“If you are asking if they will say anything to my brothers, the answer is no.”
“Then come on, I am walking you home. We can take the servants’ entrance so no one passing out front will see us.”
They walked in silence, Gray all but carrying her against him. Jenna began to shake beside him, and the rage built inside him again. Filthy bastards. How dare they touch her, hurt her. He should have killed them. They deserved no less.
Making a sudden decision, he turned them around and started back in the opposite direction.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Taking you home with me. We’re closer to my house anyway.”
She didn’t protest, just settled against him, but he could still feel her slight tremble at his side. He stopped once more and swept her up in his arms, holding her tightly against him. He resumed his progress, rounding the corner to his house.
Once inside, he issued orders for a pot of tea then carried Jenna up the stairs to his bedchamber. Kicking the door open, he shouldered his way into the room and deposited her onto the bed.
“I’m fine, really,” she said sitting up.
“You wouldn’t be if I hadn’t come along,” he growled. Now that the initial fear had worn off, he was more than a little annoyed at her for going off on her own.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “You could have been injured.”
He swore, and she looked at him in surprise. Trust her not to have considered what could have happened toher. “I was not concerned aboutme. You could have been killed, Jenna. Or raped.”
She paled, and he kicked himself for frightening her further, but he had to make her understand just how dire her situation had been. He sat down beside her, taking in her tattered dress and fear-stricken eyes. Cupping her cheek with a gentle hand, he looked deeply into her brown eyes. “I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.”
“But nothing did.” Her tongue flitted nervously over her top lip. He followed the damp trail with his eyes, tempted to suck her top lip between his. “Thanks to you.”
“Promise me you’ll never do something so foolish again.”
“I promise.”
He kissed her softly, forgetting his earlier resolve to distance himself from her. He kissed her lips, her nose, her eyes, and her cheeks.
“I should go,” she murmured.
“I’ll summon my carriage.”
“Can you hire a hack? It’s too early and I would surely be seen in your carriage.”
“Yes, of course. I hadn’t thought of the hour.” With regret, he got up and called for Masterson. It would take a half hour for the hack to be summoned and arrive. Plenty of time to make sure Jenna had recovered from her fright. Masterson arrived with the tea and promptly left to summon the carriage.
Gray returned to where she still sat on the bed and offered her a cup of the steaming brew. She shook her head and he set it aside. Then he bent to pick her up. “Gray, I am fine,” she protested.
“Yes, I know.” But he didn’t relinquish her. Instead he carried her to the large armchair in front of the fire. He settled down into the seat, holding her securely in his arms. He stroked her hair and ran a hand over her cheek.
“Gray?”
“Yes, Jenna?”
“We need to talk,” she said in a small voice.
“Yes, I know, but not tonight. We’ll talk later.” Emotion knotted his chest, but he refused to give way to the heaviness in his heart.
They sat in silence, Gray holding her closely to him. He stroked her hair, and kissed the top of her head, wishing he could suspend time and remain in this moment forever.
Several minutes later Masterson knocked at the door and informed them the hack had arrived. Gray kissed the top of her head and helped her from his lap. “Come on, I’ll walk you down.”
Before they left the room, he reached into his wardrobe for one of his dressing shirts. Carefully he draped it around her, covering the torn bodice of her dress. She smiled up at him as he finished.
