Page 20 of The Banished Bride
“Stay still! That could not possibly have hurt.”
He winced as she probed a different spot. “You are enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Immensely.” Satisfied that there was no sign of infection, she sprinkled a liberal amount of basilicum over the raw flesh and started to wind the fresh linen in place. As she worked, her head came close to his and she could feel the soft whisper of his breath against the lobe of her ear. It stirred a lock of her hair, causing it to fall over the rise of her cheek. Her hand moved to brush it back, but his was quicker.
“Allow me.” With a deft touch, he tucked it behind her ear, but his fingers lingered, toying with a strand or two of the errant curls. “You know, you are truly a female of admirable talents.”
Aurora ducked her head. “Most any farm wife knows how to bind up a simple injury. Yours doesn’t look to be of concern anymore. It seems you are well out of danger.” She wished the same could be said for herself. Good Lord, the man’s touch was sending a heat worse than any fever coursing through her veins, and all of a sudden it was getting rather difficult to breathe.
“Grateful as I am for your practical skills, it is your sharp mind and invaluable insight that I was referring to. I daresay if we succeed in stopping the traitor, it will be in no small part due to you.”
The small room appeared to be tilting at an odd angle. Reaching out to steady herself, Aurora found her hand splayed across the front of his bare chest. “I-I am happy if a few of my suggestions have proved useful.”
Now, if only she had a suggestion for how to ignore the strange things his proximity was doing to her insides! All her strength had mysteriously melted away, leaving her limbs feeling like jelly. In another moment, she realized, she would plop into his lap, her quivering lips inches from his.
She closed her eyes tightly, trying to put out of her mind the memory of that first kiss between them.Hell’s Bells.The man had been half dead and still his embrace had left her nearly senseless. Surely a fresh assault would render her?—
Jack paused at the door and shifted the jug to his other hand. “Perhaps I should?—”
“I’ve just finished with the M-ma?—”
“Alex,” he corrected.
“With Alex,” she finished, hoping her face was not as scarlet as a soldier’s tunic as she scrambled out of her awkward position. “He seems to be recovering nicely.”
Jack cleared his throat, making a noise that, to Aurora’s burning ears, sounded suspiciously like a strangled chuckle. “Yes, so it appears.”
“I swear,” she whispered, taking a quick look at amusement bubbling up in Alex’s eyes. “If you say one rude comment—just one—the next bandage will be wrapped around your throat!” Straightening her skirts she stepped over to the table and made a show of putting her supplies back in her reticule.
Her attention, however, was not so engaged that she didn’t see him sway slightly as he stood up. A second glance made it evident that beneath the stubble and dirt and grinning bravado, his face had become more pale than she would have liked. “You had better lie down.” Turning to Jack she added, “Do you thinkwe might venture a fire a bit later? He needs something hot to drink.”
“I don’t need any coddling,” snapped Alex. “Just need an hour or two of sleep.”
Aurora ignored him. “Perhaps you might ride into the nearest town and get the following ….” She rummaged around in her bag for a pencil and a scrap of paper, then scribbled a short list.
“I was planning on doing a bit of reconnoitering, ma’am, so I’m sure I can find what you want.”
“Stay away from the coast just yet,” warned Alex. “Until we have made further plans, we don’t want to alert our quarry to our presence.”
“Right. I thought I would head to Kilmarnock. It’s on the main coaching road and with some discreet questions, it may be possible to learn a few things about the recent comings and goings. And since it is one of the larger towns in the area, I shall also be able to pick up some supplies and another horse there without attracting attention.” He took up his rucksack. “Anything else you might need, ma’am?
“No, not at the moment.” She walked over and handed him her list. “Oh, you may as well call me Aurora, too, as it seems we are all going to get to know each other rather well over the next little while.”
He grinned. “With pleasure, Aurora.”
As her back was turned, she didn’t see the color of the earl’s eyes darken a shade, or the slight frown that tightened his lips as Jack said her name.
Six
Alex splashed a bit of water on his face and wiped away the worst of the grime with the tail of his shirt. Perhaps a fire was not a bad idea. With some hot water he might at least manage a decent shave. And though the river was rather chilly, a bath might be in order, too. Judging by the state of his stained jacket and dusty breeches, the rest of his person must be in none too pristine a state.
After a slight hesitation, he stripped off his clothes and slid into the rippling current. It was several hours past noon and the sun had burned off the morning clouds, dappling the tall grasses with a mellow warmth that looked even more inviting from where he was sitting. Ducking his head under water, he threaded his fingers through his tangled locks, then grabbed up his garments and gave them a quick rinse as well. The years of rough camp life had made him well used to such primitive conditions. With practiced ease, he scrambled back up the bank, wrung out the mass of soaking cloth and draped the items over a nearby bush to dry.
For his own dripping body he chose a patch of gently swaying meadowlark and ryegrass. The sun’s rays soon stilled the chattering of his teeth, and the sensation of the icy numbnessebbing away to a pleasant warmth left him quite content to linger until his clothes were dry as well.
As his eyes fell half closed, Alex couldn’t help but think on how, after years of enduring the hardship and the uncertainties of soldiering, his life was about to change dramatically. It was hard to imagine that this was to be his last mission. No more baths in cold rivers or weevilly biscuit for supper. The rough camaraderie of his fellow officers was about to be replaced by the polished small talk of theton. A foray into enemy territory would soon mean attending one of the myriad glittering balls and facing the matchmaking Mamas curious as to whether the new Earl of Woodbridge was … available.
An oath formed on his lips.Hell’s Teeth.He wasn’t sure he didn’t prefer the threats of actual warfare to those of Polite Society. The thought of standing up to mere physical danger was far less intimidating than the idea of living with subtle innuendo and whispered rumors. Never had he been accused of cowardice, but a part of him wanted to flee—to Spain, to India, to the ends of the earth. Anywhere where he might avoid facing the future.
