Guardian Angel

by Julie Garwood

  “The sun will be setting soon. You’ll have your dinner in bed,” he added. “Did mi’lord really throw you in the Thames?” he asked when he thought she was about to argue with his decisions.

  She smiled. “He did,” she answered. “And he has yet to apologize. He threw away my satchel, too. I’m a pauper now,” she added, sounding cheerful again. “Lady Christina did give me some of her lovely clothes, though, and I thank God for that.”

  “You don’t seem very saddened by your current predicament,” Sterns remarked. He opened the door to her room, then stepped back so she could pass through.

  “Oh, I don’t believe in being sad,” she answered. “Why, Sterns, what a lovely bedroom. Gold is my very favorite color. Is the coverlet made of silk?”

  “Satin,” Sterns answered, smiling over the enthusiasm in her voice. “May I assist you in removing your jacket, mi’lady?”

  Jade nodded. “Would you open the window first? It’s a bit stuffy in here.” She walked over to look outside, judging the distance to the cover of trees. Matthew and Jimbo would be waiting for her signal come darkness. They’d be watching the windows for the lighted candle, the sign they’d decided upon, to indicate that all was well.

  Jade turned when Sterns began to tug on her jacket. “I shall have this cleaned for you, mi’lady.”

  “Yes, please,” she answered. “I believe there’s a small tear in the side too, Sterns. Could you have someone patch it up, too?”

  Sterns didn’t answer her. Jade looked up at his face. “Have you gone ill, sir?” she asked. The servant was suddenly looking quite green in the complexion to her. “Sterns, do sit down. Don’t take insult, but I believe you might be in jeopardy of a swoon.”

  He shook his head when she shoved him into the chair adjacent to the window. The butler finally found his voice. He shouted in a true roar for his lord to present himself.

  Caine was just starting up the stairs when he heard Sterns’ bellow. “Now what has she done?” he muttered to himself. He rushed through the foyer where the servants were again lined up, passed a wave in their general direction, and then raced up the staircase.

  He came to an abrupt stop when he reached the doorway, for the sight he came upon did surprise him. Sterns was struggling to get out of the wingback chair. Jade held him down with one hand on his shoulder. She was fanning him with a thin book she held in her other hand.

  “What in God’s name . . . Sterns? Are you ill?”

  “He’s gone faint,” Jade announced. “Help me get him to the bed, Caine.”

  “Her side, mi’lord,” Sterns protested. “Dear lady, do quit waving that book in my face. Caine, have a look at her side.”

  Caine understood before Jade did. He hurried over to Jade, turned her around, and when he got a good look at the god-awful blood soaking her white blouse, he wanted to sit down, too.

  “Dear God,” he whispered. “Oh, sweetheart, what happened to you?”

  Jade let out a loud gasp when she saw the damage. She would have staggered backward if he hadn’t been holding her. “Love, didn’t you know you were bleeding?”

  She looked dumbfounded. “I didn’t know. I thought it was a scratch from one of the branches.”

  Sterns stood on her other side. “She’s lost a fair amount of blood, mi’lord,” he whispered.

  “Yes, she has,” Caine answered, trying his best not to sound overly concerned. He didn’t want her to become any more frightened.

  His hands shook when he gently lifted the garment away from her waistband. She noticed. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” she whispered.

  “Don’t look at it, sweetheart,” he said. “Does it hurt?”

  “The minute I saw all the blood, it started hurting like the devil.”

  Jade noticed the tear in Christina’s garment then. “They ruined my friend’s lovely top,” she cried out. “They bloody well shot right through it. Just look at that hole, Caine. It’s the size of a . . . of a . . .”

  “Pistol shot?” Sterns suggested.

  Caine had worked the top away and was now using his knife on her chemise.

  “She’s getting dotty on us,” Sterns whispered. “You’d best put her on the bed before she swoons.”

  “I’ll not swoon, Sterns, and you should apologize for thinking I would. Caine, please let go of me. It isn’t decent to cut my clothes away. I’ll take care of this injury by myself.”

  Jade was suddenly desperate to get both men out of her room. Since the moment she’d seen the injury, her stomach had been in an uproar. She felt light-headed now and her knees were starting to buckle up on her.

  “Well, Sterns?” she asked. “Do I get my apology or not?”

  Before the butler was given a chance to answer, Jade said, “Bloody hell. I am going to swoon after all.”

  Chapter Eight

  Jade came awake with a start. She was surprised to find herself in bed, for she didn’t have the faintest idea how she’d gotten there. After a long moment, the truth settled in. Good God, she really had fainted.

  She was trying to come to terms with this humiliation when she realized the breeze coming in through the open window was cooling her bare skin.

  She opened her eyes to find Sterns leaning over her from one side of the bed and Caine bending over her from the opposite side. Their deep scowls were almost enough to send her into another faint.

  “The shot went clear through,” Caine muttered.

  “Thank the Lord for that,” Sterns whispered.

  “Which one of you scoundrels removed my clothing when I wasn’t looking?” she asked, her tone of voice as crisp as new frost.

  Sterns visibly jumped. Caine merely smiled. “You’re feeling better, mi’lady?” the butler inquired after he’d regained his composure.

