Harlan decided that if he hadn’t heard from Benjamin in another hour, he intended to make his way back to the brothel while Matthew watched over Leah.
His chest ached every time he considered the ramifications of what might have happened to her should he not have intervened when he did, but then he had to remind himself that all was well.
He stopped to check on Matthew and offer him some of the fare and then he returned to the rooms. He walked inside and stopped when he saw Leah asleep on the settee. Setting the last of the food on a nearby table for Benjamin, he walked over and bent down beside her. She was so lovely that he couldn’t resist reaching out and brushing some of her auburn hair away from her soft, porcelain cheek.
Mine.Again, the word pounded through his mind. Gathering her into his arms, he held her close as she murmured something in her sleep. He carried her to the bedchamber and gently laid her on top of the coverlet. She sighed when he removed his arms, as if she were upset, but the frown smoothed out soon enough and her breathing remained deep and steady.
Harlan waited to make sure she was going to rest easy, and then he left her.
After consuming his fare, his eyes started to droop. He decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get some rest himself, in case there was trouble later. Leaning a chair against the door, Harlan sat down and shut his eyes. One hour. That was all he would allow himself. And then he was heading back to find Benjamin.
A short time later, Harlan jerked to attention when there was a loud banging on the door behind him. Blinking the cobwebs away from his vision, he glanced at his pocket watch and saw that only a half hour had passed.
He withdrew the pistol he always kept concealed in his jacket and opened the door to point it at the intruder. However, he quickly set it aside when Benjamin fell into the room.
Harlan slammed the door as he bent down to assist him. “What the devil—?”
Benjamin grimaced as he held his side where blood poured through a slash in his clothes. “The bastard was armed with a knife. Sliced me wide open when I thought he was unconscious.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand how he slipped past my ropes. I was a sailor for years. I know how to tie a proper knot.”
Harlan clenched his teeth as he helped Benjamin into the chair he’d just vacated. “Wait here, and I’ll get Leah. We all know she’s adept at stitching up wounds. Once you’re patched up, you can tell me what happened. Until then, save your strength.”
He walked into the bedchamber, but to his surprise, Leah was up and moving about the room. “I heard the ruckus,” she offered by way of an explanation. “I shall require hot water, needle and thread, scissors, and linen for a bandage, and perhaps some brandy to ease his discomfort.”
Harlan didn’t waste any time heading for his satchel which contained all but a basin of hot water. He had learned to be prepared in his line of work over the years.
By the time he’d made his way back to Benjamin with the supplies, Leah was knelt down beside him and holding his hand. As Harlan set the requested items beside her, he didn’t miss the look of censure that she shot him. No doubt she was blaming him for Benjamin’s injuries. “I’ll get the water,” he muttered, and as she started to cut the fabric away from around the wound, Harlan took his leave.
“Bloody ignorant man.”
“Don’t be too hard on him, lass.”
Leah hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud until Benjamin grumbled a reply. She sighed as she continued to work to remove the cloth around the wound. It worried her about how much blood he’d lost, but at least it appeared to be letting up slightly. “I wish I could say I wasn’t angry, but I told him he should go back and check on you.”
Benjamin hissed when some of the material she pulled away stuck to some of the dried blood near the cut. She handed him the flask. “Thank ye.” She noted that his speech was slightly slurred and had a bit more of a cockney accent. When some of the alcohol that was in the flask had transferred to his gullet, it became even more so. “Harlan is a good man. As good as any ye might find. An’ he knows I’m a proud man an’ that I wouldn’t want him rushin’ to me aid without just cause.” He took another long swig. “He was right concerned about ye, for good reason. He couldn’t be in two places at th’ same time. If’n he thought it was safe to leave ye, he would have done.”
Leah didn’t want to give Harlan the benefit of the doubt right then, but she supposed she didn’t have much choice than to accept Benjamin’s explanation as the truth. She didn’t reply as she kept her focus on the task at hand. Now that the material had been stripped away from the cut, she could see how bad it was. Although it was deep, she didn’t think that it had pierced any vital organs through his ribcage, which was a very good sign.
“He thinks a lot of ye.”
Leah flicked her gaze upward after she threaded the needle. Again, she remained silent and started to work.
“In fact,” he added. “I’ve never seen ’im in such a state of upheaval afore.”
Leah made her first suture, and although Benjamin uttered a curse, he took another long swig from the flask and settled down.
“I’ve known ’im for several years now, but although ’e might’ve taken a fancy to one gel now an’ again, ’e’s never lost ’is mind like that.” He shook his head.
He continued to prattle on about how Harlan was overset over her, but when Harlan returned with a pitcher and took it to the hearth to heat, she thought that her patient would fall silent. She was wrong.
“I think ye ought t’ marry this one,” he announced. He went so far as to raise his flask in the air in a semblance of a celebratory salute, as if the matter had already been decided. “I can hardly feel a thing wit’ ’er steady ’and.”
“Something tells me your lack of feeling isn’t so much her steady hand as the brandy you’ve consumed,” Harlan returned dryly.
“Nonshense,” Benjamin waved a dismissive hand. “I’m tellin’ ye. Don’t let this one slip away!”
“I shall take that into consideration, old friend.” Leah glanced at Harlan when he spoke, but other than a slight lift of his lips, she couldn’t decipher his innermost thoughts.
Harlan took the water off the flame and emptied it into a bowl, which he brought over to sit next to her. “Thank you,” she murmured. As she dipped a strip of linen into the steaming water, she asked Benjamin, “You wouldn’t have any more of that brandy left, would you? The alcohol will help to sterilize the wound.”
