Read Online Coming Home by Vonnie Hughes - Free Book Online Page B

it for stains before
throwing it on a settle. Then he glanced down at his boots. ‘He was sick. Everywhere.’
    She wrinkled her nose. ‘He must be very drunk.’
    â€˜Yes. Using up the last of his freedom, I suspect. He seems to have an aunt and uncle who he is reluctant to return home to.’
    â€˜Never mind that.’ She prowled between the settle and the window like a restless cat. ‘What did he say about us?’
    â€˜Nothing. He’s not capable of stringing two thoughts together.’
    She sat down on the settle. ‘Thank goodness.’
    â€˜Yes. But I must ensure his continuing silence. He’s not a bad youth, so I’ll appeal to his sense of obligation.’
    â€˜Obligation?’
    â€˜Well, he owes us both a considerable debt. Me for saving him from the French, and you for nursing him back to health.’
    â€˜Oh … that.’
    Obviously saving lives was a minor hiccup in Miss Colebrook’s life. She seemed to regard their actions as natural, and under the circumstances, of course they were. But he couldn’t envisage any delicately bred Englishwoman taking those things in her stride. God, she was magnificent.
    He averted his eyes from Juliana’s face lest she detected his ridiculous besottedness. He smoothed down his jacket sleeves, then checked his boots once more.
    She sniffed. ‘I smell nothing out of the ordinary.’
    He grinned. ‘Thank goodness. My new boots won’t be ready until tomorrow.’
    She returned his smile, then hers faded. ‘I shall have to interview my applicant soon,’ she apologized. ‘I am unsure how to explain your presence, however. Are we to be married, or related in some way?’
    For a moment he had forgotten. A cold bucketful of water could not have been more punishing. ‘Uh … could I be a friend of your family’s?’
    She looked doubtful. ‘It is still not quite the thing for us to travel together, is it?’
    â€˜You are quite right.’ He grabbed his coat again. ‘I have been too long out of England. I shall go to the stables and admire the horses.’
    Juliana smiled. ‘I would feel guilty if I didn’t know how much you enjoy hobnobbing with grooms and horses. Just the same, it is unkind to make you leave, but I don’t know what else to do.’
    Colly could see she was unnerved by Davidson’s insinuations. Up till now it had been an adventure for both of them. It wasn’t that they had ignored the possible ramifications of their behaviour, but they had been far away from England and it hadn’t mattered so much. But now …

    He took her hands in his. ‘Juliana, do not fret. We shall get through this. I will take care of everything. I am happy to do so.’
    Her hands were not soft. They felt work-worn with rough patches here and there. He glanced down. These were not the hands of a gently bred lady. They were honest hands. They had done much work. He traced an upraised scar on her thumb with his own.
    He would buy her a present or two – some rosewater and glycerine for her hands and a new parasol. If anyone deserved gifts it was the work-worn young woman he had come to love.
    He exhaled sharply. Yes. He could admit it to himself. What did it matter since he’d be the only one to know? He was in for a heap of heartache, but trying to stop himself from falling in love with Juliana Colebrook was as useless as King Canute trying to hold back the tide.
    He stood, gazing down into her face. How could he not love her? The memory of her earnest, tender care during his recovery still lingered. Once, as his company had marched through the arid countryside in Spain, he had smelled the fragrance of lemon grass trampled underfoot. Vividly he had been reminded of the citrus tang that wafted from her hospital clothes as she bustled past. And he’d felt homesick, a yearning for home and hearth and a woman with Juliana’s