Page 35 of Captivating the Earl (Lords and Ladies in Love 5)

“I’m still not sure what you mean.”

“My dear Lady Elizabeth, your saddle was purposely tinkered with to make you take a potentially fatal fall, and now you have been attacked in your room. Did you say he tried to smother you?”

Lizzie nodded. It was then he noticed the difficulty she was having drawing a breath, the fine sheen of sweat covering her body, and her milk-white pale face. He tilted his head to look at her. “You are suffering from shock.”

“What?”

He stood with her in his arms and laid her back on the bed, pulling the counterpane over her. He grabbed the second pillow on the bed and put it under her feet to lift her legs.

She began to shiver. He needed to warm and comfort her, so he removed his cravat, jacket, waistcoat, and shoes. Her eyes grew wide as he undressed. “Y-y-you shouldn’t d-d-do that. It’s n-n-not proper.”

He piled on extra blankets he found in a chest against the wall, then climbed into bed and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her against his body. “Hush, sweeting. Your body has gone into shock, and I need to warm you up.” He ran his hands up and down her back, congratulating himself on avoiding the lovely swell of her bottom.

It wasn’t long before he realized that perhaps Lizzie had been correct, and this had not been a good idea. His lower body parts, however, thought it was a splendid notion and cheered him on. He shifted a bit, lest the announcement of his cock’s anticipation poke Lizzie in the belly.

“I’m s-s-sorry, am I t-t-taking up t-t-too much r-r-room?” Lizzie tried to move back, but almost tumbled to the floor before Hawk hauled her back.

“No, not taking up too much room, but this is not going to work. I will go downstairs and have the innkeeper’s wife send up a pot of hot tea.”

Before she could respond, he jumped from the bed, re-dressed, and bolted from the room. This entire venture was becoming torturous. He’d been attracted to Lizzie ever since he first laid eyes on her, and that attraction had grown to encompass everything about her.

Once he’d left instructions with the innkeeper’s wife for hot tea to be sent up, and to have someone sit with her until he could return, he headed to the cellar to see if their uninvited guest had awoken. Hawk carried a candle as he made his way down the dark, damp steps.

He raised the candle to see into the room. The man had been dumped on the floor, his arms and legs tied in such a way that he was curled onto one side. Hawk used his toe to roll him over and squatted alongside him. “Who are you?”

The man spit on him.

Hawk took out his handkerchief, wiped his face, and leaned in closer. “If you do anything like that again, you will leave this room feet first and not breathing. Am I making myself clear, or do I need to repeat it?”

A curt nod was his only response.

“Who hired you?”

When he didn’t answer, Hawk shoved his knee into the man’s belly.

He grunted. “Some nob.”

“Which nob? Eng

land is full of them.”

“Don’t know ’is name. Don’t care what ’is name is since ’e paid me in advance.”

“Where? Where did he meet you to hire you?”

“London.”

They were quite a distance from London, so the man must have been following them. “Did you cut the girth on the lady’s saddle?”

He nodded, his mouth stretched in a semblance of a smile, revealing several rotted teeth.

Hawk drew his fist back and planted him a facer. Blood trickled down the cretin’s chin as Hawk leaned back on his haunches. “So, you’ve been following us since we left Wycliff Manor?”

When the man didn’t answer, Hawk stood. The only way he would get any more information out of him was to resort to the sort of tactics they’d used during the war, and he had no intention of getting involved in that again. Also, there was a good chance that whoever hired the attacker was not the actual person who wanted Lizzie dead.

Hawk stood and brushed his hands together. “I’m turning you over to the local magistrate.” He grabbed the candle and, leaving the man in the cold, dark room, took the steps up to the common room two at a time. Well past luncheon, but too early for the dinner crowd, the room was empty except for two men ignoring each other as they nursed glasses of ale at the corner table. Hawk waved at the innkeeper to bring him a bottle of brandy and a glass.

He sipped his drink and considered their situation. The man hired to kill Lizzie was hog-tied and headed to the magistrate. But whoever hired him would simply find someone else to do the deed. He needed to get Lizzie to his estate as quickly as possible, so he could protect her while he made inquiries that might reveal who wanted Loverly’s daughter dead—and why.