“I don’t want you to touch me,” she snapped.“Take me back.”
“What do you think your father will say when he sees you like this?”
“You should be more worried about yourself,” she countered.“He’ll want to kill you.”
The lieutenant sent her a patronizing smile.“For saving your virtue?”
“You’re the one who tried to attack me just now.”
“Sweet, I’m not a man who has to attack anyone.”He pulled his coat from the carriage door, and Hannah winced at the flash of light from one of the street lamps.
She said nothing, her thoughts drifting back and forth, trying to decide whether he was a rogue or a man of honor.Yes, he’d kissed her when he shouldn’t have.But he’d also taken care of her.
Though he should have brought her home immediately, he’d listened when she’d begged him to stop the carriage.The excruciating, jarring sensation from the horses had made each mile an unending torture.
Another man wouldn’t have done the same.He’d have ignored her needs, riding as fast as he dared back to Rothburne House.But not the lieutenant.
So many questions gathered up, needing to be asked.Hannah traced her swollen lips, wondering what had driven him to do such a thing.
“You don’t need to be afraid of me,” he said quietly.“I’m not going to kiss you again.”His cravat was loosened from his collar, while he donned the ill-fitting jacket.
“I should hope not.”
He raised his gaze to hers, and she caught a glimpse of green eyes with flecks of brown.His cheeks held a light stubble, and for a moment, she wondered why the texture hadn’t scratched her skin.
“You really are an innocent, aren’t you?”He glanced over her ivory silk gown, and the remark didn’t sound like a compliment.
“I suppose.You speak of it as though it’s a bad thing.”
He glanced outside the carriage window, as if searching for someone.“It’s what most men want.”
“But not you.”
A dark laugh escaped him.“I’m not a good man at all.”
She didn’t entirely believe that.“Please take me home,” she reminded him.“My family will be worried.”
“Turn around,” he ordered.
She knew what he needed to do, but she hesitated to let him touch her corset.It didn’t matter that he’d already done so; she’d been half out of her mind with pain.“No, it isn’t proper.”
The lieutenant didn’t listen to her argument but forced her to turn around.His hands fumbled with the stays, pulling them tight before tying them.“Proper or not, I won’t let your father think I ravaged you in a carriage.”
He was right.Her father would be angry enough at both of them, without him drawing the wrong conclusions.
“How long have we been gone, do you think?”Her stomach didn’t feel right, and her head still ached.
“Longer than an hour.Two or three, perhaps.It isn’t dawn yet.”His large hands struggled with the tiny buttons, and she couldn’t help but be even more aware of him.He muttered, “I’m better at taking these off than buttoning them up.”
Hannah didn’t doubt that at all.When he’d finished, she rested her head against the side of the carriage, waiting for him to go back to the driver’s seat.
“Are you feeling better?”he asked.
“I’ll manage.”Thank heaven, it had been one of the shorter headaches, swift and furious.The after-effects would dwell with her for a while, but the worst was over.
“What are you going to tell my father?”she asked.
Michael opened the door to the carriage, leaving it slightly open.“The truth.Neither of us has done anything wrong.”
