Page 81 of A Gentleman's Guide to Save a Lady
Of course.
He wouldnot be surprised if all the servants reported directly to Quinn. Or Bradford. And now that he gave the doctor a second look, the man appeared more a sailor than anything else. Too rough around the edges for a refined doctor.
“Will she be okay?”
The man nodded. “I don’t see why not. Just keep the wound clean and don’t move much for a day or so. It’ll heal in no time.”
“Does my brother know?” Belle whispered.
Simon harrumphed. “If he does, I hope he reddens your behind for being so reckless.”
“Aye lass, he knows and sends his regards. Told me to tell you he’s going to whip your derrière when he returns home.”
Simon’s temper sparked at that. “You tell her brother that the only one whose ass is going to be whipped is his. Are they not supposed to dispatch the bastard? I’m no longer confident in the effectiveness of their strategy.”
“Who the bloody hell are you?” the other man snapped.
“Who the bloody hell are you?” Simon mocked.
“I’m—”
“Boys, please,” Belle interrupted. “We cannot fight amongst ourselves when there is a greater fight we must save our strength for.”
Simon studied the other man, not much older than himself before he held out his hand and grudgingly replied. “Simon Tremaine, no offense meant.”
“John Cameron. None taken,” he said, shaking Simon’s hand in a vice grip. “She’s always been a stubborn one.”
“I’m right here, you brutes.”
The doctor-sailor chuckled and bid his goodbye, leaving Simon alone once again with Belle. They stared at each other, both at a loss for words. Her inability to confide in him caused a rift between them and Simon did not know how to cross it.
“Are there any other secrets I should know?”
“Whatever secrets I may have are still mine to keep.”
“The world is so much simpler without secrets,” he muttered.
“And you have none, I take it?”
“I probably have one or two, but not any that I keep so tightly tucked away,” he paused, wanting to say so much more but instead replied, “I will leave you to rest.”
Shoulders heavy, he turned leave, but her words stopped him just as he reached the door.
“I hired a mercenary to kill De Roux, the night before our first meeting.”
Simon whirled, unable to keep the shock from his expression. “You did what?”
Her lips twitched. “I paid him all my savings.”
Simon blinked. “All of your savings?”
“Do not give me that tone. I was not in my right mind.”
Simon spared her a look that said he clearly agreed. “So he was a fraud.”
Her small shoulders lifted in a shrug. “It turned out he was one of Edgar’s men. He was toying with me, the bastard.”
Simon crossed the distance and sat down on the bed beside Belle. God, but he loved this woman. Even now, after she’d been shot, lied to him and risked dying of blood loss, all so that she did not have to tell him the truth. Yes, he loved her, even though she did not recall his confession.