  “Yes, thank you. Sterns? Why are you holding my hand?” she asked.

  “To keep you still, mi’lady,” he answered.

  “You may let go of me now. I won’t interfere with Caine’s task.”

  After he’d complied with that request, she immediately tried to push Caine’s hands away from her side. “You’re prodding, Caine,” she whispered.

  “I’m almost finished, Jade.”

  His voice sounded terribly surly to her, yet he was being incredibly gentle, too. It was a contradiction. “Are you angry with me, Caine?”

  He didn’t even bother to glance up when he gave his curt answer. “No.”

  “You could sound a little more convincing,” she countered. “You are angry,” she added with a nod. “I don’t understand why . . .” She paused to let out a gasp.

  Caine assumed the bandage he was applying to her injury had caused her discomfort. “Is it too tight?” he asked, his gaze filled with concern.

  “You think this is all my fault, don’t you?” she stammered out. “You think I deliberately . . .”

  “Oh, no, mi’lady,” Sterns interrupted. “The Marquess doesn’t blame you. You didn’t mean to get yourself shot. Mi’lord always gets a bit . . .”

  “Cranky?” she supplied.

  The butler nodded. “Yes, he gets cranky when he’s worried.”

  She turned her attention back to Caine. “I’m sorry if I worried you,” she said then. “Are you still worried?”

  “No.”

  “Then the injury isn’t as terrible as it looked?”

  Caine nodded. He put the finishing touches on his handiwork before giving her his full attention. “A mere flesh wound, Jade,” he said. “You should be up and about in no time.”

  He really looked as if he meant what he said. Jade was immediately relieved.

  “Cover my legs, Sterns, and don’t look while you’re doing it,” she ordered. Her voice had regained some of its bite, warming a smile out of the dour-faced man.

  Jade was wearing only her chemise now. One side of the lace-bordered garment had been torn wide to expose her injury. She understood the necessity of having her clothes removed, but now that she knew she wasn’t in jeopardy of
dying, appearances needed to be maintained.

  The butler did as she requested, then left to fetch a tray of supper for her. She and Caine were all alone. “I don’t care if it’s only a paltry flesh wound,” she said. “I’ve decided I’m going to linger, Caine.”

  He sat down on the side of the bed, took hold of her hand, and gave her a heart-stopping smile. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this announcement?”

  “How astute of you, sir,” she countered. “There is more. While I’m lingering, you’re going to stay by my sick bed. This is, after all, probably all your fault,” she added with a nod.

  She had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. Caine looked thoroughly confused.

  “Oh?” he asked when she stared at him expectantly. “How have you come to the conclusion that it’s my fault?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I will. Now give me your word, Caine. I won’t rest easy until I know you won’t leave my side.”

  “All right, love,” he answered. His wink was slow, devilish. “I won’t leave your side day or night.”

  The significance in that statement wasn’t lost on her. “You may take to your own bed at night,” she replied.

  “May I?” he asked dryly.

  Jade decided not to goad him any further, guessing he’d get downright cranky if she persisted with her orders. Besides, she’d won this round, hadn’t she?

  The inconvenience of getting shot was going to be turned into a nice advantage. She now had a perfectly good reason to keep him at her side. Why, she just might linger until Nathan came to fetch her.

  She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was. She fell asleep right after dinner, the tray still perched on her lap, and only awakened once during the night. Twin candles were burning a soft light on the night stand. Jade remembered the signal she needed to give to Jimbo and Matthew to let them know all was well, and immediately pushed the covers away.

  She spotted Caine then. He was sprawled out in the wingback chair adjacent to the bed, his bare feet propped up on the bed, his white shirt opened to the waist, and was sound asleep.

  Jade didn’t know how long she watched him. She told herself she was just making certain he was really sound asleep. Lord, he was so appealing to her. He had quickly become far more, however, than merely handsome. He was like a safe haven from the storm, and the urge to lean on him, to let him take care of her, nearly overwhelmed her.

  Her guardian angel began to snore, pulling her out of her trance. She eased out of the bed, picked up one of the candles, and went to stand in front of the window.

  Light rain cascaded down upon the landscape. Jade felt a bit guilty that her men were getting a good soaking. If she’d given her signal earlier, they could have found dry shelter sooner.

  “What are you doing?”

  Jade almost dropped the candle, so startled was she by Caine’s booming voice.

  She turned around and found him just a scant foot away. “I was just looking out the window,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  His hair was tousled and he seemed to be more asleep than awake yet. A lock of his hair had fallen on his forehead, giving him the appearance of being a bit vulnerable to her. Without a thought as to what she was doing, she brushed his hair back in place.

  “You may look out the window tomorrow,” he returned, his voice husky from slumber.

  After making that statement, he took the candle away from her, put it back on the table, and then arrogantly motioned for her to get back in bed.

  “Does your side hurt?” he asked.

  She didn’t think he was overly concerned about her injury because he’d yawned when he’d asked the question.

  Jade started to tell him no, that it didn’t pain her much at all, then reconsidered. “Yes,” she said. “It stings, but only just a little,” she added when he looked a bit too concerned. “Why were you sleeping in the chair?”

