No Greater Love (22 page)

“It is just as Pascal said. You’ve been in a deep sleep, recovering.”

“Days? I’ve been sleeping for days?”

“It’s been six weeks, Nicholas,” she said gently.

He stared at her. “Six weeks?”

“It’s the seventeenth of March.”

‘The seventeenth … Oh, dear God. But that’s not possible. It’s just not possible.”

“It may not seem so, but it is the truth.”

“But what happened?”

“I don’t exactly know myself,” she said. “You remember nothing?”

He shook his head. “Just the storm. And the water, and the men. And the boy—Georgia, it really is the same boy? He survived?”

“Yes,” she answered gently. “Pascal survived. You did not do quite so well yourself. I worried about you terribly. Everyone did. But I never stopped believing you would come back to us. I only wish you had not been so long about it.”

“But, Georgia, there’s a point. Surely if I had slept six weeks away, I would have starved to death? I would have starved within the first week!”

“Well … you weren’t exactly asleep the entire time. You woke in the morning and went through the day.’’

“Then why don’t I remember it!” he said frantically. “I don’t understand. How can someone lose six weeks of his life, as if they had never existed! Explain this to me, Georgia.”

“I can’t really. It was as if you weren’t here, as if your body functioned, but your mind was elsewhere.”

“Are you telling me I went crazy?”

“No, not crazy. I just think you had too many shocks that night, and so you needed time to recover from them. So your mind protected you by taking you away until you were strong enough to deal with what happened.”

“Sweet Christ,” he said softly. He threw the covers back, and Raleigh licked furiously at his feet as he placed them on the floor. “Hello, Raleigh,” he said, absently patting him. He gingerly stood, as if he was not quite sure his legs would hold, and he walked to the window, looking out over the moon-washed woods. There was new leaf on many of the trees. The grass was silvery green, and narcissus bloomed in the stretch of lawn that reached down to the old pond. He turned around, running his hand through his hair. “I was hoping it was a joke,” he said. And then his eye caught the pallet on the floor, and her night robe next to it, and he looked at her again. “You have been sleeping in here?”

She colored. “Yes. Pascal needed his own bedroom while he recovered, and I thought it was best to be in here anyway, in case you needed something in the night.”

He reached out and pulled her to him. “Georgia. Sweet, sweet Georgia. Do you know, for a man who has slept six weeks away, I feel uncommonly tired.”

“I’m not surprised. It must have taken tremendous strength for you to come back to us.” She reached up and gently kissed him. “You have no idea how wonderful it is to be able to do that and know you can feel it.”

“Have you been doing much of that?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh, yes. Lots.”

“I really must have been ill to have slept through it,” he said. “And speaking of sleeping, no more sleeping on the floor for you.” He took her hand and led her to the bed. “Do you think you might be willing to share? I cannot have fond feelings for the floor myself.”

She slipped under the covers.

“That was almost too easy,” he said dryly, joining her. He lay back with a sigh. “I feel exhausted. It’s ridiculous. Georgia, are you sure it’s safe to go back to sleep?”

“You can’t go through the rest of your life without sleeping, Nicholas. And yes, I think it’s very safe. You’ve remembered that night, and you’ve seen Pascal is safe and sound, and you’re safe and sound, and what else is there to worry about?”

He rolled onto his side and looked at her through the dark. He swallowed. “You can’t think me any madder than you already do, so I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you. It’s a long story, but sometimes I have dreams. Bad dreams. Nightmares, actually…”

“Yes, I know. Binkley told me, and he also told me about your fear of water. And then Cyril told us about your parents drowning, and what happened to you. It’s how we put the pieces together.”

“You know everything?” he said, sounding shocked.

“Yes, I know.”

“Oh, dear God. I feel like an idiot.”

“Nicholas, you’re anything but. We all think you extraordinarily brave. Listen to me, now. Listen. It all makes sense in a peculiar way. That night, you lived your nightmare. Do you understand me? You lived it as if it were happening all over again. You thought the boy had died, and the shock was too much for you. But he hadn’t died at all. This time you saved the child. You saved the child, and you saved yourself in the process.”

He was silent for a long time. She reached out for him and took him in her arms, and he held her hard against him.

“You’ve vanquished the troll, Nicholas. You went off somewhere and battled it, and you were victorious. You won’t have to dream anymore. And you saved so many lives—not just Pascal’s, but others too.”

