Fanny opened her mouth, Andrew silencing her with a glare. “Go inside, Fanny.” His tone was so lethal that the bawd did as she was told. Then he turned to Rosie. “As for you—”
“I’m staying.” If he thought he could order her about like some employee, then he had better think twice. “If Fanny can help, then I can too. Iwantto.”
“Damnit, this isn’t for you,” he growled.
“Why—because you think I’m a useless, milk-fed chit who isn’t good for anything but looking pretty?” The words burst from her like fester from a boil.
“Where in blazes did you get that insane idea?” He raked a hand through his tawny mane, a gesture of supreme male impatience. “I never said that.”
“Youthinkit.” Her voice trembled with accusation. “That’s why you don’t want me here. That’s why you’re always helping me while I’m never allowed to reciprocate. That’s why you let Fanny stay but not me—yourlover. You told me once that you expect me to share not just my body but my mind and spirit as well. For your edification, I expect the same,”—she poked a finger into his chest—“ofyou.”
He stared at her as if she were a candidate for Bedlam. Then his gaze rose upward, as if searching for divine intervention.Thenhis hand clamped around her arm, dragging her unceremoniously toward the building.
Her feet and mind struggled to keep up. “Where are we going?”
He didn’t look back at her, just kept going. “You wanted to be part of this.”
Hope percolated through her. “You’re letting me stay?”
“Not only are you staying, you’re helping.” Opening the door, he pulled her through. “An enemy of mine has seen fit to threaten or pay off all the available midwives and quacks in the vicinity. Now I find myself with three women all on the verge of delivering their babes—and there’s me, Fanny, and a maid who just fainted at the sight of blood to handle it. Luckily,”—he sent her a sardonic look—“I now have an extra pair of hands.”
Swallowing nervously, Rosie didn’t dare say a word as he led her through a kitchen, up some stairs, and into a long hallway. Rooms branched off on either side, the layout suggesting the place’s prior use as an inn or boarding house.
A scream came from a room on the right. Rosie jerked—then jerked again when a long wail followed, this time from a room on the left. A string of unladylike curses came from some other room up ahead.
Fanny’s head poked out from the nearest room, her brown curls plastered to her forehead.
“Babe’s coming and not easily,” she said tersely to Andrew. “I need you in here.”
He rolled his sleeves as he strode over.
Rosie couldn’t seem to get her feet to move. “I’ll, um, fetch some hot water,” she said feebly.
Fanny managed to get off a snide look before she disappeared into the room with Andrew.
Sighing, Rosie deposited her cloak and bonnet on a bench and headed back to the kitchen, where she’d seen a large pot boiling on the stove. She filled a pail and lugged it back up the steps. Inhaling deeply, she entered the room where Andrew and Fanny had gone.
“I’ve brought the water…” A light-headed sensation hit her. A woman was groaning and writhing on the bed, her knees up, blood soaking the sheets beneath her swollen body…
“Leave it by the door,” Andrew instructed.
Gladly.Rosie dropped the bucket and dashed out.
In the hallway, she pressed her clammy hands to her cheeks, fighting back nausea.For goodness sake, don’t cast your accounts. You have to show Andrew that you’re equal to the task.
What if you’re not?Her inner voice mocked her.What if youarejust a useless chit…?
“Please. Someone ’elp me.”
The labored voice diverted Rosie from her inner debate. It came again, and, warily, she followed it into a room to her left. A redheaded woman around Rosie’s age lay upon a cot. She wore a shift, a sheet draped over her burgeoned belly, her pretty freckled face twisted in pain.
“’Oo are you?” she gasped.
“Oh, hello there. I’m, um, a friend of Mr. Corbett’s.” Relieved at the lack of any visible bodily fluids, Rosie said, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“More w-water.” The woman gestured to the empty glass on the bedside table.
Spotting a pitcher on the washstand, Rosie went to refill the glass. She returned, helping the woman to sit up. “Have some sips.” She held the glass to the other’s lips. “Easy does it.”
