Alice’s cheeks burned hot. Her earlier terror and worry for him were abating. Now she just wanted to yell at him. In fact, sheenjoyed the rush of heat anger gave her, because it pushed aside the fear.
“I,” she jabbed a finger into her chest, “have looked after myself since my father left to be with his mistress, and my brother returned from Blackwood Hall broken.” Her voice shook. “I run my father’s estates. I make him money, and do not need any man,” she jabbed the finger in his direction now, “interfering. How dare you have me watched!”
Her shriek rang off the carriage walls, making him wince.
The roof hatch above banged open. Bobby’s wide eyes appeared. “Is everything all right, Lady Alice?”
“Yes,” she gritted, teeth clenched. “Thank you, Bobby.”
The boy hesitated, then vanished. The hatch snapped shut.
Jamie’s smile fell from his lips. “Your father left you to go to France to be with his mistress?”
Alice drew in a steadying breath. “My point is—”
“He left you to care for your brother?” His eyes burned with fury now, but it wasn’t aimed at her. It was for her. Alice refused to acknowledge how good that felt, because it was rare someone worried about her other than her aunt.Don’t soften. Stay angry.
“I’m sorry, Alice.”
She stiffened as he leaned forward, his long legs bracketing hers, trapping her in the narrow space. Even bruised and bleeding, his nearness unsettled her.
“I don’t want your pity,” she hissed. “I want you to understand that, unlike others in society, I need no man to assist me with anything.”
He studied her in silence, gaze steady, penetrating, even considering the pain he must be suffering.
Then the carriage jolted again, and a ragged groan tore from his throat.
“For pity’s sake, sit back, you fool,” she snapped.
He obeyed, settling gingerly against the seat. A long breath rattled from his chest. His head tipped back, eyes closing once more.
Alice was still angry, but beneath it lay something far more dangerous, she realized. Relief that he still breathed. She would think later about how much she needed this man to live.
She glared at him, hands clenched tight in her lap, and yet her heart thudded unevenly as she understood just what she’d learned this night. Lord Stafford was coming to mean something to her.
A heavy silence settled inside the hackney as they headed toward the Smythe townhouse. Alice turned to look out the window, thoughts swirling around inside her head. If she had not arrived when she had, there was no doubt those men would have killed Jamie.
“Unclench your fists, Alice. Everything will be all right.” There was no humor or mockery in his words now. She turned from the window to look at him then.
“You can’t know that.”
“You’re right, I can’t, and between us we know the darker side of life, but I will promise you this.”
“What?” Alice asked as his eyes held hers.
“I promise I will get Kenneth Jackson and make him pay for what he did to me, Charles, and others. I also promise from this day onward, I will not keep secrets from you.”
Emotion threatened to choke her then. Why was he the man to make her feel things she’d never felt before? It was messy and uncomfortable, and she wanted none of it.
“Thank you for saving me,” he whispered, and then he closed his eyes again, as if just speaking those few words had sapped his remaining strength. “And just so you understand. I did not have you protected because I didn’t think you strong enough to lookafter yourself. It was because I watch over the people in my life who I care for.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
No, he hadn’tmeant it like that, at least, she told herself he hadn’t. She wasn’timportantto him, not in the way his words had suggested. He’d only been worried she’d gone after Jackson, and that she’d left the house chasing a lead. That was all.
But still… he’d saidcare.
The word echoed in her head as warmth unfurled through her, no matter how she tried to smother it. Jamie was in pain, and he hadn’t meant to say what he had. He’d never bring it up again, and she’d pretend she didn’t remember. People said things they didn’t mean when emotions ran high.
