She stared at his face for confirmation that he was not just being his usual droll self. “I’m surprised to hear you say that.”
“I’m somewhat surprised myself. Dash it.” The knot had unraveled on the sling supporting his left arm.
“Here, let me.” Erina bent over him on the bed and tugged on the bandage.
He gazed up at her, his face close to hers. “There I go cursing again. Forgive me?”
A knock sounded on the door.
“Enter,” Harry called.
Two elderly men stepped into the room.
“Well!” Erina’s father’s wide eyes observed Erina’s hand where it rested on Harry’s chest. “So, caught in flagrante,” her father muttered, frowning as he strode across to her.
Erina stared at him, mouth agape, and tried to order her scattered wits.
“I did tell you,” Harry said, smiling.
She glared at him. How could he look….so…pleased with himself?”
Chapter Sixteen
Once Althea hadfinished dressing, Jack escorted her downstairs. Much as he wanted to be with her here again, he didn’t suggest it. He was determined not to allow his love and need for her to damage her by her association with him. It wouldn’t be wise to talk to her about it, for he seemed incapable of thinking rationally when she looked at him so appealingly, and he was helpless to refuse her. Instead, he told her all that had transpired since they’d last met and gently quizzed her about what sort of man her uncle was. He resisted suggesting the man might have been more involved in her father’s murder than he’d led them to believe.
“Mama is very fond of him,” Althea said. “He was very distressed at the funeral. My father’s violent death appears to have affected him a good deal.”
“Your father and he were close?”
“As close as brothers-in-law can be,” she said thoughtfully. “They had little in common. I was surprised when he came to see us in Paris. We were all pleased, of course, having been without family for almost a year. Mama held a soiree in his honor. She depends very much on him now, having no other male relatives.”
Althea stopped and turned to Jack in the foyer. She placed a hand on his chest, her eyes dark and anxious. “Keep safe, darling, and don’t stay away too long.”
“Althea…” He struggled to find the words to tell her how he felt. He was so deeply in love with her yet starkly aware how bad that would be for her in the eyes of society. She was used to a certain respect from theton; she had no idea what it would be like to be criticized and suffer the cut direct. He could not and would not allow her to suffer in that way. He’d had too much of it himself in his life.
As if she’d read his thoughts, she put a finger to his lips. “I should not have said we shouldn’t be together, Jack. Of course I didn’t mean it. But allow me to judge what is right for me. I’ve never felt this way before. I want us to be together. If it is what you wish too.”
“With all my heart, darling.” Jack kissed her lingeringly and reluctantly released her as the carriage drew up outside.
Jack saw Althea into the carriage. The door closed and as she settled on the seat, she gazed at him and blew him a kiss. He wanted to run after her, not let her go. But heavy with disappointment, he returned to the house. The rooms seemed oddly empty, his footsteps echoing as he made his way to the library.
Tonight, he would join friends at White’s to dine and visit the gaming tables. It would stop him thinking too much about things he could not change. Grant could not join them, as he had to attend Almack’s. He was expected to dance with the new crop of the debutantes. Grant’s company would be missed, as would Harry’s. Jack wondered uneasily why he had not received word from him. Harry’s moral fiber would have made him incapable of abandoning Lady Erina, so Jack expected he’d be staying with her somewhere in Ireland.
*
Erina leaped upfrom the bed where she’d been adjusting Harry’s sling when her father and Sir Ambrose unceremoniously entered Harry’s bedchamber. For the first time in her life, she found herself utterly speechless.
Sir Ambrose rushed over to the bed. “Son. Are you on the mend? From Lady Erina’s letter, I understood you were winged?” He gazed anxiously down at him. “The injury appears to be a good deal more serious.”
“It’s a mere nick, Father. It’s good to see you,” Harry said with remarkable aplomb. “I am healing well, thanks to Erina’s adept ministrations.” He glanced at Erina, who suspected her face to be blotchy. Her skin always spotted pink and white when she was nervous. And her father seemed to be wrestling with a strong emotion, his color high.
“It seemed the least I could do,” she said. “It was so kind of Mr. Feather to escort me to my cousin’s farm. Cathleen was in very real danger.”
“Cathleenwas in danger!” Her father barked. “Obviously, you endangered yourself and poor Harold by coming here. Explain yourself! What plausible reason could you have for this insane business, my girl?”
“Erina was concerned for her cousin, and rightly so, Lord Rountree,” Harry said. “Miss Sullivan was about to be forced into a marriage with a disreputable miscreant. Thanks to your brave and compassionate daughter, the young woman’s home has been returned to her.”
Her father’s eyebrows shot up. “You came all the way to Ireland, facing scandal, to rescue a woman you’ve never met?”
