A part of him wanted to jest with her about it now, laugh about how mortified her mother would be, but he saw she wasn’t in the condition to do so. Besides, jesting with one’s spouse was something a couple in love did. They were not. They could not be. He had to remember that.
“Leonard?” she murmured when she opened her eyes again, a weary expression marking her face. “I suppose I am ...sick.”
He gently relayed the physician’s diagnosis to her. “The doctor said it’s just a common cold, Sally,” he murmured, trying to offer her some comfort amid her illness.
Sally’s lips curved into a weak smile, but Leonard could see the worry lingering in her eyes. “I’m sorry I can’t accompany you to Joanna and Kenneth’s,” she whispered, her words painted by the telltale hoarseness that came with such an illness.
It took him a moment but then realization dawned on Leonard as he understood her implication. She thought he was still going to visit Kenneth and Joanna.
“I have no intention of leaving you. In fact, I’ll be staying right here by your side.”
Confusion flickered across Sally’s features, but Leonard wasted no time taking charge of the situation.
“Rest. I will send word to them, and I’ll let your parents and Rosy know you are unwell, but I’ll be sure not to alarm them. Now, let me arrange everything.”
He rang for Mary and swiftly instructed her to have everything the physician ordered brought up as soon as Mrs. Farnsworth gathered it along with a pillow from his own chamber.
“Pillow?” Sally muttered as he returned to her side.
“I will be over there, in the wingchair,” he pointed but then shook his head. Sitting over by the fireplace would do no good. He rushed across the room and grabbed a hold of the chair’s back before dragging it across the floor. Once he had it at her side, he dropped into it and smiled at her.
“See? I’ll be right here. I might even get some of my work done, there are ledgers to look at - and before you censure me, it will not be breaking our agreement as you are ill.”
She flashed a small smile but was soon overtaken by a sneeze. This was followed by a grunt and a sniff. Leonard handed her a handkerchief and turned away while she took care of her nose, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.
“I do feel...rather...dreadful,” she admitted at last.
“Take the laudanum, Sally,” he urged softly. “I’ll be here when you wake up. You’re not alone.”
She nodded and allowed him to measure the laudanum Mr. Sterling had left behind. As he helped her drink it down, she placed her warm hand on his, and a jolt almost knocked the glass right out of his hand.
Once she’d drunk the medicine down, Leonard sat beside Sally’s bed while she drifted away to sleep. The sight of her resting form filled him with a sense of protectiveness he had never experienced before. He wanted nothing more than to shield her from harm and be her guardian in this moment of vulnerability.
But alongside that desire was a nagging sense of guilt and unease. Leonard knew he should maintain some distance that their closeness would complicate matters further. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side, not when she needed him the most.
As he watched her sleep, a soft sigh escaping her lips, Leonard felt a surge of tenderness wash over him. He reached out and gently brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead, his touch light and tender.
Leonard closed his eyes briefly, allowing himself to bask in her presence.
With a heavy heart, Leonard leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Sally’s peaceful face. He wished, not for the first time that he could shed the burden of his heritage, that he could be free to love and protect her without the specter of his father’s sins looming over them. But for now, he could only stay by her side, offering whatever comfort and support he could muster in the face of uncertainty.
CHAPTER22
Sally
As Sally stirred from her fitful slumber, she was enveloped in a fog of discomfort. The room swam before her eyes, and she shivered uncontrollably despite the warmth of her blankets. Every movement felt arduous like she was wading through thick mud.
In the dimly lit room, shadows danced across the walls, casting eerie shapes that seemed to taunt her weakened state. Sally struggled to orient herself, her thoughts muddled. She extracted one hand from beneath a mountain of blankets and felt how cool the air was compared to her hot body. She had to have a fever. As another shiver went through her, she pulled her arm back in and tried to move to her side. However, something weighed her down.
Confused, Sally peered up over the blankets and realized what it was. Leonard. He was fast asleep beside her with one arm over her waist. Was this real? Or was she having some kind of fever-induced hallucination?
“Leonard?” she whispered to herself, she didn’t raise her voice more because she didn’t want to disturb him. Moreover, she worried he would move away if he woke up. What if he hadn’t meant to hold her like this? What if he’d slung his arm over her in a state of restlessness or deep slumber?
Besides, she liked feeling him close to her. A part of her wanted to turn and sling her arm around him also, but she found her body did not want to move. Instead, she turned her head to the right, inhaling the scent of Leonard’s cologne envelope. Blinking through the haze, she tried to focus on his familiar face, her lips parting in a feeble attempt to speak.
How odd to be next to him right now, how odd to be here, close to one another as husband and wife should. Alas, the moment was interrupted when her body was rocked by another sneeze, which seemed to send her entire body into alert. Her mind raced, and her head throbbed once she sealed herself again, a megrim overtaking her.
“Sally?” Leonard said beside her. She’d woken him with her sneeze.