“I can’t believe it’s over,” he said, his voice breaking. “I can’t believe it’s over.”

“You were magnificent,” she said, stroking his hair. “Unstoppable.”

“Georgia … I meant to tell you so many things that night, but there wasn’t time. I meant to tell you so many things…”

“I know. We’ll talk more tomorrow. Sleep now. Sleep and be safe.” She settled into the crook of his arm, and Nicholas rested his cheek against her hair.

“Good night, my love,” he whispered, and then his eyes closed.

Nicholas was gazing out the window lost in thought when a knock came at the door and Binkley entered with a breakfast tray. “Good morning, sir,” he said to Nicholas’ back. “A fine morning it is.”

“Indeed, Binkley, an extremely fine morning,” Nicholas said, turning around, and Binkley nearly dropped the tray.

“Oh, good heavens. Oh, good heavens,” he said. “Oh, my goodness! You’re back, sir!”

“Binkley, you’re babbling,” Nicholas said with a smile.

“I most certainly am not,” Binkley said, recovering his dignity, but he couldn’t disguise the tears that had sprung to his eyes. “Will you be taking your breakfast by the window, sir?” he said, blinking rapidly, and Nicholas grinned.

“Is that where I have been taking my breakfast to date?”

“Yes, sir. Is Mrs. Daventry aware of your recovery?”

“She is. She is across the hall, dressing.”

“And when did the recovery take place, if I might make so bold as to ask, sir?”

“In the middle of the night. I was gone one minute, and back the next, with no idea that there had been any passage of time. Most bizarre.”

“We have all been extremely concerned about you, sir.”

“And I am sorry for worrying you, but I couldn’t really help myself.”

“You had no business going in that water in the first place,” Binkley said severely.

“Yes, I imagined you would have a lecture to give me. Well, I’m sorry, Binkley, but lectures will go straight over my head. I’m too happy at being alive to feel remorseful. A nice shave, perhaps?”

“Certainly, sir. A nice shave it is, as soon as you have eaten your breakfast. You have lost weight, and you must apply yourself to recovering it if your clothes are to fit properly. I am very pleased you have decided to rejoin us, sir. Aside from our concern over your health, there has been much to do. Papers have been coming in from London and Bombay, and I have had no idea how to deal with them, other than writing to the necessary offices to inform them of your illness. You left me no instructions how to cope in such an eventuality.”

“Perhaps because I had no such eventuality in mind,” Nicholas answered with a smile. “Never mind. I don’t think too much harm can have been done in six weeks. Funny, isn’t it, the idea that one can disappear for six weeks?”

“I did not find it amusing in the least,” Binkley said. “I found it extremely alarming, and poor Mrs. Daventry was beside herself. First you won’t wake up at all, lying like a man cold in his grave, and then when you do finally wake up, you don’t bother to do the job properly.”

“I know, Binkley. It’s no way to behave.” He wobbled, and sat down abruptly.

“Sir? Are you feeling unwell?” Binkley asked with concern.

“It’s foolish, but I’m as weak as a babe. I suppose it will take a bit of time to get my strength back.’’

“Fresh air, good food, moderate exercise, sir, should see you fit in no time. But Mrs. Daventry will no doubt see to your full recovery. Very skilled, she is, in the medical arts. And no woman should have to cry so many tears over her husband, I might add.”

“Tears, Binkley?” Nicholas said softly.

“Indeed, sir. A great many. And all I have to say is that I think we may cease struggling, sir, for if you think your wife is still in love with her farmer, you are very much mistaken.”

“In truth, Binkley? In truth?”

“In truth, sir.”

Nicholas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Thank God. Well, in that case, let the struggling begin to ease. Most gradually, mind you, but a few small luxuries might be in order?”

“Thank you, sir.”

“And I promise you, as soon as I’ve regained my strength, I will bring this courtship to a conclusion.”

“Very good, sir. It is high time. Now, if you will excuse me, sir. I have things to attend to downstairs. I shall return shortly with water for your shave.”

Nicholas settled down to his breakfast with a tired smile. Life had never felt finer. He just wished he were stronger so that he could take full advantage of it.

Georgia was out in the garden later that afternoon with the boys. Nicholas had gone back to sleep directly after his breakfast, and she hadn’t wanted to disturb him. It had been all she could do to keep the boys’ voices down, so as not to wake him. And then she looked up to see Nicholas standing in the back doorway, blinking at the sunlight.