  He pulled his shirt off before answering her. “You were taking up most of the bed,” he explained. “I didn’t want to move you.”

  “Move me? Why would you want to move me?”

  Caine blew out the candles, pulled the covers back, and stretched out next to her. Then he gave her a roundabout answer. “I’ll just stay with you until you fall asleep again.”

  “But Caine, it isn’t at all proper . . .”

  “Go to sleep, love. You need your rest.”

  She stiffened when he put his arm around her. His hand rested between her breasts. When she tried to ease it away, he captured her hand and held on.

  “This really isn’t at all . . .” She quit protesting in midsentence, realizing it was wasted effort. Caine was already snoring again and certainly wouldn’t hear a word she said.

  She decided there was little harm in letting him sleep with her for a short while. She had, after all, run the man ragged and he surely needed his rest. She’d already noticed how cranky he became when he was weary. Odd, but she found that flaw a bit endearing.

  Jade snuggled up against him and closed her eyes. She instinctively knew he would behave himself. He was a gentleman, and he’d given her his word that he’d never take advantage of her.

  She was obviously just as exhausted as he appeared to be, for she fell asleep with the most confusing thought rambling through her mind.

  She was beginning to wish he wasn’t such a gentleman after all.

  The physician, Sir Harwick, couldn’t be located for two full days and nights. Caine sent messengers to his London home and to his country estate. Harwick was finally located at the residence of Lady McWilliams, attending to a birthing. He sent a missive back to Caine explaining that as soon as his duty there was completed, he would immediately ride over to Caine’s estate.

  Caine ranted about that inconvenience until Jade reminded him that her condition wasn’t life threatening, a fact, she added, that the messenger had related to the physician, and that she was beginning to feel much better anyway and didn’t need or want anyone poking at her.

  Lingering soon became torture for Jade. She couldn’t stand the confinement.

  The weather mimicked her mood too. Since the moment she’d arrived at Caine’s home, it hadn’t quit raining.

  Caine’s mood was just as sour as her own. He reminded her of a caged animal. Every time he came into her room to speak to her, he paced back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back, while he grilled her about her past, her brother, and all the events leading up to the murder she’d witnessed. Caine always ended each dueling session with the remark that he didn’t have enough information yet to draw any substantial conclusions.

  His frustration was almost visible. Jade found fencing with him just as nerve grating. She was careful not to give him too many true facts or too many lies, either, but Lord, it was exhausting work.

  They spent quite a lot of time shouting at each other. Jade accused him of being sorry he ever became involved in her problems. He was, of course, insulted by such an accusation. Still, he didn’t come right out and deny it.

  In her heart, she thought he didn’t find her appealing any longer. Why, he didn’t even try to kiss her anymore, or sleep next to her, and by the third day, he was barely speaking a civil word to her.

  On the fourth night of her confinement, Jade’s control snapped. She tore off the fresh bandage that Sterns had changed for her just a few hours’ earlier, ordered a bath for herself, and then announced that she was fully recovered.

  By the time she finished washing her hair, her frame of mind had improved considerably. Sterns helped her dry the long curls, then sat her in front of the hearth where a full fire blazed.

  After Sterns directed the servants in changing the bedding and removing the tub, he nagged Jade back into bed.

  As soon as darkness fell, Jade gave the signal to her men, then returned to her bed. She opened one of the books she’d borrowed from Caine’s library, and settled down to read to the sound of thunder rumbling
in the distance.

  The storm proved to be more than just bluster, however. A giant tree, as tall as Caine’s three-story house, was felled to the ground by a bolt of lightning that was so powerful, the exposed roots glowed an eerie red for a good long while. The clap of thunder shook the house, and the aftermath, a sizzling, crackling sound of wood burning, snapped and popped in the night air like meat roasting over an open fire.

  All the extra hands were needed in the stables to soothe the frightened horses. The scent of fire was in their nostrils, or so Kelley, the head stablemaster, professed. Caine was called when his stallion wouldn’t settle down. As soon as he entered the stables, however, his mount immediately quit his tantrum.

  It was well after midnight when Caine returned to the main house. Though it was only a short distance from the stables, he was still soaked through. He left his boots, socks, jacket, and shirt in the entryway and went upstairs. Another booming clap of thunder shook the house just as Caine was about to enter his room.

  Jade must be terrified, he told himself as he changed direction. He would just look in on her to make certain she was all right. If she was sound asleep, he’d leave her alone. If, however, she was still awake . . . well then, perhaps they could have another shouting debate about the ills of the world and the inferiority of women. That thought made Caine smile in anticipation. Jade was turning out to be anything but inferior. She was making a mockery out of his beliefs, too. He’d go to his grave before admitting that fact to her, though, for it was simply too much fun watching her try to cover her own reactions to his opinions.

  It was actually a little stunning when he realized he really wanted to talk to her. Granted, there were several other things he wanted to do as well, but he forced himself to squelch those thoughts.

  He did pause to knock on her door. He didn’t, however, give her time to tell him to go away, or time either, if she was sleeping, to wake up. No, he had the door opened before she could react.