"Did you love him?" he asked, his voice as raspy as a file.
She kissed him warmly by way of reassurance. "Not in the sense you mean, no. Like a much, much older brother, though he was almost the same age as Jonathan. Michael was a good man. As different from his youngest brother Randall as night and day. Yet the same noble character runs through them both. Dedicated, persevering, and, well, the stuff of which heroes are made. The Grim Reaper. But all too mortal himself, it would appear."
She shed a few tears from him, and Alexander burned with jealousy for a time, but told himself that he was there with Sarah now, not Viscount Glyne. The poor man was gone. She was his own true love, soon to be his wife. Once he was a bit more certain about who he was, and could arrange things, he was certain they would wed. He couldn't imagine life without her by his side, or indeed life beyond Brimley and Eltham.
The parishioners all adored Alexander. He had a way of listening which put them at ease. He remembered their names, their interests, and asked about their families, and could recall what he was told even days after he had met them.
If he ran into them in the street, he was able to pick up the conversation instantly, without even needing Sarah to tell him who they were, so long as they spoke a greeting.
She guessed it had to be that he was good with voices, and did have a remarkable memory, even if it was blocked in places. She was sure the obstructions were a result of the emotional turmoil he had experienced during the war, and he would gradually let down the barriers.
He had already come so far; his physical well being improved every day. With each bath and application of ointment and massage, his movement increased. He sat a horse better, and his shooting and saber skills also improved.
When she told him he did not have to try so hard, he simply replied, "I'm determined to be everything I was before I was injured. You've been praying that I shall eventually be able to see, haven't you, Sarah? That my memory will come back in full? Well, so have I. I want to be ready for that day."
She put another pile of clothes on his navy blue silk bedspread as they began to get ready for their jaunt to Bath. "Ready for what?"
He took her hand and kissed it. "To be the husband you deserve. Your protector, your partner in all things."
"I'm perfectly safe, my darling. And you are my partner already. You're with me side by side, in a way I've never known before. There are very few things you can't do, and those things don't matter to me."
"But they do to me."
She stretched up to cup his cheek. "I fell in love with the man you are, Alexander, not the man I hope you're going to become. Just let it go, love. Don't try so hard to get it all back. From what I've heard, some of it would not be worth having."
He nodded and kissed her, and resumed packing the items she had laid out for him on the bed. She planned to get him more clothes and trinkets when they got to Bath, but for the moment he put in the basics, fresh linens and the waistcoats and cravats she and Jenny had run up for him.
"You will most definitely need some hats when we get there. You head is so much larger than Jonathan's."
"I have the one we bought last week to tide me over."
"Yes, but it's not quite the fashion compared to what you can buy in the big city."
"I don't care about that," he said, his tone sharp with impatience. "Do you?"
"No," she admitted with a light shurug. "I don't care. Suddenly it all seems so very unimportant, all these absurd social conventions and pretenses. The only thing important is you going to soak in the Baths and getting better." She embraced him around his lean waist.
"I feel better every day, thanks to you. In fact, I feel so good, I might just lie down for a while."
"Lie down?" she asked in confusion. "But you said you felt well."
He gathered her to him. She felt the intimate pressure against her stomach, and laughed delightedly.
"Lying down makes it easier and more comfortable."
"But it's broad daylight," she protested mildly.
"I hadn't noticed," he said dryly. "Do you mind very much?"
By way of reply she shoved the items and valise to one side and laid down with him in the bed that had become their heaven on earth.
"Not at all, my darling. It's almost better in the day. Seeing us together, you naked, is such a thrill," she admitted, unfastening his trousers and bending her head, as he lifted her skirts and buried his tongue between her thighs.
"I'll settle for just feeling it," he murmured. "This is bliss. I worship you, Sarah."