“Monsieur!” said Pascal, jumping to his feet and running over to him. “Monsieur, you are awake finally! I have waited all this day to see you—look over the wall, Cyril! Your cousin is here.”

“Hello, Nicholas,” Cyril called, climbing up the ladder on the far side of the wall and peering down at Nicholas.

“Hello, Cyril,” Nicholas replied, squinting up at him.

“How are you f-feeling?” Cyril asked politely.

“Better, thank you,” Nicholas replied equally politely, and Cyril nodded and disappeared again. Nicholas just shook his head, then looked down as Pascal took his hand and carefully led him down the steps and out into the garden.

“What do you think, monsieur? We have worked very long and very hard, and we are pleased. Are you pleased? Do you remember sitting out here with us? You did, day after day, and I would pile flowers onto your lap. I will still pile flowers onto your lap if you would like.”

Nicholas just stood there looking about him speechlessly, and Georgia went over to them. She could see that Nicholas was overwhelmed, and she gently removed Pascal. “Back to cultivating the rosebushes,
cheri,”
she said. “The monsieur is not yet accustomed to all our chatter. Come, Nicholas, there is a bench over here, if you’d like to sit.”

“Georgia. Oh, Georgia … you’ve brought it back after all.”

She smiled up at him and wiped his cheeks with her fingers. “It just needed some tending. And the boys have been wonderful, and Lily also.” She swallowed against her own tears. To see his pleasure only magnified her own.

He put his arms around her and held her close. “Bless you. Bless you, sweetheart.”

“All this time I’ve been waiting for the moment when you would see it, really see it. And I don’t think I even knew how happy I would be. Sit over here, Nicholas, and enjoy the sunshine.”

And so he sat and watched, and Georgia moved to work near him, talking about small things, things that had happened while he had been ill.

“It is the oddest feeling,” he said. “I stopped and the rest of the world went on without me.” He looked up and his gaze fell on the roof. “Good heavens,” he said with surprise. “That looks very much better than the last time I saw it, when that blasted tree had just come down on it.”

“It is nearly done. People from the village have been very generous about lending a hand when they had time to spare.”

Nicholas looked incredulous. “From the village?”

“It is true. You are a hero to them. They felt so bad about what happened to you that they wanted at least to be sure you had a secure roof over your head while you recovered.”

“What … what happened to the others?” he asked, his eyes pinching slightly at the corners.

“The others? Well, all the men from the village survived their soaking, although there were a couple of cases of pneumonia.”

“No. I mean the others.”

“Oh, the survivors? There were twelve, Nicholas, not including Pascal, and they all recovered and went home. Cyril put them up at Ravenswalk for the duration.”

“Cyril
did?”

“Yes. There’s been quite a change in him. I think the night of the shipwreck was the beginning of it. Pascal has made a big difference too. In case you haven’t noticed, Pascal has a way of throwing his love around. He thinks Cyril is perfectly wonderful, and as a result, Cyril has obliged him by trying to become so.”

Nicholas raised an eyebrow. “How interesting. I’m delighted to hear it, although I’ll have to see the full evidence with my own eyes.”

“That won’t be a problem. Cyril as good as lives over here these days, and by his own volition. He’s been a great help.”

“Amazing. And the boy, Pascal? What of him? He seems fully recovered. When will he be returning to his family?”

“Well … you see, Nicholas, he doesn’t actually have a family. So I offered him ours. If it’s all right with you, of course, but I didn’t think you’d mind, given everything. And I’m sure you’ll come to love him very quickly. It’s impossible not to. Nicholas?”

“You’re saying he’s ours?” Nicholas said very quietly, looking over at where Pascal worked, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in concentration.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Is it all right with you?”

“Georgia,” he said shakily, “it is more than all right. It is a great gift. I have … I have always wanted children, you see. To have a child given so unexpectedly to me, and in this manner … I’m sorry. I seem to be awash with emotion. It is not my usual habit.”

Georgia came over to him and put her arms around his neck. “It is perfectly acceptable to be awash with emotion. We all are at the moment. And it’s a wonderful thing to actually be able to see how you feel. You’ve always been so good at disguising your emotions.”

“I have, haven’t I?”

