“Are you all ri—. Oh, no.”
She began to respond, but they were already moving, tumbling that last step down. An ‘oof’ escaped his lips when he hit the ground. Her landing was better padded, his body cushioning her impact.
“Mr. Evans? Are you injured?” Katherine pressed up to kneeling, examining the attorney. He was staring at the ceiling, a muscle in his jaw twitching. But there wasn’t that horrible, vacant look in his eyes like last time. There wasn’t….
She looked around. They were lying roughly where Perrin’s body had come to a rest. Her stomach twisted. “Oh, God.” She scrambled back, her hands pushing against his chest, her knee pressing into—
An oath exploded from his mouth. Faster than she could apprehend, he rolled, tucking her body beneath his.
Katherine was left blinking at the ceiling. She tapped his shoulder. “Mr. Evans?”
“Give. Me. A. Moment.” His voice was guttural, each word sounding as though it had to be forced out.
His body was warm and draped over hers in a most interesting manner. This close, she could smell the soap he had used for his ablutions. It wasn’t unpleasant having this large man’s body covering hers.
It also wasn’t decent.
She pushed again at his shoulder. “Mr. Evans, you really must—”
“A moment,” he gritted out.
She sighed, their bodies shifting. And then there was another problem to consider. One more immediate. She pounded on his shoulder. “I can’t…breathe.”
With a sigh of his own, Mr. Evans pushed off of her and flipped to his back. “You have very pointy knees.”
Katherine didn’t know how to respond to that. She’d always thought her legs, knees included, rather shapely.
The sound of a throat clearing had Katherine jackknifing into a seated position.
Mr. Evans remained supine.
A maid, Marie, Katherine thought her name was, stood by the foot of the stairs, a stack of folded towels in her arms. “Can I ’elp you with anything? A brandy? A footman to carry you to your room?” There was more pertness than solicitude in her voice, and Katherine flushed.
“A footman will certainly wellnotcarry me to my room.” Something that sounded very much like a growl emanated from the attorney’s chest. “I just need a moment.”
Katherine climbed to her feet and ran her hands over her hair. “You’ve had plenty of those now.” She toed his hip. “Get up.” The story of how she and Mr. Evans had been rolling together on the floor would most likely make the rounds in the servants’ quarters, but she didn’t need another witness to her humiliation.
She turned to Marie. “We slipped. On the stairs.”
“Yes. Congratulations to whoever is tasked with polishing them.” Mr. Evans heaved himself to standing. His face was a bit gray, but otherwise he looked unharmed. He tugged on the cuff of his jacket. “Perhaps a carpet down their length wouldn’t go amiss, however. A person could kill themselves….” He darted a look at the floor, the section where Perrin had lain, and pursed his mouth.
Katherine’s stomach fluttered. “Yes, well, mayhap the next owner will see to that. We’d best get to dinner before it gets cold. I hear Cook Clem has returned to the kitchen. We don’t want to miss his efforts.”
Without waiting to see if Mr. Evans would follow, Katherine trotted to the dining room. Everyone else had already arrived. The looks she received were a mixture of annoyance and relief.
“Finally.” Lady Mary snapped her napkin into her lap. “We only wait on Mr. Evans now to partake in Clem’scoq au vin. I hear it is sublime.”
“You need wait no longer.” Mr. Evans followed her in, his arm brushing her shoulder.
Her face heated just remembering how much of him she’d felt before. Keeping her gaze down, she found her seat. “Yes, I can’t wait to sample Cook Clem’s fares. I’ve heard so much of his skill. I wonder if he will remain here for the next Lord Perrin or look for employment elsewhere.”
Lady Havenstone waited for a footman to pour her wine. “I’m certain Cook Clem will want to leave this dreary place. He will go to those who will appreciate him most.”
Lady Mary narrowed her eyes. “I quite agree. A talented chef like him will want to join a fine house in the city, I would think.”
Lady Havenstone nodded. She slid a small packet from her left sleeve and poured the contents into her wine. She swirled her glass, making the powder dissolve. “For my digestion, you know.”
Mr. Evans took the seat next to hers, his elbow brushing her arm. Katherine squeezed her arms to her side and looked across the table to her father. “How was your day, Father?”
