A fever could be symptomatic of more than a bad tooth. If the child had a putrid throat, matters could turn considerably worse very quickly. They were not yet out of the woods.
When the doctor had gone, Andrew concentrated on settling his daughter. Darius watched the depths of his love for her, as he tended her needs himself. Exhausted, the poor child fell asleep quickly. Andrew beckoned Darius out of the room. He held out his hand. “Thank you so much for your help. I’m sorry the evening ended like that.”
Suppressing his thoughts of how the evening might have ended, Darius shook his head. “What do you have arranged for the morning?”
Andrew frowned. “Why would that concern you?”
“You intend to sit up with the child, do you not?”
“Of course.” He spoke without hesitation, indicating his devotion to his daughter. “And to answer your question, I have no vital appointments tomorrow. I can work from home.”
“Good. Otherwise, I would insist on staying. Your daughter appears to accept me, so I could give you a hand. Would you like me to stay?”
The existence of the child had come as a profound shock to Darius. Andrew had not mentioned it, neither had he mentioned a wife. Now was not the time to ask, although Darius fully intended to find out.
This time Andrew hesitated. “No. Of course you should not stay. Elizabeth is not your concern.”
Darius touched Andrew’s arm, a gesture he was hardly conscious of making until he had done it, as if the movement came naturally to him. Andrew did not move his arm away, and Darius felt relief.
“I would like her to be.”
Andrew’s eyes widened, and he didn’t speak for a moment. Darius found he liked the way Andrew paused before speaking, giving himself time to think, or making the recipient wait. It gave him the gravity Darius feared he often lacked.
“Why?”
“Because caring for you obviously means caring for her, too. Besides, I like her. Even in her distress, she showed a quick intelligence.” That was true enough. He liked people who could keep up with his way of thinking, darting from one subject to another, picking up new ideas easily.
“Very well.” Andrew paused. “We must speak. Will you return tomorrow?”
“Gladly,” Darius said, another surge of relief going through him. He would have returned anyway, but to be asked meant such more to him. “I’ll call at noon, if that suits you.”
“I’m surprised you are up at that hour.”
Darius grinned. “My mother orders breakfast for noon, but usually I have been up and about for hours.” He paused for effect. “I should say mostly.”
Andrew’s laugh, muffled because of the child sleeping, radiated pure joy, as if the buttoned-down lawyer let go for a few seconds.
Darius left the house wondering if he was in danger of falling in love with the surprisingly delightful lawyer. He’d arrived knowing his attraction to him, but he’d learned so much more since.
He stopped abruptly, ignoring the passerby who cursed under his breath at Darius’s sudden halt. He could not fall in love with anyone. That way led to his ruin.
Chapter 6
Andrew awaited Darius’s arrival with unaccustomed trepidation. Would he come? Should Andrew want to see him so much? He was once again in his office, but he’d finished the most urgent of his business and he could not concentrate on anything further.
He kept running the memory of their kiss through his mind. He had never allowed his emotions to overcome him in that way before. He had taken his decision years ago and never deviated from it. Only Darius had tempted him.
And yesterday, he’d initiated the kiss. They’d spent an unconscionable long time over dinner before they’d even touched one another, but they might as well not have bothered. He had determined to send Darius away and ask him not to return. He would have to do it today.
When the bell jangled, Andrew didn’t know whether to be glad or not. He heard a familiar voice murmuring in the hall and then a tap on his door. Andrew gave his usual quiet, “Come!”
Darius wore green today, a shade of moss that made Andrew want to sink his hands into the soft woolen fabric and discover the hard muscle beneath. The way carnal thoughts sprang into his head disturbed him.
He wanted to kiss Darius again. He wanted to go into Darius’s arms and know he was welcomed, feel the enclosing strength and give his own.
“How is she?” were Darius’s first words.
The dull day brightened somewhat, and it had nothing to do with the raindrops streaming down the window. “Elizabeth is asleep. I gave the nurse orders to keep her in bed today, but the fever left her at dawn and she is much better. Thank you for the inquiry.”
Darius frowned. “Did you think I would not ask? I would have stayed, but I thought I would be in the way. You needed time to care for your daughter.”
When Andrew nodded, Darius swept back his coat skirts and sat. Already they were settling into some kind of routine, and he could not stop himself being glad of it. He wanted this house to become home for this fascinating man.
No, of course he did not. His instincts were fighting his mind now. The mind had to win.
“I should have told you about her.”
“Tell me now.”
The maid chose that moment to bring in the tea. She did not linger, other than casting a longing look in Darius’s direction. Obviously she did not know his reputation. Maybe not everyone in London did, Andrew thought wryly.
He took a reviving sip of tea before he began. “I married six years ago. My wife died in childbirth, and so I am a widower with a small daughter.” He smiled and let his tone soften. “Elizabeth means everything to me.”
“Did you love your wife?”
Andrew considered his answer. If he expressed a profound and deep adoration he would find his next task easier. Darius would think of him as someone who had wanted to taste the forbidden, but decided it was not for him. He would go on his way and leave Andrew in peace.
But Andrew hated lying and rarely resorted to it, although some opponents he’d had in court had tried to intimate otherwise. Their aspersions didn’t negate the truth. “No, I did not. But she adored me.”
He took another sip. He might as well unburden himself now. Darius was a perceptive man, unlikely to accept anything but the truth.
“I thought I could come to love her in time. I told you I was orphaned at a relatively young age. My uncles accepted my desire to go to Oxford and study for a law degree, rather than accept an apprenticeship in the drapery business. We are comfortably off, but not wealthy. Not luminaries. Merely one of the many families that make up the fabric of London.”