Page 59 of His Beauty
As he led Bonnie carefully down the steps, he saw that, indeed, his brothers and the workers had stayed clustered around the presses. Good.Good. He blew out a breath as they reached the main floor and turned her in his arms.
“Are ye well? Do ye want to sit down, Bonnie?”
She clung to him, and he knew from experience how taxed she must be. “I will soon, but I needed to speak to you.”
“Aye, anything, love.” He led her to a window seat and sank down beside her. “What do ye need?”
“You.” He didn’t think it was unintentional, from the way she smiled. “I just need you.”
“Ye have me,” he whispered gruffly, pulling her into his arms and tucking her head under his chin, careful not to jar her. “Does it hurt verra much?”
“My head?” Her question was a bit muffled, until she shifted as she brushed her fingers across her scalp. “No, not anymore. I am glad to be free of the laudanum.”
“Aye, I ken that feeling. The pain will go away eventually, and ye’ll gain full range of motion as well. But the fog the laudanum causes is sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse.”
She was quiet for a long moment, before she pushed away, sitting upright, her hand still against the side of her head. He studied her, worriedly.
“Do I look as bad as all that?”
“Nay, of course no’, Bonnie lass.”
Her smile was a bit sad. “I am not though, am I? I am not a bonnie lass anymore.”
She looked strange without hair, true, and the scabbing covered part of her forehead and one ear, although the damage was all external, thank God.
Soon, she’d have scars, and those scars would be as distinctive, interesting, and perfect as her.
Smiling gently, Lyon inclined his head and brushed a kiss across her lips. She whimpered slightly and leaned closer, so he did it again and a third time, fighting the urge to crush her to him, knowing he couldn’t hurt her further.
Sighing softly, he straightened, but held her gaze. “Love, ye’ll always be my bonnie lass.”
Her expression slowly changed from dazed to surprised to awed. “Always, Lyon?” she whispered.
He realized what he’d confessed, and his lips twitched. “I love ye, Bonnie. I’ve wanted to tell ye so many times in the last month, but I wanted the moment to be perfect.”
Tears instantly filled her eyes, and when she blinked, one dropped down her cheek. “Is this the perfect moment then?”
Smiling now, he reached up and gently wiped away the tear with the pad of his thumb, treating her like porcelain. “Perhaps the moment willnae ever beperfect, love. Perhaps we just have to accept the life, the moments, we’re handed, andmakethem perfect. I love ye, my bonnie lass, and I want to make yer dreams come true.”
Another tear spilled, and he caught this one as well.
“My dreams?” she whispered.
Time to tell her what he’d done. “I ken ye dream of publishing yer book and of publishing other books of that ilk, and I want to support ye.”
“Grimm and Sons burned.” Her voice caught on a sob. “You told me yourself, Lyon. It was not salvageable.”
“Nay, it wasnae, but the presses and the building were insured, and that meant we were able to…”
He gestured to the rest of the great hall where the men still worked. She blinked, confused, her lips tugging into a frown as she tried to understand. “You…bought new presses?”
He stood, then gently tugged her to her feet. “Love, I bought and modified new presses and had them shipped here. We’re all set up to start a new publishing house, right here in Oliphant Castle. Ye can make all the management decisions, so long as ye allow me the chance to fiddle with the mechanics from time to time.”
Her smile seemed wobbly as she reached up to brush her fingers against the hank of hair which had fallen over his ear. He’d been letting it grow back out.
“You…started a new publishing house, Lyon?”
“I startedyerpublishing house, love. It isnae mine, butyers, and ye can do what ye wish with it. Just…let me be a partner perhaps?”
