Awakened By The Lord’s Kiss by Meghan Sloan
Chapter 21
The first thing Henry was aware of was the pain in his stomach. It really hurt, like someone had stuck a knife in him and twisted it.
Wait a minute. Didn’t that actually happen?
Oh, it did. I was stabbed.
The fog cleared, and Henry remembered what happened. James had landed on him and had stabbed him. Then he had been hit, and he vanished. Was he hurt as well? Had he sobered up?
Henry had a feeling the hit to his head was worse than he thought because he had been more worried about James than himself.
“I think he’s waking up.”
That was a voice he vaguely recognised, but Henry couldn’t quite place it. Then a voice he did know reached his ears.
“Is he going to be all right?”
Caroline. His Caroline was here. Henry wanted to reach towards her, but he couldn’t move his arms; they just felt too heavy.
“As long as he has plenty of rest and doesn’t do anything stupid, then he should.” It was Doctor Preston. It had to be. “Make sure he stays in bed, Lady Caroline. I don’t want his health to deteriorate as well.”
“I’ll make sure he stays where he is, Doctor. And thank you for coming when you did.”
“At least it’s stopped raining. I was not happy when Klaus came to fetch me and it was still raining.”
“He’s not planning on doing that again in a hurry.”
“Let’s hope not.” Doctor Preston paused. “I hope some peace can be found. There’s too much here that can’t be laid to rest until it’s addressed.”
“Of course. I understand.”
Henry was confused. What was he talking about? It sounded like a riddle, and Henry’s head was hurting too much to solve riddles. He forced his eyes open, blinking in the muted light. Two figures were at the end of the bed, and Henry immediately recognised Caroline. She had her hair loose about her shoulders, and even with his glazed vision, he could see how exhausted she looked.
He licked his lips and swallowed.
“Caroline?”
Caroline turned, her eyes widening when she saw him staring at her. She hurried to his side, taking his hand as he tried to lift it off the bed.
“I’m here, Henry.” She sat on the bed, managing a smile as her eyes shone with tears. “I’m here.”
“Welcome back to the land of the living, Lord Bannock.” Doctor Preston gave him a nod. “It’s good to see you conscious.”
“It feels good to be conscious.” Henry’s throat felt like he had swallowed sand. “What were you talking about, Doctor? What did you mean that there is too much to be addressed?”
Doctor Preston’s smile faded, and he glanced at Caroline, who gave him a slight shake of her head.
“I’ll not say anything more. I need to go back and see how Lord Beaufort is.” He gave Henry a slight bow. “Rest well, My Lord.”
He left the room, and Henry looked up at Caroline. She smiled at him and leaned over to kiss his forehead.
“I’m glad you’re awake.”
“You kissed me in the wrong place.”
Caroline shook her head.
“Nice to see you haven’t lost your wit.”
“That wasn’t wit.” Henry managed to raise his arm – God, it was heavy – and gestured at his mouth. “You really kissed me in the wrong place.”
Caroline linked her fingers with his. Then she leaned over and kissed him. Henry felt a stirring in his gut as he accepted the kiss. Even in his bed and pain rippling across his stomach, he still desired her.
“I thought you were dead,” Caroline whispered against his mouth before drawing back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “When your eyes rolled up like they did, I thought …”
“It’s going to take more than a knife to the gut to get rid of me.” Henry’s hand was still feeling like he was controlling something that didn’t belong to his body as he laid his fingers over his stomach. “Doctor Preston did a good job patching me up.”
“You should be thanking your servants for that. They were the ones who saved your life and tended to you.”
Henry blinked.
“The servants did?”
“Yes.” Caroline smiled. “You might think they see you like everyone else does, but they do care. And they were very efficient.”
Henry had not expected that. He had thought he would either be waking up still on the floor of the drawing room or finding himself at the pearly white gates with St Peter. At least he was lying on something soft, and Caroline was certainly a more welcoming sight than an angel.
“What ... what happened? Where’s James?”
