“Just as they rushed us, I heard you identified as the target. Also, if the fellow with the red feather in his cap was the leader, he was making a concerted effort to lay you out. That’s why he didn’t pay any attention to me.”
Trevor frowned but reluctantly nodded. “All right. I’ll accept that, but again I say why?”
“I fear they were hired by our erstwhile friend Wilmot because he sees you as a threat to winning Vanessa’s hand. Remember, Vanessa spent an unconscionable amount of time in your company at the ball.”
“And when he finds out I’m not courting Vanessa . . . ."
"You’ll be safer, and I won’t worry so much about your damned hide.”
“But what about yours?” Trevor protested.
“Remember, I volunteered to be cannon fodder, but I didn’t volunteer to enter the fray unarmed. I won’t be taken by surprise again,” Hugh grimly assured him.
“You’ll be lucky to get out of that bed to do much of anything.”
A soft knock on the door was followed by Vanessa’s presence, interrupting their discussion. “Time, Mr. Danielson,” she said, holding the door open and pointedly staring at him.
“Right,” he said, rising from his chair. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Hugh.”
Vanessa stood silently until he exited the room, then she closed the door with a decided snap. “Now, Mr. Talverton,” she said, walking toward him with a determined air, “you will take your medicine.”
“Yes, Miss Mannion, I will,” he admitted tiredly.
Her cold demeanor melted like spring snow, and her heart went out to him. She handed him the glass and put her arm underneath his head to help him rise enough to drink. When he finished, she took the glass from him, setting it on a tray by the bed, and reached behind him to fluff his pillow. Hugh’s senses swam at her closeness, but he held himself rigidly in check. When she backed away and looked down at him with tenderness, his heart swelled. He couldn’t take much more of her tenderness; the prim and proper nurse was a safer companion.
He looked up at her, a mischievous little twinkle in his eye. “So, do I get a sweet for being a good boy and taking my medicine? I suppose I’m past the age of a sugar plum. How about a sweet little kiss instead?”
Instantly she pokered up. “That blow certainly addled your wits. Go to sleep, Mr. Talverton,” she said repressively, setting the Windsor chair a respectable distance from the bed and sitting down, her hands folded primly in her lap.
“Yes, ma’am,” he returned promptly and closed his eyes. Surprisingly, he was sound asleep in a trice.
When next he awoke, Hugh was pleased to discover the incipient pounding in his head had settled into a dull ache. Experimentally he levered himself up in bed, testing for the returning waves of giddiness and nausea. Happily, they did not return. Wrapping the sheet around his nether half, he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
“Mr. Talverton!” exclaimed Vanessa from where she stood by the doorway, a luncheon tray clasped in her hands. She stood there transfixed, uncertain whether to leave or enter.
Hugh hurriedly tucked the sheet in closer about his body. “I feel as weak as a kitten,” he admitted, covering her embarrassment.
‘‘Whatever are you doing, trying to get out of bed?” she demanded as she set the tray on a bureau.
He looked at her askance, his lips twisting. “I must at some time, you know—answer the call of nature.”
“Oh. Oh!” gasped Vanessa, now understanding the matter. Her cheeks flared brilliant red. “Of course, how silly— you must— I mean— Let me get Jonas,” she said disjointedly, turning to flee the room.
She did not attempt to return for an hour, and this time she knocked discreetly at the door. Mr. Talverton was progressing so swiftly, it was probably no longer necessary to maintain a constant vigil on him. She regretted that. She wished he would be an invalid a while longer. But with his returning strength, her parents were sure to deny her nursing privileges, for such close, private proximity with a man was unseemly.
Her knock was met with a request to enter. She was astonished to see him out of bed and fully dressed.
“Mr. Talverton, I must protest! While you may be feeling better, that was a nasty blow to your head. Please, sir!” she admonished, waving him toward the bed.
He smiled and caught her hands in his own. “In truth, I am still weak, but strong enough, I venture, to soon be denied your presence in this room without a chaperone.”
Her cheeks reddening when she realized his thoughts followed the same paths as her own, she looked down at their joined hands.
“I have spoken with your mother, and she agrees that if I descend the stairs to the parlor and settle on one of the sofas without moving about further, I should come to no harm. Besides, I believe Adeline and Trevor may be planning an announcement, and I’d much prefer to be in attendance than to hear it secondhand,” he confided, a glinting smile lighting his eyes.
She looked up at him, momentarily speechless. Her heart ached to see the stark white bandage around his tanned brow, his blond waves in disarray, falling across the bandage or standing almost straight out away from his head. She heard his sharp intake of breath and suddenly realized she was staring at him with all the love she felt for him showing nakedly in her face. She pulled her hands out of his, turning toward the door, her slight laugh high and strained. She was not going to give him another opportunity to throw her love back into her face. He didn’t want her love, he wanted an amusing dalliance. He was uncomfortable around her due to her emotions, which was the last thing she wanted him to be.
“Well, come then. I’ll lend you my arm on the stairs, but you must promise to tell me immediately if you feel the least bit giddy or dizzy,” she said earnestly, trying to cover her trembling limbs with false bravado.
