Page 38 of A Stranger’s Promise

Pushing back his wet hair, Alistair half growled, “Where is he?”

The old piper hesitated. “Charles’ apartments, my lord.”

Alistair paused. “Charles’ apartments?” What was he doing there?

He caught sight of Edwards on the grand staircase above with other guests. With a scowl, Alistair strode down the corridor and headed for the rear stairs.

Minutes later, he donned a dry, white, loose-fitting linen shirt and a pair of gray trousers, then left his chambers for the finely decorated rooms that had served as his stepbrother’s private apartments.

Candlelight spilled from the open bedroom doorway into the dimly lit hall. Alistair paused under the lintel, taking in the finely crafted four-poster bed, the settee, desk, armoire…and Charlotte.

She sat on the floor, knees drawn to her chest and her cheek resting against one knee, her attention on the boy curled up in the corner. Asleep on a pile of linens, Oliver clutched a large, full white laundress’ apron tightly in his arms. Alistair’s frustration melted away. The lad missed his mother.

Charlotte noticed him and started to rise, but he motioned her to remain seated. He approached softy, then knelt on one knee by her side and studied his young nephew. Odd the lad should find his father’s room. Of all places, why had he run here?

With a sigh, he gently gathered the boy in his arms and carried him back to the nursery with Charlotte walking by his side in silence.

It wasn’t until he laid the boy on his bed and drawn a blanket over his sleeping form that Charlotte began to apologize.

He shushed her with a finger on her lips. “You look fair exhausted, lass. Do no’ fret. Get some sleep before our hellion awakes again.”

She smiled, an unguarded smile that warmed his soul. His gaze dropped to her lips. He’d thought them so kissable from the start. For a moment, he almost reached out to trace the velvety softness with this thumb—but then, she’d reserved such intimate gestures for her fiancé.

Yet she cared for him. He’d seen it that evening.

Captain Edwards be damned.

He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. She tensed, but he bent down and pressed a kiss on her forehead. As she remained motionless, he stepped away, noting the pink flush on her cheeks.

He strode out the door, happier than he’d been in longer than he could remember.