Love Contract novel Chapter 81

"You're awake." Mary exclaimed, "How are you feeling? Do you want something to eat?"

William frowned. "Don't make so much noise."

"I see," said Mary. She covered her mouth with her hand to lower her voice. "Go back to sleep. I'll tuck you in."

"Okay," he whispered.

Mary carefully covered William under the quilt, and quietly watched him by the bedside.

Without Mary's flirtatious wiping, he calmed down. Soon, William fell asleep.

William had no idea how long it had been since he fell asleep. His throat had gotten dry, and his whole body was sweating. He felt very uncomfortable.

"Water..." William said in a hoarse voice.

Fortunately, someone beside him heard his cry for help, and full glass of water was quickly handed to him.

William gulped the water down, as if he had been endlessly walking through a desert and finally found an oasis. "Slow down, slow down, no one's going to take away the water from you!"

It was Mary's voice.

William opened his eyes and saw the person in front of him. It was none other than Mary. She was looking at him with worry and relief.

"Ahem..." William finished drinking the water and waved his hand.

"Are you done?" Mary took the glass from his lips and asked, "Don't you want to drink more?"

"No." William pursed his lips. "What time is it?"

"Well... It's ten o'clock." Mary smiled. "By the way, how do you feel? Are you still burning up?"

"I think I've recovered. I'm going to take a shower," said William.

"No, no, no, no!" Mary prevented him from getting out of bed at once. "What if you catch a cold again? Just bear with it for now. I'll go to get some water and give you a sponge bath, okay?"

Mary had never looked more serious. She was coaxing William as if he was a child, and it astonished him for a moment. It felt so good to be cared for, and loved.

"Okay? Why aren't you saying anything?" Mary prompted him to speak again. "Ahem..." William coughed and came to his senses. "Okay."

"Good." The smile on Mary's face widened. She took out a thermometer and handed it to William. "Let's take your temperature first. I'll get you some hot water. Wait for me."

"Okay." William's heart softened as he took the thermometer and watched Mary rush out of the room in a hurry.

"I'm coming," Mary shouted as she came back with a basin of warm water on her hands.

William looked at her with his arms crossed and the corners of his mouth were curved into a halfsmile.

"Here, where's the thermometer? Let me have a look." Mary put the basin on the floor, and reached for the thermometer.

"Here you go," William coughed.

"Well, it's a little more than 37 degrees Celsius," Mary frowned. "You have a low-grade fever. How about taking some medicine later? Would that be fine with you?"

"Okay." William complied without an argument.

"Good." Mary put down the thermometer, and soaked the towel in the warm water. She twisted it and handed it to William. "Here you go. You can wipe yourself with this." William's face turned sullen. "I'm tired."

"Well..." Mary held the towel in her hand and contemplated for a while. "Fine, I'll do it for you.

William said nothing but he looked pleased.

'It's not that I don't want to wipe you, it's just because of your body...' Mary muttered to herself.

'Let me wipe you! Let me wipe you!'

"Hand."

"Now the other one."

Mary held William's hand. She felt a little embarrassed when their skins made contact.

She rinsed the towel again, and used it to wipe his face.

The room was awfully quiet. The two of them were so close to each other, but neither of them uttered a word.

Mary gently wiped William's face, then his neck, and she avoided eye contact altogether.

"Mary, ahem..." William broke the silence and said, "Are you embarrassed?"

Mary's face suddenly turned red. When she heard him chuckling, Mary pretended to be tough. "Which eye of yours sees me blushing? Tell me! I think you're the one who's

embarrassed, and you're trying to pin the blame on me, aren't you?"

"You..."

"Stop talking," said Mary. "Stretch out your neck."

William said nothing and did as he was told. He raised an eyebrow and let her do as she pleased.

"Do you want me to help you wipe your body too? Well, do you?" Mary snickered.

"No. I can do it myself." William swallowed the lump on his throat. "I'm afraid of you."

"Ha ha!" Mary giggled triumphantly.

Knock, knock, knock...

While they were talking, a knock came from the door.

"Come in," said Mary.

"Madam." Webb came in. "Has young master's fever gone down?"

"Almost." Mary smiled at him. "What's wrong, Uncle Webb?"

"Oh," answered Webb, "I have ordered some porridge and light dishes. You two haven't had dinner yet. So, I thought I'd bring them to you now. You can have some first."