The bandaged man went completely immobile. It was as if he was cloaked not just in dappled shadow and strips of cloth but encased in a thick layer of ice. His long black lashes did not blink. His wide lips did not grimace. Not even a twitch on the visible half of his chiseled face.
With effort, she tore her gaze from his soft black hair and rigid muscles and spun to glare at the fluffy predator atop the wardrobe.
She held out her arms. “Come here, right now.”
Ignoring her, Duke lowered his haunches and bared his teeth.
“I mean it.” Virginia lifted her hands higher. “Right now, Duke.”
He gave a loud hiss, retracted his claws, and launched himself into her arms.
She cuddled him to her chest. “You naughty scamp. Please leave nice gentlemen alone. You could have hurt…” She turned toward the bandaged man. “What was your name?”
“I didn’t give it.” His voice was as frigid as the wind outside.
Virginia liked the cold. She sat on the edge of a wingback chair, careful to keep Duke trapped in her arms. “I apologize for my cat’s behavior. I didn’t mean for him to stalk you. He slipped away while I was climbing a tree and…”
She clamped her teeth together.Short explanations.That was one of the rules.One cannot say the wrong thing when one says nothing at all.That had been the very first rule. She was breaking them both.
The man stared at her. No smile, no frown. No mockery. He was a mystery.
She gazed back in interest. If he was this handsome half-hidden in bandages, he must be absolutely stunning when fully unveiled. She gave Duke an extra scratch behind the ears. Coming here had been an excellent choice.
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?” the man said at last.
She shook her head. “We’re on our afternoon constitutional. The castle won’t have supper for a few more hours.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re a guest in the castle?”
“No.” That answer was easy to keep short. Virginia knew better than to say too much about herself.
The man glanced at the open bedchamber door, then back to her. “Where is your maid?”
“Though the sloth traverses its path alone, peace is all around it.” She, too, cast her concerned gaze about the otherwise empty chamber. “Where is your nurse?”
“I do not have one,” the man enunciated in harsh, clipped syllables.
Perfect.
He needed Virginia.
She rose to her feet. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Do not come back tomorrow.” His dark eyes glittered with the fire’s reflection. “Do not come back at all.”
Virginia tilted her head. The Duke of Azureford had personally told her she was welcome back at any time.
This man was clearly not the Duke of Azureford.
Therefore, she would ignore his bluster, just as she would with any creature too scared to trust a stranger. She would prove her goodwill with action.
“I’ll be your nurse,” she promised him. “Don’t worry.”
“I don’t require a nurse,” he said, his voice and posture stiff. “I want for nothing at all.”
This could not be true. “Nothing?”
“Perhaps a spare face,” he said, his tone harsh. “And my favorite ice cream. And a new leg. Is there a ‘spare leg vendor’ in this village?”
