Page 26 of The Thief
Bella laughed as Scarlett walked away.
Scarlett walked toward the nursery door, her curiosity piqued when she heard a soft voice coming from the nursery. The door was open and the soft sound floated out to her, her eyes widening as she realized it was Alastair singing.
Slowly, she walked up to the door, looking through the nursery entrance and seeing Alastair slowly pacing around the nursery while he sang softly to the infant in his arms. The baby fussed and cried and Alastair gently bounced the baby gently in his arms, the child calming finally.
From where she stood, Scarlett could see Alastair gently rub the baby’s head, soothing the baby as it fell asleep. Alastair sighed softly and slowly walked over to the baby’s crib, resuming singing as he lowered the baby into the bed. Transfixed by the sight, Scarlett didn’t have time to move away from the door and met his eyes as he turned to leave.
“Is everything all right?” he asked, smiling as she realized she was staring and flushed a deep red.
She nodded and took a step back as he came out of the door, shutting it behind him.
“I was coming to find you,” she said, taking another step back and putting more distance between them.
“Is the baby all right?” she asked, unable to think of anything else to ask.
He nodded. “She was a little fussy earlier. I gave her a small dose of pain medicine and hopefully that will help her relax and sleep. Trying to make her comfortable was my main priority.”
Scarlett sighed, her heart filled with sadness for the small baby that was in so much pain.
“I’m glad you were able to make her feel at least comfortable so she could sleep,” she said.
“She needed to sleep so I was trying to find the best way to help her. She is little and when children are in so much pain, it makes my heart ache for them,” he sighed. “I can’t save everyone, but I try my best. Especially when they are children. They are our future and I want to try as hard as I can to preserve it.”
Scarlett nodded. “Are you finished here? It’s time for us to leave. Our carriage is waiting outside for us.”
Alastair nodded and held out his arm to her. “I need to go back to my office to retrieve a letter left for me by a messenger.”
Scarlett took his arm and they started down the corridor that led back to Alastair’s office.
“Who sent you the message?” she asked, looking up at him as they walked.
“I don’t know. There wasn’t any information about who it was from. I asked Bella to find out and she was told that the messenger didn’t know either. He was just told to deliver it.”
Scarlett’s curiosity was piqued now.
“It wouldn’t have been from Everett because he would have delivered it himself,” she said, nodding as she walked by the nurse’s station.
“The only other person I could think of would be from your uncle.”
“My uncle? Are you certain?” she asked, her grip on his arm tightening.
He rested his hand on hers and whispered, “It will be all right. We will make sure that nothing will happen.”
“How can you be sure?” Her voice shook with fear as she spoke.
“There is no way to guarantee anything but I will protect you. You can be sure of that.”
Scarlett stared up at Alastair and when he returned her gaze, she saw that he was indeed serious.
They arrived at his office and Alastair opened the door, stepping back to let her in.
He checked a few papers and grabbed the waiting letter, looking up at her and asking, “Would you like me to read it now?”
“Wait until we are in the carriage to ensure our privacy.”
He nodded and slipped the letter in his coat pocket, holding out his hand to her. She took his hand in hers and stood, slipping her arm into the crook of his elbow and letting him escort her out of the office to their waiting carriage.
Once they were in the carriage, Alastair took out the letter and opened it, the look on his face confirming their suspicions.
