“None of us will be the same.”
“You’re right.” A long pause filled by her soft breathing. “Thank you again for saving my life. I’m sure I’d be dead if you hadn’t found me.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” But he’d like it if she returned to read to him. If only he were bold enough to ask her.
“I should go.” The swish of fabric came. “I’ll be back tomorrow if you agree.”
Thank goodness she brought that up.
“I’d appreciate it.”
“See you tomorrow— drat. I’m sorry.”
He laughed, and the laughter relieved him of the heaviness of his sorrows. “Don’t worry.”
“Good evening, Mr. Alexander.”
After she left, a delicate trail of her rose scent lingered in the air.
Angeline knockedon Mr. Alexander’s door, acknowledging the odd flutter in her belly. Her excitement might be due simplyto her gratitude towards him and a sense of guilt that didn’t want to leave her. She’d called him names before he’d saved her life, risking his own. She still found him a little rough, but his kindness and good heart were undeniable.
“Come in.” His voice thundered from the other side.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Alexander.” She slid inside the small room in Lord Havisham’s townhouse.
The shirts and trousers that had been scattered around during her previous visit had been neatly folded in a pile. His bandage was gone, but his eyes were still red and puffy.
He blinked a few times. The stubble suited him. It enhanced his strong jaw. “Miss Haywood. Are you wearing green or blue?”
“Neither. It’s a dark-red dress. Why aren’t you wearing the bandage?”
He shuffled around, touching the walls and the table as he went. “The physician said I could remove it, but my sight is still blurred. It should improve in a couple of days, he said. How are you?”
She flexed out the fingers of her bandaged hand. The skin itched and tugged at the edges. “On the mend. The wound itches, but thanks to my mother’s potions, there’s no infection.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I’ve brought a chessboard if you’d care to play.” She sat at the table. “Since you told me you know how to play, I thought you might enjoy a game.”
He walked to the chair and sat down with tentative movements. “I can’t see the chess pieces well. It’s all a blurred black-and-white thing.”
She set the pieces on the chessboard. “You’ll have to trust me then.”
He blinked, and goodness, his eyelashes were thick and golden at the tips. Quite pretty. “I trust you, miss.”
A sudden flush warmed her face. She hadn’t realised his trust meant so much to her until that moment. “Let’s start.”
An hour later, she’d lost her bishop, knight, queen, and countless pawns. How annoying. She should cheat before he destroyed all her pieces and won.
“Knight in D five,” he said.
She followed his instruction, already glowering at him. The knight was dangerously close to her king.
“And I think this is a checkmate,” he said with too much amusement, rubbing his hands.
She rested her chin on her fist. “I hate you, Mr. Alexander.”
He barked out a laugh that made her laugh as well. It was the second time she’d heard him laughing. She liked it. He had a deep, rumbling laugh that filled the room.
