“I have finished,” he said, shaking her from her tumultuous thoughts. “Breakfast was delicious, thank you.”
How polite he was, aside from his flirtatious ways. She wondered if he was always thus. From her reading, she understood that blows to the head could cause all manner of reactions. Mayhap she would need to make some discreet inquiries and discover whether or not Gavin Winter was a rake and a scoundrel. If he was, avoiding him would be so much easier. And the defenses she was struggling to keep around herself would be far stronger. Taller.Hell, after Philip, they would be insurmountable.
She moved nearer to him, taking the tray, trying not to stare at his chest but to focus instead upon his wound. “It is healing nicely. Have you soreness?”
He tentatively moved his arm. She would need to snip the stitches soon. A day or two, no more, from her assessment of the time that had passed.
“I feel as if I have known worse pain,” he said. “I shall live.”
She suspected he had, after the fights he had fought and won. “I am glad of it. That you shall live, of course. Not that you may have suffered worse in the past.”
“You have a good heart, Caro.” His gaze was earnest upon hers.
She had to look away, to break the connection. “Is there anything else you will be needing?”
“Some fresh water in the pitcher when it can be had would be lovely,” he said.
And then a strange expression overtook his handsome face.
“What is the matter?” she asked, thinking he was experiencing some sudden pain to which she must tend.
“I don’t think I would say lovely. Feels odd.” He frowned.
Oh, how she hated herself. She did not know what manner of phrasing he would have chosen, but she did know who he was.
“I will see that Randall brings you some fresh water,” she said instead of giving voice to any of the emotions truly plaguing her. “I shall check on you later, sir.”
With that, she hurried from the chamber.
Chapter 2
Caro went to the kitchens first, returning the empty tray she had taken to Gavin. But she did not linger, as she ordinarily was wont to do, chatting with the cantankerous chef, who always beamed when he saw her. Instead, she left, on a mission, not stopping until she burst through the door of her eldest brother’s office.
As the leader of the Sutton clan, he oversaw the daily operations of The Sinner’s Palace. But they each had their part in the running of their small empire. And she was about to remind him of hers.
Her brother’s head was lowered, and he was poring over something on his desk when she stalked toward him.
“Caro,” he greeted when he looked up, rising to his feet from behind his desk with the massive, carved lion legs. “How is our forgetful patient?”
“I cannot keep the truth from him for much longer, Jasper,” she blurted. “It is unfair, not just to Gavin, but to me as well.”
Jasper quirked a dark brow and stroked his jaw. “Gavinis he? That is just a bit too familiar, do you not think, sister?”
His unspoken words were heavy between them. Considering what had happened with Philip, he may as well have said. She was glad he had not, for it did not require her to discuss that spineless horse’s arse. Bad enough he had almost deceived her into marrying him; her discovery that he had been bedding one of the ladybirds at The Sinner’s Palace was a pain she had no wish to revisit.
Caro was more than happy to turn her attention toward the far more important matter at hand. “Gavin is his name. The name we are keeping from him, just as we keep him from his family each day.”
“Ever the warrior, Caro.” Her brother shook his head. “You must trust me. We’re keeping his name a secret from him for good reason.”
“Aye,yourgood reason,” she spat. “But not his. How can you be so selfish, Jasper? So heartless? What good does this do him? What good does it do anyone to perpetuate a lie?”
Her voice was shrill as she ended on the last question, and that was likely in part because of her overburdened emotions. It had been months since Philip had dashed her heart to jagged bits, but she had yet to recover fully. Having a patient to look after had been the distraction and the sense of usefulness she had needed. But when Jasper had recognized Gavin and then promptly forced her into secrecy, the distraction had been ruined. Her loyalty to her brother was stronger than her devotion to a stranger, and Jasper knew it. He had preyed upon it, in fact.
Her brother stalked around his desk instead of immediately answering, and went to a sideboard where he poured two glasses of gin.
He turned toward her, holding a glass out as if it were a peace offering. “Calm yourself, sister. Some drops of jackey to ward off the sting of your conscience? Works a charm, I’m given to understand, for those who still possess one.”
“I don’t want your cursed spirits,” she said, refusing to accept the glass. “Pour it down your own gullet.”
