Probably just bats fluttering back to their nest after feeding all night.
After a brief and hushed discussion, Marshall led the way with a lit torch toward the kitchen, not the beach.Matthew took Miss Walden’s hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist.
Vincent wanted to object to Matthew behaving with such familiarity, especially so soon after Gert’s suggestion that Miss Walden could solve her problems by marrying Matthew … until he realized that Bickford and Kendall had each taken one of his elbows.If he were to lose his balance, as seemed quite possible if he turned his head too quickly, Uncle Digby’s two long-time retainers, who were nearly as tall and broadly built as Vincent, were the only persons present who stood a chance of keeping him from falling on his arse.
“Steady on, my lord,” Kendall quietly encouraged as the ground rose and they began the turn.
They soon emerged into the kitchen, startling the scullery maid, who was adding more fuel to the fire.
“Do I need to send the cub to fetch the surgeon?”Mrs.Bickford stared at Vincent while gesturing at Marshall with her big wooden mixing spoon, unfazed at the trail of people trooping into her kitchen from the secret tunnel.
“No,” Vincent said at the same time Matthew said, “Yes.”The two friends glared at each other.
Vincent pulled out a chair at the kitchen worktable and sat down.“I just need one of your restorative cups of tea,” he said to the cook.He must have taken a harder blow to the head than he thought, because he didn’t even think about pulling out a chair for Miss Walden until he saw Matthew do it.
“And perhaps a little something to eat?”Miss Walden carefully kept her hands in her lap, hidden under the table.
“Quite right, dearie.Coming right up.”
Within moments, Vincent cradled a warm cup in his hands that held more brandy than tea.After several gulps, he set it down to help himself to the butter, blackberry preserves, and still-warm bread that the scullery maid set on the table, while Mrs.Bickford chopped and stirred and cooked something that smelled divine.He nodded approval when Miss Walden helped herself to a thick hunk of bread, and barely noticed that Matthew sorted out getting rid of the extra people.
Marshall, Kendall, and Bickford returned to their duties.Or their beds—Vincent didn’t much care.
Matthew took another chair at the kitchen table, pouring himself a cup of tea with only a splash of brandy.“We need to talk,” he murmured, glancing between Miss Walden and Vincent.
“Not on an empty stomach.”Vincent leaned back in his chair as Mrs.Bickford set heaping plates in front of him and Miss Walden, then quickly dished up a third for Matthew.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t have a surgeon see to that?”Miss Walden pointed at Vincent’s head.
Vincent stopped himself from shaking his head just in time.“I’ll have Lawrence take a look at it when I go upstairs.I’ll let him decide if it’s beyond his skills.”He held up his teacup in one hand and gestured at the plate of food with his other.“I think this is all I need.”
“Right,” Matthew said under his breath.“It’s not like you need sleep.”He gave a pointed glance at Vincent’s hands, both of which were adorned with fresh scratches.
Miss Walden froze in the act of taking a bite.
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Matthew said, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.He turned his head toward Vincent, a wealth of meaning in his stare.
“Yes, we have everything under control.”Vincent returned his friend’s stare with equanimity.
They ate and drank for several minutes, the only sounds coming from Mrs.Bickford and the scullery maid preparing the morning meal for the rest of the household, which Vincent and the others had interrupted with their arrival.He was mildly surprised that Miss Walden rejected any but the smallest splash of brandy, and only allowed that in her first cup.He smiled to see that she displayed a healthy appetite.She nearly matched him bite for bite, though hers were dainty and his were decidedly not.Apparently being trapped in a cave-in stimulated one’s appetite.
Dawn was streaming through the windows as they climbed the stairs.With unspoken accord, they all paused at the window on the landing and stared out at the waves.Being able to see where the sky and sea met on the horizon miles in the distance instead of cave walls no more than a dozen feet away made Vincent appreciate the view in a way he never had before.
He insisted on escorting Miss Walden to her door, and as Matthew insisted on following him, their conversation could not go the direction Vincent wanted.
“Are you certain you are well?”He resisted the urge to smooth the hair back from her face.After everything she’d been through this night, her braids were still firmly pinned in place, though a few strands had escaped.
“I shall summon Ruby to help me put myself to rights.”Her smile did not seem forced, though she had dark circles beneath her eyes from a sleepless night.
He wanted to kiss her.To hold her close and feel her heart beating next to his, to comfort and cradle her body with his as he’d done in the cave, far too briefly.To spread healing balm on her hands.
Matthew cleared his throat.
He settled for raising her hand and dropping a kiss on her knuckles, and watching the flush steal across her cheeks until she closed the door behind her.
When he entered his own room, Lawrence sprang from the chair by the fire where he’d been dozing.“My lord!”
“I am fine, as you can see,” Vincent reassured him, spreading his hands out to his sides.
