipped his head to the side. “I had not thought through the logistics of the plan.”
Before she could lose her nerve she reached out and pulled back the blankets on the other side of the large four poster bed. “There is enough room here for both of us.”
He stepped back. “I could not encroach on your privacy like that.”
“You are not. I am offering to save your life.”
“My life?” His smirk was contagious.
It brought a lightness to the whole uncomfortable night.
“Yes, your life. I fear you will freeze to death before morning and I am not quite ready to be a widow.”
His smile faltered a bit. “It would give you the chance at freedom.”
“Get in the bed, Sir Nathaniel,” she ordered.
He took a step, then glanced back at the door. “I need to shut it and stop the draft. Let me fetch a blanket from my room.”
Melior nodded, hoping this was not a ploy at chivalry. Now that she had offered a warm place for him to sleep, his refusalwould feel like a slap in the face. At the same time her mother’s words assaulted her mind.
Over the last four weeks she’d begun to question everything her mother had ever taught her. Even so, she was not ready to test the truthfulness of this particular topic. Had Sir Nathaniel thought she’d offered more than simply a warm place to sleep? Her heart began to pound in her chest as she realized what she had done.
Nathaniel grabbed another pillow off his bed. If he stayed in his room long enough, would Melior eventually fall asleep and not realize he hadn’t returned? Unlikely. The door was still letting in the cold air.
Not that he disliked the idea. He liked the idea of sleeping by Melior immensely. But that was the problem. He doubted he could sleep knowing she was next to him.
She had felt so good in his arms, but there could be nothing more. He did not want to damage their fledgling relationship.
The wind picked up and whipped into his room. He grabbed the blanket and rushed to close the connecting door—with him on the other side.
Melior was still very much awake, her blue eyes peeking above the coverlet she held over her nose. He jabbed the blanket into the crack below the door—the relief from the cold almost instantaneous.
He made his way to the other side of the bed, Melior having taken the side closest to the door. She did not move as he lay his pillow down and crawled in beside her, careful not to touch her in any way. It was bad enough that simply being next to her warmed his blood. He did not need to start an inferno.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
“You are welcome. Just remember who saved you from certain death next time you find yourself cross with me.”
He chuckled. When had she become so cheeky? “I shall endeavor to do so.”
Silence settled between them as Nathaniel willed himself to relax. Melior did not move and for a moment he thought she might have fallen asleep, but after listening to her uneven breathing he was certain she was as uncomfortable as he.
