Thanks to Giles’ efforts to rekindle the fires and boil water as soon as he’d arrived home, they managed to open the shop on time.

The thought struck her after the first customer left that the boy had in fact quickly made himself at home on Edgbaston Street. In a way, he’d adopted her and assumed several responsibilities that normally fell to the man of the household. The notion was at once gratifying and upsetting. It would be heart-wrenching to leave him behind. Unless…

She’d have to speak to Munro before suggesting he accompany them to Scotland. It was probably presumptuous to even suggest it, especially since she was incapable of giving him the gift of his own children. She was nervous enough about facing his parents without the extra baggage of a young boy. It was possible Giles truly wanted to return to the school and get a complete education. She had an obligation to tell him of Munro’s offer. “Mr. Pendray will gladly pay your fees at King Edward’s. Perhaps, that will make a difference in your decision.”

“Too right,” he replied. “Didn’t want to be beholden to old Battersby.”

He was polite to customers, as always, and methodically efficient in the things she asked him to do, but his perpetual frown betrayed his concerns about the future.

Since Wednesday was half-day closing, they worked through lunch before locking up. They’d prepared more onion tea for Munro and the other things she needed were still in the basket. “Are you coming with me to visit Mr. Pendray?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, I’ll stay here if it’s all the same to you. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

While that might be true, she suspected he preferred to leave her and Munro alone. Their obvious delight in each other’s company clearly reminded him of his parents. “Enjoy a nap, then,” she replied. “But not until you’ve had something to eat. Go up and see what’s left over in the larder.”

He put a foot on the bottom step as she turned the key. “Mrs. North.”

“Yes?”

“If I decide to go back to the school, it’s not because…well…I don’t have much choice do I?”

His little face was awash with misery. Guilt swept over her. “You could always stay with whomever takes over the shop.”

The thoughtless words only served to deepen his frown. It wasn’t what she’d meant to say. There was scant chance she’d be able to sell the shop. However, she daren’t give him hope about Scotland until she’d spoken to Munro. “We’ll talk when I get back,” she reassured him.

Munro blinked open his eyes, smiling weakly when he saw Sarah standing over him. “Did ye forget something?” he asked.

She smoothed his hair off his forehead. “No. I’ve been gone five hours.”

He yawned and scratched his head, not fully comprehending what she’d said. “I must have slept.”

“Good. You look better. We brought beef broth.”

It was only then he noticed Luke dithering in the open doorway, a tray in his hands. “That lad works every hour God sends,” he whispered, pushing himself into a sitting position after Sarah had plumped the pillows. “Fetch it here, Luke.”

The boy obliged and gave the tray to Sarah.

She balanced it on Munro’s thighs.

He inhaled the aroma of the broth. “Smells good,” he said, relieved his throat wasn’t as raspy and his nose had unplugged completely.

“I helped with the vegetables,” Luke replied before dashing away.

“Seriously,” he continued, lifting a spoonful of broth. “He probably spent hours peeling and chopping carrots, and whatever else is in this.”

“Careful,” she warned. “It might be hot.”

He took a sip. “Tasty.”

She sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the other spoon. “Fine dining,” she quipped with a grin.

“Just having ye here makes it taste wonderful.”

She sampled the broth. “You may have noticed I’m not a good cook.”

“Dinna fash,” he replied. “My mother supervises in the kitchen, but Gavina and her scullery maids do all the cooking.”

“We’ll be living with your parents in Scotland?”

“Aye, Kilmer is easily big enough. We’ll still have our privacy.”

“When you say big enough, what do you mean?”

He scooped out the last of the beef, hoping her thoughts were going in the same direction as his. Their relationship was new and he didn’t want her rethinking the decision to marry him. “I accept that ye canna have bairns, Sarah, and I dinna love ye any less, but there are several empty chambers at Kilmer and plenty o’ bairns in need of love.”

He braced himself for an angry rebuttal, chewing his lower lip as she stared at him.

“Like Giles,” she said.

Relief swept over him. “Aye. He’s a bright lad. I’m confident he’d do well at my alma mater.”

“Not to mention we care about him too much to leave him behind. But what will your parents say?”

“They willna mind at all. I love ye, Sarah North.”

“And I love you, gentle man. Now, if you’ll take two more drops of oregano oil and drink the onion tea I brought, I’ll rub your chest again.”

“Bossy,” he complained for the sake of it. He’d walk on hot coals to feel Sarah’s hands on his body.

Sarah had made a point of keeping her eyes tight shut in her first marriage bed. The contours and planes of Munro’s muscles came as a delightful surprise as she applied the wintergreen for the first time in daylight. He was hard and soft, smooth and rough, chiseled and rounded. His male nipples weren’t like hers, except that he sucked in a breath every time she brushed her thumbs over them. Her own tingled in response. “You like the aroma,” she said.

“Aye, ’tis definitely the aroma I like,” he replied with a sly grin.

“Tell me about your journey.”

He recounted his experiences, making light of things she was sure were deeply hurtful. That was his way. Always looking on the bright side.

“So, it was a good idea to fulfill your quest,” she said.

“Aye. My thanks to ye for insisting on it. I expect ye spent all yer time pining for me in my absence.”

As a punishment for his teasing, she deliberately let her hand wander lower on his belly, enjoying the lustful gleam in his eyes. “Actually, I never gave you a thought.”

“Liar,” he retorted.

“You know me too well. I missed you, especially when I had to go to the courthouse to testify for Addison and Hogg.”

He grasped her wrist. “What?”

“Well, I didn’t have to go, but I couldn’t let two children hang without speaking on their behalf. They’re not murderers, just silly schoolboys.”

He lowered her hand to the hard flesh at his groin and held it there. “That took courage. What was the outcome?”

The linen sheet between her hand and his warm maleness only served to heighten her arousal. Her thoughts filled with memories of the first time they’d shared intimacies. Sarah North, a woman who loathed sexual congress, wanted more. “Of what?” she asked, distracted by intensely pleasurable sensations.

He chuckled. “The trial.”

She dragged her attention back from wanton cravings. “I haven’t heard, but Addison’s father was grateful and said if I ever needed anything, I was to ask him.”

“Interesting,” he replied.