He let out a stream of curses as he reached, his abdomen tightening, the skin around his scar stinging. He sucked in a swift breath and pushed himself further. He blinked as he had a strange feeling of suspension before his muddied thoughts caught up and he realized he now teetered on the edge of the bed.
Sam grabbed to the nightstand to stop himself, but it was too late, his muscles too weak. He rolled over the side and slammed to the floor. His body seized with pain, as if lightning had struck him. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
Chapter Ten
Daisy was juston the verge of sleep when she heard a sound. Almost like a crash, but much quieter. Had it been the beginning of a dream? She sat up, looking around her room, but it was too dark to see if anything had fallen. Daisy slipped out of the bed, sliding her feet into slippers Amelia had bought for her today. She lit the oil lamp beside her bed and peered around the room. Nothing was out of place, but her heart thumped in an alarmed cadence as if she had heard something startling. She turned toward her door.
Should she ring for someone, waking them for a sound shemighthave heard? Daisy chewed her lip as she wavered in indecision. She considered her warm bed. She’d been ready to sleep soundly after a lovely day.
But something in the back of her mind, a sensation she couldn’t name, told her not to. Daisy sighed and reached for the robe on her dressing screen. She might be silly, but she would peek out of her door and see if there was anything to be worried about. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.
Shuffling to her door as she tied the robe, she reached for the handle when she heard another soft thud.
Daisy froze, panic squeezing her heart.
What was that? Was it the wind? She turned toward the window, but there was no other sound. Why was her heart racing like this? There was nothing, unless...
Lord Alston!
Daisy ripped open her door, frantically sprinting down the hall. Earlier, before they had learned he was sleeping, Amelia had told her how to find Lord Alston’s room so Daisy could meet them there for dinner. They’d decided not to wake him this evening, but Daisy had discovered that his room just happened to be directly below hers.
Her lungs heaved for air as she descended the stairs in the dark, cursing her stupidity not to light a candle or summon someone more helpful, but she was nearly there. She reached his door and wrenched it open. At first, she saw nothing—an empty bed, the hearth, a single oil lamp—but then she heard a groan.
He was there on the floor, not moving.
“Lord Alston!” Daisy cried, running to him and sliding to her knees.
She touched his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
His face was pale, but he opened his eyes, and his gaze focused on her. The blue startled her even in the weak light.
Daisy didn’t know what to do. “I’ll ring for help,” she said.
“No,” he wheezed as he grabbed her hand tightly. “Don’t.”
“You’re hurt!”
“I’ve been hurt, this is just,” he sucked in a breath and groaned, “an unfortunate setback.”
“But I don’t know how to help you.”
He rolled to his back and held her hand to his chest. There his heart pounded violently, but with a strength that eased her fear.
“I just need a moment here. I’m all right. I just hurt the like a devil is sticking me with a pitchfork.”
Daisy took him in in stunned silence. He was beautiful. His shirt gapped at the collar revealing smooth pale-gold skin. Sheremembered him being tall, but not this... thick. He was heavily muscled. Not at all the frail man Amelia had spoken of.
He pinched his eyes closed as his breathing evened and after a moment, he opened them, catching her staring at his broad chest.
Daisy licked her lips. “Now may I summon help?” The pounding of his heart under her hand made her body feel warm. She’d never touched a man so intimately.
“No.”
Daisy huffed. “You can’t stay on the floor.”
He smiled crookedly. “Youcan’t be Miss Daisy Blakewood.”
Daisy blushed. “I am.”
