by Rebecca King
“Edwards, go and fetch me my tray of tea,” he ordered coldly.
His eyes met hers when she turned her glare to him. She seemed to remember then who he was. Whatever she had been about to say was masked behind the somewhat false smile she offered him. It left him with the distinct impression that trouble was brewing at Wenland Lodge, and it was going to originate from Edwards.
The silence within the room thickened as both he and Petal waited for the nurse to leave. Strangely, he felt rather protective toward the maid. It was a new, and altogether uncomfortable, feeling for him. The only person in his life he had ever protected was his brother, whom he had once stepped into a fight to save. Other than that, he had never even considered such an emotion before. But it was there, for this strange and somewhat unusual servant.
“Not you,” he said when Petal turned to leave. “I meant Edwards.”
“Me?” Edwards turned shocked eyes on him.
Aidan nodded and waited to see how the nurse would respond to being asked to do something the maid should be doing.
“Yes, you, Edwards,” Aidan demanded coldly. “Now.”
To his surprise, Edwards merely quietly left the room without even a token protest. He watched the door close behind her, a little stymied as to why she would surrender so easily.
Just what is she up to? He mused, but then found his thoughts interrupted by the very visible reminder that Petal was still waiting for him to tell her why he summoned her.
“Do something for me while she is gone,” Aidan murmured hastily.
“What are you doing?” Petal gasped when he threw the covers back from the bed and manhandled his legs around until they were dangling uselessly over the side.
“Help me.” His voice was crisp and no-nonsense.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, temporarily forgetting it wasn’t her place to ask.
She rather suspected he was gritting his teeth, but didn’t seem inclined to want to answer her. Instead, he lifted his arm, apparently expecting her to help him. She glanced worriedly at the door and wondered if she should call Edwards back to assist him with what he was about to do.
“Get me a pair of breeches out of the drawer over there,” Aidan demanded, pointing to the dresser in the corner of the room.
Petal did as instruction. When she returned to the bed, Aidan threw the covers back and began to tug his breeches on. She gasped and felt her cheeks heat, and spun around. But not before she had witnessed far more than she should have done.
“Don’t you go anywhere,” Aidan ordered darkly, keeping one eye on her.
Petal dutifully froze. “What do you want me to do?” she asked nervously.
“Help me,” he said calmly but firmly.
Petal daren’t turn around. She knew her embarrassment was there for the world to see. After what she had just caught sight of, she didn’t think she would ever be able to look him in the eye again.
“Hurry, woman,” he ordered sharply, ignoring the tell-tale frisson of excitement that shivered through him.
Petal hurriedly took up position by his side. Her heart thumped heavily as he slid a long, muscular arm across her shoulders.
“I can go and get Rollo if you would like?” she offered desperately.
“I don’t want Rollo, or Edwards, to know about this. Just help me.”
“I am going to get into awful trouble if anything happens to you,” she replied.
He didn’t seem to hear her warning, or decided to ignore it, because he slid awkwardly onto his feet and leaned heavily on her while he teetered precariously on unsteady legs.
Petal had no choice but to brace herself against his side and take as much of his weight as she could. She slid an arm around the hard muscles of his back, inwardly shocked that she was not only touching him but had her hands on his bared flesh. She began to silently pray that neither Rollo nor Edwards would walk in on them.
“I am going to have a heck of a lot of explaining to do if Rollo appears right now,” she grumbled warningly.
Aidan grinned at her. “I am the master here,” he assured her.
“Remember that when he is scolding me, and if you end up flat on your face.”
Her free arm waved around the room helplessly. She wasn’t sure what to do with it. The alternative was to touch the manly expanse of hairy chest mere inches from her nose, and she daren’t do that. She couldn’t. It was bad enough that she was pressed intimately against his side.
“You won’t get into trouble. Why does nobody see that I am a fully grown man who is perfectly capable of making his own decisions? It was my legs damaged in that carriage accident, not my head. I am fully compos mentis.”
Petal sighed and tried hard to ignore the coarse bristles that rippled with the muscles of his chest when he breathed or talked, and could form no argument with him He was indeed a man. From the top of his head to the tip of his toes he positively reeked of masculinity.
Oh Lord! The man is Adonis.
She sighed with feminine appreciation. Her wayward thoughts elicited a shiver that swept down her spine and erased any lingering doubts she had about whether to help him or not. She shook her head in disbelief, and began to pray that she would have the strength to walk away afterwards.
“I should have listened to my father, and stayed at the farm,” she grumbled as she helped him to his feet. “Have you stood at all since you were released from London?”
Aidan grinned and laughed at her grumpiness. It felt strange to laugh. He realised he hadn’t done so for a long time, and it made his smile widen. It was clear that she thought he was nuts, but at least she was game enough to at least try to help him. If he was honest, he wasn’t entirely sure it was the right thing to do, but he was going to do it anyway.
