Page 14 of The Reckless Love of an Heir
He was not clothed! Who took tea in a sitting room unclothed?
Or rather he was clothed but only in a loose dressing gown that covered one shoulder and was left hanging beneath his bad arm before being held together by a sash at his waist.
He held his damaged arm across his middle. It drew her eyes to his stomach. She had thought him muscular yesterday buttoday she could see all the lines of the muscle beneath his tarnished skin on the exposed half of his body. He sported a variety of shades of blue, black, dark red, bright red and gruesome yellow, and his shoulder was entirely black as she had guessed yesterday. The bruising ran not only down his chest but also covered his arm.
‘What are you doing here? Being rebellious again? What do you wish for?’ His initial tone may have been incredulous, but now his voice mocked her as it always had.
Her gaze lifted to his face. ‘I thought you were taking tea?’
His eyes laughed at her. ‘I am taking tea, alone, here, in my private rooms.’
‘But who drinks tea in…’
‘In what?’
Embarrassment engulfed her. She had been about to accuse him of being naked, although he was not quite.
‘You are truly lucky you did not do yourself more harm,’ she said, without looking at him again.
‘As I said yesterday, believe me, I know what I risked far more than you. I was there. Why did you come up here?’ The amusement in his voice had been replaced with impertinence.
‘We are taking the other dogs out to the meadow. I came to offer to take Samson too. I thought you had risen.’
‘I have, but only as far as my private sitting room so I did not need to strain my damned arm by putting on clothes.’ She glanced up when he swore, in response to the un-Henry-like bolshiness in voice, a note that came from pain. ‘And pray do not look horrified at me for using a bad word. You made the choice to come up here and this is my private room, I will speak as I please.’
‘I’m sorry. I’ll go.’
He sat down again, almost deflated, his good hand holding his bad arm.
‘It must be very painful.’ She took two steps further into the room.
‘It is, thank you for the recognition. Now you ought to go, before Mama catches you here and then tells your mama and then you will earn yourself a scold and some penalty…’
‘We are not children anymore, I would not?—’
‘No, precisely, Susan.’ His eyes looked hard into hers. ‘We are not children. You cannot run around doing anything you wish.’
‘Perhaps you should listen to yourself.’ Her ire rose and snapped in answer, before she turned away. Because was that not exactly why he was in this state? He had no right to chastise her for anything she did when he hurtled about the roads racing his curricle with no regard for others. ‘I will not come back until you send for Alethea,’ she said, as she walked back across the room. ‘So you may run about shirtless all over the house without fear!’
A sharp bark of laughter caught on the air behind her. She did not look back.
‘You know you are as bad as me! Admit it or not! You cast your judgements, and yet you are just as rebellious, in your way.’
Rebellious?She turned back. She could not see him. He had sat down in the chair, facing the window, invisible behind it. ‘I am not rebellious!’ she shouted.
‘No? Then why are you here, disturbing me?’
‘I came to offer to take Samson out and also to see how you are. You looked unwell yesterday.’
‘Rebellious with good intent then; but to my room, Susan? Even Alethea would not have come here.’
‘I would not have walked into your bedroom. I only came to your sitting room!’
There was a low eruption of amusement in his throat that wasnot quite a laugh, perhaps more like a growl of frustration, or pain. Even as angry as she was with him, that sense of empathy had embedded its claws in her.
‘Believe me, no other well-bred woman I know would have done this! No matter that it isonlymy sitting room!’
She let out a soft sound of amusement as she turned away again. ‘Good day, Henry! I hope you feel a little better in the morning.’