Caroline’s smile faded a little.
“He ... James is not looking good.”
“What do you mean?”
Caroline swallowed. She looked like she wanted to run. Henry reached for her.
“Caroline, talk to me. What happened to James?”
“After he stabbed you, I ... I hit him with a poker to get him off you. While we were busy with you, he managed to get out the door and vanished.” Caroline looked at her hands twisting in her lap. “The servants went out looking for him, and they found him a couple of hours ago, unconscious under a tree just out of the grounds.”
“Did he get caught in the storm?”
“Doctor Preston thinks the stab wound in his pelvis had something to do with him finally collapsing. That and the head wound from when I hit him ...”
“Stab wound?” Henry stared. “But ... but I didn’t …”
“We know you didn’t touch him. It looked self-inflicted.”
“He stabbed himself?”
“More like it was an accident when he fell on the dagger. It wasn’t deep, but stumbling through the mud and undergrowth, the wound became infected. Even the storm couldn’t clean him.” Caroline bit her lip. “He’s done what he can, but he thinks with where the wound is, he’s not confident that James will pull through. It’s possible that he nicked a vital artery, and he’s been slowly bleeding out.”
Henry felt like he had woken up but into a strange dream. He had expected James to be parading around like he hadn’t done anything wrong, calling Henry a wimp for passing out over a stab wound. He had not expected to hear that James had run and was on death’s door himself.
“He ... he’s going to die?”
“Doctor Preston is leaning towards that. Like I said, he’s done what he could …”
“Do our parents know? Do Mother and Father know that James is …?”
“They came back shortly after James was carried up to his room.” Caroline grimaced. “I have to confess that I lost my temper with them.”
“You lost your temper?” Henry frowned. “On my parents?”
“They spoke as if they expected the mess they walked into to be your fault. Immediately, they suspected you. And I couldn’t stand it.” Caroline shook her head. “I snapped. I’m not proud of it, but I scolded both of them for speaking about you like that. They weren’t willing to believe that James was the one who had done everything in the past. It wasn’t until the army …”
“Wait, what? The army?”
“They turned up shortly after your parents did. To say your father was shocked that they were coming to arrest James for desertion was an understatement. I’m surprised he didn’t have a seizure.” Caroline paused. “All the servants had been protesting your innocence and standing up for you. There’s not a soul in this house who isn’t on your side.”
Now Henry really felt like he was in an odd dream. That couldn’t be happening. Since when did the servants stand by him and say he was not the monster his parents made him out to be? This had to be a different reality.
“You’re looking shocked, Henry.” Caroline touched her hand to his chest. “Did you not expect that?”
“After what I’ve grown up with, no.” Henry frowned. “I thought they would turn it around on me. The number of times they’ve witnessed James commit whatever atrocity and I’m always blamed, I thought it would be the same.”
“They’re more loyal to you than you think. And the Cavalry Staff Corps put Lord and Lady Cornwall in their place. The charges and the things they told them about James’ time in the army have given them pause for thought.”
Henry should have been happy about the fact James had been found out. Satisfied, even. But instead, he just felt a hollow sensation in his chest. He didn’t have much love for James anymore – it was practically gone – but the tiny sliver that was still there had him wanting to protect James.
You protected him long enough. James is now in danger of losing his life because he never took responsibility. And that is not your fault.
Caroline was looking pale, watching him with a smile as her eyes shone with the rest of her tears.
“I was so scared when I saw you with that knife in your belly, Henry,” she whispered. She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I thought you were going to die.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m not going anywhere yet.” Henry managed to lift his arm and brushed his fingers across her chin, smiling at her. “It’s going to take more than that to get rid of me.”
“I hope so.” Caroline leaned over and kissed him. “I love you. And I’m glad I get to say that now. The thought of you dying and me not having said that …”
“Don’t say anymore,” Henry cut in gently. “You’ve said it now. And that’s what matters.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.” Henry smiled and cupped her jaw in his hand. “There were many nights while I was at sea where I lay in my hammock thinking about you, wondering if you were happy. I often imagined myself offering marriage and you accepting. But with how things were between us, I didn’t think it would ever happen.”