“Too good, Nicholas. I have spent a great deal of time trying to divine you. You even went so far as to disappear where no one could divine you at all.”

“Least of all myself,” he said with a little laugh. “But I will try to do better from now on. Georgia, will you forgive me? I find that I am terribly tired. I think I’ll go back upstairs.”

“Take as much rest as you need. I’ll be in to see you later.” She kissed him on the forehead, but watched him carefully as he made his way back to the house.

Nicholas slept away most of the next five days. He took his meals quietly in his room, spent small periods of time with them in the garden, but his body needed sleep more than anything else, other than food. He couldn’t seem to get enough of either, but Georgia could see that with every day that passed, he improved. All the energy that Nicholas normally exhibited physically, he now focused internally, determined to recover his health and strength as quickly as possible.

Pascal understood that Nicholas needed peace and quiet for the time being, and he exhibited unusual restraint in allowing Nicholas both, but then, Pascal was imbued with an unusual wisdom that many people did not gain in a lifetime. For his part, Cyril was happy to leave Nicholas alone. Georgia had not missed Cyril’s nervousness now that Nicholas was back, and she knew he was probably afraid that the happy life he had carved out for himself at the Close would change. He was so careful not to offend that it would have been amusing had it not been so sad. And because she felt sorry for him, she doubled her efforts to make him feel included. Pascal, naturally, did not miss any of the subtle currents running at the Close, and in his sweet, solemn way he also tried to make Cyril feel more comfortable with the situation. But Georgia knew that the only thing that would really help would be Nicholas and Cyril sitting down and talking things through. Georgia was not foolish enough to think that the outward changes in Cyril reached down into his true feelings for Nicholas, whatever their basis. Cyril was manipulative enough to do what he had to in order to preserve his tenuous position and his access to Pascal.

Georgia, who was sensitive to Nicholas’ every move, especially at night when he was sleeping, felt the mattress shift and lighten, and her eyes flew open to find Nicholas sitting on the side of the bed, scratching Raleigh’s ears. The first of the light was streaming in through the window, and she yawned. “Nicholas … it’s dawn. What are you doing up at this hour?”

He turned to look at her. “I think I’ve had quite enough sleep. It’s high time to start living fully again.”

“How do you feel?” she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“Like a new man, strong as an ox. So up you get and dress, for I would like to go for a walk.”

“A walk?” she said sleepily, thinking that he did look better. His eyes were bright and his face no longer appeared drawn. In fact he appeared to have put on weight just in the night alone.

“Yes. Let’s go and look at the world, just the two of us. I haven’t had any real time alone with you, not between the boys and Binkley. I’m jealous; I am accustomed to more of your company.”

“All right. Whatever you wish. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be with you.” She went across the hall to the room she’d been using to dress and put on warm clothes. Nicholas was waiting for her downstairs, Raleigh at his heel.

He took her hand, and they strolled in the direction of the woods, which smelled fresh and crisp with dew. And then they walked behind the house and down the wild lawn to the pond, Raleigh gamboling along in front of them, every now and then attacking a stick with a great show of ferocity. Nicholas sighed with satisfaction and put his arm around her. “It’s good,” he said, stopping and looking back at the Close. “It’s very good.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Georgia replied. “You see, dreams can come true.”

He laughed and tugged at her hair. “Maybe they can after all. Maybe they can. Georgia … do you realize that we’ve been married nearly five months?”

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “We’ve come a long way since the day I met you in front of the Close.”

“We have indeed. I was a desolate man. And I was very chagrined to have been discovered by a beautiful woman, weeping my heart out.”

“A beautiful woman? Really, Nicholas.”

“But you are, you know. That ghastly cap did nothing for you, but nonetheless my eyes were not deceived. I grabbed you and kissed you, if you remember. I do not usually grab and kiss beautiful women without a proper introduction first, mind you, but I could not resist.”

“I remember,” she said. “I was shocked by your impetuousness.”

Nicholas grinned. “Would you be shocked if I grabbed you and kissed you now?”

“No. I would like it very much, I think.”

“Let us see,” he said, pulling her to him. He covered her mouth with his and kissed her much in the manner he had done that first day, but this time she did not push him away. Her arms went around his neck and she returned his kiss in full measure. She felt his laughter vanish as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth against hers, tasting her with his tongue until her bones turned to water and she gave a little moan deep in her throat.