“I didn’t get released from London,” he chided ruefully. “It is not a prison, you know.”
“The Tower of London is there,” she replied cheekily.
“Yes, but I wasn’t in the Tower of London.” He laughed again. “And no, I haven’t done this before, but I should have. Everyone seems to cosset and fuss over me to the point that I am going to scream if I don’t get some of my old life back. This is step one of my recovery.”
He liked the fact that she had lost some of her usual stiff wariness as they talked. Even grumpy, he got a chance to see her, the person, begin to emerge. He found her endearing.
“Are you going to go back to London when you are fully recovered?”
She knew she shouldn’t be asking, but he didn’t seem to give a farthing for strictures. It was impossible to try to remain dutiful and remember her place when her shoulder was wedged beneath his armpit, and his hip was pressing into hers so intimately.
“No. London is far behind me and can stay there,” he replied fervently. “I just need to get up and about, but Edwards doesn’t seem to want me to have that kind of independence.”
“She would be out of a job if you did,” she replied.
“I know,” he nodded. “So help me get up and about without her.”
“She will have a fit if she sees us. She hates me as it is,” Petal muttered.
Aidan peered down at her. He tried valiantly to ignore just how wonderful it felt to be just so, himself, with her. Apart from Jeremy, there was nobody else he felt that comfortable with to let his hair down in such a way, and it amused him as much as it amazed him.
What was it about Petal that made it feel so right and natural just to be with her? He was fairly sure she wasn’t a mischief maker. She was a hard worker who minded her manners and had a sensible head on her shoulders, but that couldn’t be it.
Was it her readiness to help him? He couldn’t be sure. Whatever it was, beggars couldn’t be choosers. He needed her help; a co-conspirator and, thankfully, Petal was just the kind of person to fit the mould perfectly.
At the moment, he couldn’t ignore the fact that one of her shoulders was nudging precariously into his ribcage; the bony protrusion doing little but tickle h
is ribcage. The height difference between them ensured she didn’t bear much of his weight, but he didn’t even notice that much. He was fairly confident that if he leant sideways and allowed her to take his weight, they would both be in a heap on the floor. Then they would have to surrender to his lamentations because he would then be subjected to several more weeks of Edwards’ rather dubious care, and would have no bones about letting everyone know it.
“Where are we going?” Petal asked, hoping she would still have a job when they reached wherever it was he wanted to go.
CHAPTER FIVE
Aidan studied the room. While he wanted to sit beside the fireplace, if only to irk Edwards because she would have no knowledge of how he got there, he knew it was too far. There would be difficulties. If he got there, the bellpull would be too far away to use when he wanted to go back to bed, unless Petal stayed with him. Because she was always so nervous around him, he couldn’t take the risk that as soon as Edwards appeared, Petal didn’t just abandon him.
The last thing he wanted, or needed, was Edwards’ help guiding him back into bed.
“If you can move that chair and put it beside the window, I should like to look out across the gardens,” he murmured thoughtfully.
“Are you going to be alright if I let go for a moment?” Petal asked, loosening her hold enough to put a few inches between them.
Aidan nodded and balanced precariously using the bed for support until she returned to him. It was with a complete sense of rightness that he slid his arm across her shoulder again moments later.
“Are sure you want to try this?” she asked dubiously as she took some of his weight.
“I am certain.” Aidan gritted his teeth and took his first hesitant step toward the chair.
It felt strange to be upright but excellent to be moving about again. His legs didn’t pain him as much as he thought they would. He stood upright and tested their weight bearing capabilities.
“That feels wonderful,” he confided with a delighted sigh.
“It doesn’t hurt at all?”
“It does a bit, but it is nothing I cannot handle. It is better than I thought it would be, in fact,” he murmured, eyeing the distance between the bed and the chair with renewed enthusiasm. “I can do this.”
“Just take your time,” she warned. “This is not a race.”
As he walked, Aidan mentally took stock of his injuries. The bones felt a little odd but then they had been broken. Thankfully, Petal couldn’t see the exact extent of his wounds beneath his breeches, but he was aware of every physical scar he knew he would always carry. Determined not to let it thwart him, though, he gritted his teeth and shuffled onward.
As they wobbled, lurched and staggered toward the chair, Petal instinctively slid an arm around his back to support him as best she could. Although it drew her closer against him, she focused her attention firmly on where they were going.
It was awkward, and tiring, but he managed it and, with a delighted grin, flopped down into the chair beside the window.
“Oh, good Lord, that was easier than I imagined it to be,” he gasped.
“Easier?” Petal repeated with her brows lifted in astonishment.
She watched in amazement as he nodded, and knew he would do it all over again. There was an unholy glint of mischief in his eye that reminded her of a naughty boy who had just been caught stealing apples. He was completely unrepentant.
“You will if Rollo or Edwards finds you?” She hoped they wouldn’t ask who had helped him. In spite of her determination not to, she grinned. “You are going to be in awful trouble.”
