She cleared her throat. “You don’t need to worry,” she said. “Even if I had been badly hurt—which I wasn’t—I wouldn’t consider it to be your fault. You don’t need to worry about being blamed for something happening while I’m in your charge. That’s not the way I see it. I was the one who fell, so I’m responsible for it.”
He shook his head, his brow furrowed. “That isn’t what I meant.”
She wanted to ask him what he had meant, if not that, but for some reason, the question made her nervous. It felt like something she didn’t genuinely want to know the answer to, and so she kept her mouth shut.
“You’ll be wanting to get back to your bed,” he said. “Let me help you.”
Bridget realized a moment before he acted what he was about to do. “No—hold on?—”
But she’d spoken too late. Reeves had swept her up in his arms once again, and before Bridget could issue another word of protest, she found herself being carried across the room and deposited gently on the bed.
Her hand immediately slid under the pillow, almost of its own accord, to make sure the book was still concealed. This whole encounter had already been beyond embarrassing, even if it had been strangely exciting as well.
Reeves’ eyes tracked her. “What are you hiding from me?” he asked.
“Can’t a lady have anything personal?” Bridget asked, her cheeks flaming.
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know,” he said. “You didn’t bring much with you to this house. I imagine if you’re hiding something, it’s something I ought to know about.”
“I think you should go,” Bridget said, sitting up straighter. “You came here to see to my well-being, and now you’ve done that, so I think it’s time for you to leave me in peace. I was planning to go to bed.”
“Well, if you’re certain …” He wandered in the direction of her bed.
Somehow, she didn’t see it coming. She would curse herself later for the foolishness it had taken not to realize what he was up to. But in the moment, being near him only set her heart beating rapidly again, just as it had when he had been examining her ankle, and it was all she could do to keep from shivering with the anticipation of another touch.
When his hand came close to her, her breath stopped for a moment—she believed hewasgoing to touch her again. And this time, he wouldn’t be able to pass it off as wanting to make sure her injury wasn’t too severe. Her head spun with questions—why would he do it? Did she want him to do it? Was she going to allow it?
His hand moved past her. Surprisingly nimble fingers darted under the pillow, and the next thing Bridget knew, he was holding up the book.
“Hey!” she objected, reaching for it, but he held it out of her grasp.
“So,” he said, a slow smile spreading across his face. “This is what you’ve been hiding from me?”
She struggled to maintain her dignity. “May I have it back, please?”
“And what would a lady like you need with a book like this?” He flipped it open and read aloud. “‘Lord Chancery was tall, with broad, muscular shoulders and big hands that sent a shiver down Lady Eleanor’s spine…’ Well, my goodness, I don’t know what Lady Eleanor is going to do under these circumstances.”
“If you’d like to read the book when I’ve finished, you’re certainly free to do that.” Bridget was aware of the blush creeping across her face. She felt hot all the way down her torso. “Reeves, may I have the book back, please? I said I would read it so that Agnes and I could discuss it, that’s all. There’s no need for these theatrics.”
His grin only grew wider. He handed her the book. “Of course,” he said. “You’re only reading it for Agnes’ sake. I completely understand. Even though I saw her leave the room before you did in the library the other day. You can tell me the truth, you know. I’m sure lots of ladies enjoy books like this.”
The embarrassment was nearly too much to take. “Please leave,” she said. “I need to get some rest tonight.”
She looked down at the book in her hands, her vision drifting out of focus. It was too difficult to keep her attention on the cover when she was so aware of him in the room with her. Perhaps he sensed that he had gone a bit too far, though, because he didn’t say anything else, and after a moment, she heard the door close.
Bridget felt as if all the air had gone out of her lungs. She slumped on the bed and closed her eyes, doing her best to re-center herself and breathe evenly.
The whole encounter had been more than she could take, and she wished he had never come into her room tonight.
Except—except that even now that he was gone, she couldn’t stop thinking about the moment by the window when his fingers had rested on the skin of her bare ankle. When he had told her, for reasons she still couldn’t understand, that he didn’t like seeing her hurt.
CHAPTER 18
The encounter in Bridget’s room had left Reeves feeling more shaken than he cared to admit. Now that he was out in the hall again, it was clear to him that he wouldn’t have teased her so mercilessly about that book if he hadn’t already been feeling nervous himself. He had done that because he had needed to break the tension, and it hadn’t been a very fair way to go about it.
I’ll apologize to her in the morning. She did say she wanted to be left alone for the night.
He made his way down the hall toward his study, thinking he would do a little more work before turning in for the evening, but then he paused. Maybe it would be a better idea to stop by Emma’s room. She was sure to be asleep by now, but looking in on her would put him at ease. It was always something he had been able to do to comfort himself in the past, and tonight would be no exception.
