Page 45 of Five Nights with a Rakish Duke
He was blinded by the pain momentarily – ending up down on his knees amongst the dewy grass.
“W-wait… stop,” he tried to say as he pushed through the pain in his head, but it was no good. He could only lift his head enough to see a figure walking away through the garden after dropping a branch to the ground beside Asher.
Chapter Fifteen
“Asher?” Penelope whispered as she stepped outside.
The darkness of the night seemed to be growing thicker by the second as she stepped away from the doors that led back into the ballroom and moved across the patio terrace. She flicked her head back and forth, trying desperately to see any semblance of Asher, but there was nothing. Only the orbs of orange light through the ballroom windows glinting off the birch tree bark that framed the terrace and lightened the flower heads of dahlias and geraniums across the borders.
“Asher?” she whispered again but to no avail.
She glanced back into the ballroom, fearing Adam might follow her. It was with some difficulty she had made her escape. She had tried multiple things. At first, she claimed she needed a drink, but Adam insisted on fetching it for her. When she said she might need some fresh air, Adam offered to accompany her. In the end, the only thing that had extricated herself from him was claiming a privy break.
He is being very attentive at the moment.She backed away from the doors, further across the terrace, and turned her focus out to the garden. Veronica’s words were still echoing in her head.
“Well, there is one man walking this way who we have not considered, who you could consider.”
I cannot marry Adam.The words were firm in Penelope’s head. Many cousins married. She had seen it herself often enough, but she saw Adam as more of a brother than a cousin regardless. She was certain he saw her as a sister too, evidenced by how attentive and caring he was. No, she was certain Veronica was quite wrong about the possibility.
“Asher?” Penelope whispered again, stepping off the patio and moving out toward the grass. “Your Grace, this is hardly the time for hiding in the shrubbery, is it?” she asked archly. “What if someone comes out and finds me here? So much for being discreet.” She mumbled the latter part as she turned her head back and forth. There was nothing but shadows and plants to greet her. “This is ridiculous.”
She moved away from the terrace completely, determined to lose herself in the garden for a few minutes. The pain of seeing Asher dance with Margaret was still simmering under the surface, even though she knew it shouldn’t bother her. Winding her hands in the loose locks of her updo, she sought a path between the roses, deciding it was best to be alone for a while.
A groan disturbed the silence. Penelope froze, burying her pump shoes in the grass as she listened again. She heard the twit of an owl and the cry of a fox, then the groan came again.
“Who’s there?” she asked, standing a little taller, determined not to be afraid.
“Penny?” The voice was shaky.Only one man calls me that.
“Asher?” she said, stepping forward as a shadow moved on the earth before her. “Good God, what are you doing down there?”
“It is not by choice,” he replied and hissed through his teeth as though in pain. She moved forward again. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the closer she got to him, the more she could see.
He was on his knees on the grass, with both hands to the back of his head, looking up at her with wide eyes.
“What happened to you – oh my…” She trailed off as he lowered one of the hands from his head. She didn’t need to see awfully well in the darkness to be able to discern the patch of darkened liquid on his palm. “Asher!” She jumped to his side, hurrying down on her knees and pulling his palm forward to inspect. “That’s blood.”
“Wonderful. Whoever he was, he hit me bloody hard.”
“Someone hit you!?” she cried in panic, snapping her gaze back up to him. He seemed to sway on his knees, not quite in control of his balance. “Asher, woah!” She caught him before he fell forward.
Of all the ways to be in Asher’s arms, this was not quite the way she had pictured it before. It was a complete contrast to how he had last kissed her, breathlessly, with tantalizing touches to her bare skin exposed across her neck and upper arms. Here, he was hardly in control of his body, leaning on her in desperate need of support.
“We need to get you to a physician. Now. Asher, can you stand?” she asked, pulling on his arms.
“It is not so bad,” he said quietly, but then he began to tip the other way.
“Not so bad!” she cried, pulling on his arms and jerking him forward before he could capitulate backwards. “Let a physician be the judge of that. Can you stand?”
“Penny, all I want to do is lie here on the ground for a while,” Asher whispered. “I will be fine.” He tipped his head up a little, clearly wincing in pain as the clouds moved across the sky, revealing the moon at last. His handsome features were bathed in the silvery light. Any other time, Penelope would have happily occupied herself in admiring those features, but they were taut with pain now.
“If you think I am going to leave you on the ground here by yourself when you’re injured, then you don’t know me at all. Now, up.” Despite her smaller form, she was determined and angled herself to move to his side. With one arm wrapped around his body, she heaved him to his feet. He stumbled for a second before placing an arm over her shoulder, using her as support.
“I like to think I know you quite well by now, Penny,” he said quietly, his voice still holding that deep and sultry tone.
“How can you flirt at a time like this?” she gasped in amazement.
“I am hardly on my deathbed. It is just a little bruise.”
