Page 16 of Lady of Charade
“Why?” she questioned. “Why do you care?”
“I just… do,” was his response, as he looked away from her, not meeting her eye. “Can you not stay with the Duchess of Clarence, or perhaps Lady Berkley?”
“They have both been kind enough to offer me residence, but people come to me here in order to treat them, and I do not want to be far from them, in order that I might continue my work.”
“Is there no one else who can look after them?” he asked as though he already knew the answer, and she shrugged.
“I suppose there is, yes,” she said. “However, if I had not the purpose to help these people, then I would lose all reason to remain in England and would leave entirely. I promised myself three years to see this through, and I have nearly completed my timeline. Upon that, I will be returning home.”
“Which would be?”
Sarah opened her mouth to tell him, but then shut it just as quickly, using their return to her rooms as an excuse to give herself time to think of what she should say. She couldn’t explain why, but suddenly she feared what it would mean was she to tell him. Would he think less of her? She was aware of what some English felt about America, though that shouldn’t worry her. And yet, his opinion seemed to matter to her.
“Far from here,” she finally settled on, allowing him to think what he chose as she turned the lock and opened the door for him.
“Very well,” he said, apparently having decided upon something himself. “If you do not wish to move, then I shall have to stay here with you.”
“Pardon me?” It was Sarah’s turn to exclaim. “You cannot stayhere!”
“Whyever not?”
“You have a life — a family! You cannot leave it all to act as my protector. Besides that, were anyone to ever find out…”
Sarah shook her head, not believing that he could even suggest such a thing.
“I have already been here for two days and no one is the wiser. Who would ever determine such a thing? No one will be overly concerned about my whereabouts — trust me. My valet will think that I— ah, have found other lodgings for a time.”
That he was staying with a mistress, no doubt, which Sarah determined she would never, ever become, despite how drawn to him she was.
“You cannot stay,” she repeated.
“Then find somewhere else to live,” he said nonchalantly, and she dug her nails into her palms. He irked her to no end.
She reached out a hand to feel his forehead once more, hoping that if she focused on his treatment, she might forget about him as a man. He was still warm, but certainly no hotter than before.
“You seem to be getting much better,” she said. “Though I would like to keep an eye on that wound for one more night — one more only — if you will stay?”
“A beautiful woman asks me to stay with her another night?” he asked with a cheeky grin, and she would have swatted him were she not afraid of injuring him any further. “Of course I will.”
“Very well,” she said, though she was somewhat worried about what that might mean. “For tonight only.”
Luckily, he did not seem inclined to try anything further, and he fell into sleep quite easily, as she had thought he might with the medication she had given him for pain, as well as his body’s requirement for sleep as it healed.
She made sure to dress before he woke this time, and resolved to maintain formality as they parted that morning.
“Time to go!” she said cheerily once he rose. “Return to your own home and give your family some peace by allowing them to be aware that no harm has come to you. I shall be fine. You take care of yourself.”
She turned to her small table and began preparing a couple of small vials for him.
“If you choose to see a physician, then so be it. Otherwise, ensure you change your bandages. I’ve included more potion for the pain.”
She pointed to one vial, then the next.
“The other is to apply to your wound when you change your bandage, which you must do — often. Ensure that your hands, or those of your valet, are clean when you do so.”
She put both vials into his hand, his warm fingers closing over hers for a few seconds before she could pull them away.
Neither of them said anything for a moment, until finally he cleared his throat.