Caroline stared.
“You wanted to marry me? Even though I was horrible to you?”
“I suppose I’m a glutton for punishment. I want something I cannot have.” Henry brushed a thumb across her lips. “I wish I could change things, Caroline; I really do. But I don’t regret how I feel about you. I’d marry you in a heartbeat if you’d allow me. Make up for the time that was taken from us because of lies. Whatever I could to make you happy.”
Caroline was still looking bewildered, her mouth open.
“Was that a proposal? Or were you just saying that?”
“A bit of both, I guess.”
“Shouldn’t you be asking me properly?”
Henry groaned.
“Don’t make me get out of bed and go on one knee. That’s too much for me.”
Caroline smiled.
“All I ask is that if you are going to propose marriage, do it properly. The words will be fine.”
Henry had played this moment over and over in his head, but they had always had a romantic quality, not with him lying in bed like this. There had been a few dreams where Caroline had laughed and mocked him before walking away, and those had left Henry in a cold sweat.
From the way Caroline was looking at him right now, there was no chance of her walking away. Even so, Henry’s hand tightened around her fingers.
“That’s hurting, Henry.”
“I just don’t want you to disappear on me.”
“I’m not going to disappear.” Caroline clasped his hand between hers. “Just ask me.”
Why were the words hard to get out now? Henry swallowed.
“Caroline Folton, you are the only woman I want in my life. The one I want to wake up to in the morning and the last one I want to see when I go to sleep. I know my career as a sailor is going to make that difficult, and you could be left at home for months on end, but knowing you’re at home waiting for me is enough. If you say you’ll marry me, you’ll make me feel like an admiral of the fleet.”
Caroline laughed.
“That is an interesting way of doing it, I must admit.”
“Please don’t laugh. I was serious.”
“Forgive me; I just wasn’t expecting that.” She leaned over and kissed him. “And the answer is yes. I will marry you. And I don’t care if you being at sea keeps us apart. I’ll be there for you.”
The relief flooded through Henry, and he tugged her down for another kiss, drawing it out until he needed to breathe. Then he hugged her, Caroline falling onto him with a squeal.
“Henry, careful!”
“I just needed to do that.” Henry allowed Caroline to sit up. “But now there’s something else I need to do. And it will require me getting up.”
“What?” Caroline frowned. “But Doctor Preston …”
“I know; he told you that I’m to stay in bed and rest. But there’s something I can’t do when I’m lying here.” He reached for her. “I’m going to need you to help me up.”
“Tell me what you’re going to do first. I’m not helping you, otherwise.”
“I’m going to see James. I need to see my brother.”
Henry hadn’t planned on that, but he felt the need to go and see James. If he was going to die, he didn’t want James to go without saying a few words. Even with his resentment towards his brother, Henry needed to get a few things out.
Caroline didn’t look happy about that.
“I’m not sure about this, Henry.”
“Just do this for me, Caroline. Please.”
Caroline looked like she was going to refuse him. But she nodded and eased the sheets off him.
“All right. At least your servants left your breeches on.”
“You didn’t want to help get me dressed?”
“Don’t make me force you to stay here, Henry.”
Henry sighed. He was looking forward to Caroline helping him with his clothes. Preferably out of them. He slowly sat up, grimacing as he tried not to keel back over again.
“Just find a shirt for me, and then see if you can find a servant. I don’t want you falling over.”
“I will.” Caroline hesitated. “Are you sure about this, Henry?”
“I’m sure.”
James had done a lot of things, and Henry did feel some resentment towards his brother. But it didn’t take a smart person to know that James was dealing with many demons, and he had dealt with them in the wrong way. He could hold onto that anger at not having the relationship he wanted with his parents or having the woman he loved much sooner.
Or he could give himself some peace and forgive him. If this was going to be the only time he got to forgive James, Henry was going to take it.