Page 13 of When a Duke Loves a Woman
She searched her memory, trying to find something of interest, latched onto it and laughed. “Ah. There was this one time, I was cleaning the front stoop and the toff’s son shows up on his horse, rides it right up the steps, past me, and into the house. And wouldn’t you know it? The horse left me a damned present, right there, before he went over the threshold. Which made it my business to clean up. They didn’t give me any more coins. Only my three-pence. Never took a fancy to horses after that. Well, except for the mythical kind, of course.”
“Take you... riding. Change your mind... about them.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she was fairly certain one cracked. He was delirious with fever, of course. He didn’t mean the words. Men spouted all sorts of nonsense when they were in pain, fevered. When he was recovered, he’d look at her and laugh to think he’d ever suggested the two of them going together on an outing. Ridiculous. Not unless hell had frozen over. She wanted to make light of it, to tease him, but a small corner of her soul, a traitorous part, longed for him to be coherent, to have uttered the words with true purpose, wanted to find herself in his company when he was healed and well again.
What a silly chit she was to wish for things that could never be. Even though she knew little about him, she recognized they were worlds apart, that she had chosen an occupation and a life no man would welcome in a mate.
“Where’s Gillie?” Aiden Trewlove asked as he drew back a chair and dropped into it, joining his brother Beast at a corner table in the tavern. It was an odd thing to walk into the Mermaid and Unicorn and not see his sister standing behind the bar, nodding at him, and turning around to pour him a drink.
“Jolly Roger says she told him she wouldn’t be coming in today or tonight.”
“What? She’s not working at all?”
Beast shrugged a brawny shoulder that always came in handy when a brawl was needed. He was also a man of few words, which made him the ideal drinking partner for Aiden, who always preferred listening to his own voice.
“Gillie always works,” he reminded his brother.
“Not today.”
“Why?”
“She didn’t say. Gave no reasons apparently.”
“Is she in her rooms?”
“Supposedly.”
“You didn’t go check on her?” Shoving back his chair, he started to rise.
“She might not want checking on.”
Aiden froze, glanced back at his brother. “Why ever not?”
Beast looked at his tankard of ale as though he feared it might sprout legs and run off. He cleared his throat. “Jolly Roger thinks it might be a womanly thing.”
“Like what?”
His brother gave him an impatient glare.
Ah, her monthly. “It’s never stopped her before.”
“Then I don’t know. Maybe she’s just feeling under the weather or has a cough or something.”
He dropped back down. “Someone should look in on her.”
Beast grimaced, shifted in his chair as though it had suddenly become spiked. “What if it is a womanly thing? I don’t want to have to talk about that. It’s only a day. Maybe she’s reading a good book and didn’t want to put it aside.”
“She’s not you. Doing anything that requires sitting for any length of time makes her want to clamber up a wall. Something must be wrong.”
“Aren’t you the optimist?”
He scowled. “It’s odd is all. I’m worried about her.”
“You’re worried about who is going to bring you your beer.”
Aiden grinned. “There is that. If she was here, I’d have it by now.” He signaled to a lass walking by. “I’ll give her today, but if she’s not back tomorrow, I’ll know the reason why.”
Chapter 5
