“Not yet,” he replied, and captured her lips in a kiss that rendered her unable to think of anything except him for quite some time.
An hour later, her body still hummed from his tender ministrations. It felt wonderfully scandalous to lie in his arms in bed while it was still daylight, with people seated in the kitchen downstairs. But, given what they had both recently been through, she felt certain that the men were allowing them time to themselves. For that, she could only be very grateful.
The sound of hooves on the driveway drew both of their attention. Charlie sighed and kissed her before he rolled out of bed. Gloriously naked, he was a sight to make any female heart swoon. She snuggled beneath the covers and watched him. All muscled and sinew, he stood almost God-like, bathed in sunshine.
“It’s Sir Hugo,” Charlie declared with a grin. He spun around and smiled even more at her. “It’s Sir Hugo.”
“Thank heavens for that,” Hetty declared as she shoved her way out of bed and began to gather her clothing.
Charlie frowned at her, as he dragged his breeches on. “What are you doing?”
“I am coming too.”
“I can introduce you later,” Charlie reasoned. “You need to rest.”
Hetty sighed. “I am not going to be left out of any discussions you have, Charlie,” she warned firmly. “I don’t intend to become involved in any actual work. I just need to know, for my own piece of mind, what’s happening.”
She didn’t add that she would go quietly out of her mind if she had to wave him off with a smile on her face, and then sit and wait for him to come back without knowing what he was doing.
Although he was aware that he had a lot to learn about his wife, he knew her well enough already to be aware that when she had that stubborn tilt to her chin, she would stand firm against any argument he might put forward. The flash of defiance in her eyes confirmed his suspicion but, rather than be perturbed, he felt rather proud of her for her resilience.
She tried not to squirm when he stared at her as though he had never seen her before. She expected him to object. She expected him to argue. She expected him to agree with her and leave.
What she didn’t expect was for him to kiss her tenderly on the lips and smile at her.
“I don’t intend to cut you out of anything, darling. I will wait for you,” he murmured.
To her consternation, he sat in the chair beside the bed, propped his boots up on the covers, and leaned back in the chair to wait for her to finish dressing.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Is it Sir Hugo?” Hetty gasped when they finally arrived in the hallway downstairs, and could hear the low murmur of voices in the study.
He smiled at her, and nodded. “The others are with him.”
Hetty slumped with relief, and leaned into the hug he gave her.
“We can get to work now,” he assured her quietly. “You have been so strong throughout everything that has happened so far. I don’t mind you being a part of the discussions, just so you know what is going on, but I absolutely refuse to allow you to become involved in any way. You have to stay here. Do you understand?”
“Can I remind you that I was one of the people who got you off those gallows?” she replied with a scowl.
She tried to push out of his arms, but he refused to let her go.
“I am very grateful that you did. Now, though, I want you safe,” Charlie said. “So you stay here. Rest and eat, but that is the only involvement you will have from this moment onward. I insist upon it.”
Hetty scowled at him but, before she could say anything, he dropped a very th
orough kiss on her lips.
“Come and meet Sir Hugo,” Charlie murmured gently.
When he finally released her, he ushered her to the kitchen. She recognised Barnaby, Marcus, Joshua and Brendan from the meeting they had in the kitchen back at the mill house the night before the hangings.
Now, they had been joined by Luke, Joseph and, of course, Sir Hugo.
“Hetty, this is Sir Hugo.”
Before Hetty could speak, Sir Hugo stepped forward.