"Yes of course, though there's also tea or chocolate, and of course, fresh milk."
"It all sounds wonderful. I'm so thirsty."
"It's no wonder," she said, moving over to the ewer to pour him a glass of water, which she pressed into his hands. "Did you come straight here from Oxford?"
"I did."
"It's a long journey. The roads haven't been the best with all the spring rains."
"No, indeed. But I was so eager to get here, I just couldn't wait. And of course, as I told you, I've trying to conserve funds. I set off as soon as the don gave me the directions. Apart from an hour here and there in barns and the odd tavern, I've been walking non-stop since then."
"Well, you just stay right there with your feet up. What can I tempt you with for breakfast? Eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, toast, crumpets, marmalade, kippers, porridge?"
"Yes, please."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes to all of them."
She laughed and stroked his tousled dark hair back from his brow. "All of them you shall have. I'll have Jenny bring it up to you when it's ready."
"No, really, I can't act like a guest, not when you're being so kind. Even if I can't earn my keep yet, I have to try to not make extra work for you."
"But--"
He was already swinging his legs over the side of the bed, with the sheet draped loosely around his loins. "I'll get dressed and come down."
"There's no need," she insisted, pressing his shoulder in an attempt to get him to lie still once more. "You should stay in bed and rest. Your back must be very sore."
He flexed his shoulders, causing Sarah to stare again at his magnificent rippling muscles under the scarred flesh. "Oddly enough, I think that hot bath must have really done the trick. That and the ointment Caleb put on me. I'm not nearly so sore as usual."
"Hmm, that's good to know. In any case, stay there anyway. That is an order from your nurse. You look a lot less strained that you did yesterday. The rest will do you good. You're really not strong enough to be wandering around all over the country."
"If you're sure?"
She could see the taut lines around his fine lush mouth, and between his elegant brows. "I'm sure. You're to rest for a least a week. A holiday, if you like. No overdoing things, and no standing upon ceremony with me, thinking that you have to either help or be sociable. I've told you, Alexander, this is your room. Your home. You're free to come and go as you please. If you want company, say so. If not, close the door. Tell me to go away, whatever."
He shook his head. "I can't imagine ever telling you that." He gave her a warm smile, and finally responded to the pressure of her hand on his bare flesh. He lay prone once more against the pillows, and she tucked him in again.
"Very well, Sarah, I shall stay in bed as you ask. But please tell Jenny to cut the food up into bite-sized portions. I wouldn't want to get bits everywhere."
"I tell you what, I shall go down and get the papers, and then come back up and help you eat."
His expression lit up. "Really? Have you not got anything else to do?"
"I've not had much time to look at the papers myself. I've been so busy with the wedding and getting my friends' houses in order before they left for the summer. And I have to eat as well. So it's no trouble at all."
"That would be very kind, Sarah. I would very much like to hear the latest news," he said, his eyes shining eagerly.
"Yes, it must be hard not to be able to read the papers yourself."
"Sometimes I used to ask the vendors what the headlines were, but more often than not they couldn't read," he said.
"That's something my brother and I are trying to remedy. Though to be fair, it was his wife Pamela who first gave us the idea to teach the children's parents."
"All of your family sound very nice," he said almost wistfully.
"Consider them your family too. After all, you've become a Deveril whether you like it or not," she said with a light laugh.
He beamed up at her, and for the first time she was sure she could see a glimmer of expression in his eyes, a small light of hope.
"I do like it, very much."
"For the moment, anyway. Until we start bossing you around unmercifully, and making you come to all our family gatherings," she teased.
"It sounds like Heaven to me," he said soberly.
Sarah resisted the fierce urge to tug him into her arms and soothe him against her bosom. "Right, I shall just go down and get breakfast started, and fetch the papers. Then I need to have a bath, and shall come back and read to you and help with food."