Aidan laughed. “I am the master of all I survey.”
Petal snorted and hurried over to the bed to change the sheets while it was vacant.
Lost in thought, Aidan glanced out of the window and sighed in delight. The lavish gardens rolling over the landscape were interwoven with carefully tended borders bracketing a ribboning footpath that encompassed the manor house were a welcome boon. After spending several days staring at the fireplace, it was lovely to see something new, and so brilliantly colourful. He had almost forgotten there was a view outside of the window. His eyes feasted on the miles and miles of uninterrupted fields and woods spanning as far as the eye could see in either direction, and his soul sighed. It brought him a sense of peace unlike no other. It was fabulous to be able to gaze out over the lushness of the early spring and know that all he surveyed was his. Just seeing the spectacle gave him renewed determination to get back onto his feet so he could wander around out there.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” he murmured eying the stunning display of flowers the gardener was carefully tending.
Petal nodded as she folded the new sheets in at the corners, but then realised he was gazing out of the window and wouldn’t be able to see her.
“It is.”
A rather companionable silence settled over them for several moments. It was in such stark contrast to the earlier tensions that for a moment she actually started to enjoy her job.
She realised that she was getting drawn into his world too much. She gave herself a stern, mental shake and turned her attention back to remaking the bed.
“Well, Edwards should be along any moment with your tea. I need to be getting back to the rest of my chores,” she announced when she was done.
She picked up the soiled sheets she had just removed from the bed and turned to go. Before she could move, Aidan spoke.
“You still have to read me that second chapter.”
He didn’t want her to go just yet. She was a servant; of course, he could never forget that. He only had to look at her and the reminder of her position in the house was evident by how Petal was dressed, but he liked her company. She was beautiful, funny, and willing to eschew silly social strictures he abhorred and help him, in regardless of the trouble she might get into. In spite of their positions in life they really did have a lot in common. Petal didn’t know it, but if he had been in her shoes he would have done exactly the same.
He made a mental note to tell Rollo not to reprimand her for helping him, and refocused his attention on the book.
“You still have to read me that second chapter,” he said. “Come and sit in the window seat, there, and read to me.”
The seat he pointed to was sufficiently far enough away that not even Edwards could accuse either of them of anything untoward, and watched Petal walk reluctantly toward it. It wouldn’t create an intimate atmosphere between them either while they were alone. After receiving her help getting into the chair, he needed the distance as a physical reminder that Petal could never be anything more than an outstanding member of staff.
He turned his attention to the view outside of the window while she sat down. Inevitably, as she read, he found his gaze drawn back to her time and again. His gaze is settled on the way sunlight burnished her golden tresses. Every time she moved it seemed to come alive and practically shimmered. He suspected that once it was released from its tight confinement, it would be long enough to reach her waist. It was a pity he wouldn’t be able to see it. His fingers positively itched to be able to touch it to see what it felt like, but he couldn’t. He daren’t. He knew exactly where it would lead them, and he just wasn’t that kind of employer.
“Who taught you to read?” he interrupted casually. He hadn’t even realised he had actually spoken the words aloud until he saw her hesitate and look at him thoughtfully for a moment. It seemed she was as engrossed in the story as he had been; well, almost. He had been lost in his thoughts of her and had no idea what had just happened in the story. Unfortunately, without revealing to her that he wasn’t paying attention, he couldn’t ask her to re-read the chapter from the beginning.
“Pardon?” she asked with a frown.
“You read exceptionally well with just enough expression for the story to be interesting, but it is not too overly dramatic to detract from the story.”
Petal was aghast. She hadn’t paid any attention to the w
ay she read before. It was just something she did without thinking.
“My father taught me. He always said that there were two things I needed to accomplish in life to get anywhere; to read and to cook. Without either I couldn’t live properly.”
Aidan nodded. “He is right as well.”
After a moment of thoughtful silence, when Aidan didn’t speak again, Petal turned her attention to the page before her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember where she had left it and stared blankly at the words.
“Just start at the beginning,” Aidan murmured, leaning his head back against the chair and sighing with deep contentment as he stretched out his legs before him.
“If you are sure?”
He nodded.
The story held little interest for him now. Instead, his thoughts were engaged in trying to find a way to lift Petal out of her humble life. She should be doing considerably more with those skills of hers. Unfortunately, he was painfully aware that it was hardly likely to ever be a reality. There was nothing he could do except employ her and pay her well.
This time, when he turned his attention to the scenery outside of the window, he forced himself to keep it there.
Petal read the end of the chapter and closed the book.
“Sir?” she prompted when Aidan didn’t appear to have realised. She wondered if he had even heard the story and doubted it given the thoughtful scowl on his face.
Aidan looked at her. “I thought I told you not to call me sir,” he drawled softly.
“I am sorry.”
His brows lifted. “And stop apologising.”
Petal pursed her lips to prevent the instinctive apology and watched his lift with wry amusement.