Page 61 of A Treacherous Treasure

Thomas seemed to walk carefully, minding where he stepped, but without any strain, as if her weight was insignificant.

“I will send for Adams, my physician, unless you have someone else you prefer.” His voice was so gentle and warm, it made her breath shallow.

“Thank you,” was all she could manage to say.

Surprisingly, they made it all the way to the house without Benjamin, Caroline, and Margaret seeing them. She could tell he was starting to get winded.

“Put me in the drawing room,” she said, as it was the nearest room.

“Very well.” He placed her on the sofa so that she was sitting up at one end, with her legs stretched out before her.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry to be so much trouble to you.”

“Not at all.” He picked up a blanket nearby and spread it over her feet and legs. He knelt beside her and looked her in the eye. “It was my pleasure to be of service to you.”

His words, and his tone, went straight to her heart. Could she be imagining this feeling, the idea that he was in love with her? Certainly, she was being foolish, but her heart was racing at the way he was looking at her.O God, please bless this good man.

Perhaps it was a strange thought-prayer, but she wanted Thomas Westbrook to have all the good things that he deserved.

“Are you always so very kind?” Her voice sounded breathless. Could he see how much he was affecting her?

He reached out and gently brushed his palm over her cheek. Her stomach turned inside out. Thomas made her feel so different from how Arthur made her feel. How dead she’d felt just a few weeks ago, but how very alive she felt at this moment.

“Rebecca, I . . .” He stopped and swallowed, then removed his hand as he leaned away from her. “Forgive me. I shall fetch your mother.”

He stood up and walked away, while she sat wishing she could think of something to make him stay, to prolong the delicious moment when he touched her cheek and gazed into her eyes.

Her heart was beating so fast, she wondered if her mother would take one look at her and know that she’d been wishing Thomas Westbrook would kiss her.

She tried to slow her breathing, praying silently,O God, help me calm myself before he comes back in the room.

~ ~ ~

Thomas’s pulse pounded in his temple as he realized how close he’d come to kissing Rebecca. Ah, those lovely lips. But he must be losing his mind. He hadn’t meant to kiss her, or even touch her. Benjamin would be so hurt. What had happened to his vow to stay away from Arthur Heywood’s widow?

He watched as her mother and his lamented over her swollen ankle as she lay on the sofa.

“Don’t worry,” Rebecca said in her sweet voice. “I will be well in a few days, I daresay.”

“Oh, I hope so,” his own mother said, “for it would be a shame to miss the ball at Beaumont.”

“Shall I send for Adams?” Thomas asked when there was a slight pause in their conversation.

“Oh, no,” Rebecca said, turning to look at him. “Please don’t bother. If I’m not better in the morning, I’ll send for him.”

He nodded. “Very well. I’ll go and find Benjamin and the ladies.” He hurried away.

As he walked through the garden, he asked himself where this was leading. How did Rebecca feel about him? When he’d touched her face, she hadn’t exactly pulled away. And he’d noticed how breathy her voice was. She seemed neither disgusted nor offended. On the contrary, she seemed just the opposite.

But what to do about Benjamin?

If he felt Benjamin had even a small chance at marrying Rebecca . . . Well, perhaps he did have a small chance, but very small. After having been married to someone as immature as Arthur, she surely wouldn’t want to marry someone as young as Benjamin. Would she?

There was no way of knowing, of course, but he hadn’t seen her show any interest in his younger brother. Rather, she seemed to try to put him off, gently but firmly letting him know that she was not interested in marrying.

That was what she’d said, wasn’t it? Her face appeared in his mind as she had said, “. . . my marriage was not a happy one, and I am not eager to enter into another marriage for a very long time.”

Arthur had no doubt made her miserable. But had she said those words for Benjamin’s benefit? Or for his as well?