Page 76 of Sands of Sirocco
Her brows drew together in puzzlement.Why did she get the feeling he wasn’t pleased to see her?“I was at Groppi’s and—” She glanced down the hallway.No one was in sight.“Can I come in?”
Noah’s expression was wary.“Why don’t I get my jacket and join you outside instead?In the garden?”He wore his uniform trousers and shirt but was missing his hat and jacket and was barefooted.
She reached past him for the knob.“I’d prefer the privacy of your room—” She turned it, pushing the door open behind him.
The room was shrouded in darkness, but movement came from the bed.A form rolled to the side as though stirred from sleep.
A woman.
Ginger’s heart slammed against her ribs, her gaze flying back to Noah’s.Frozen with shock, she stayed rooted in place, scanning his eyes.
He has a woman in his bed.
Feeling sick, Ginger stumbled back.She covered her mouth with her hand.“Oh my God.”
Noah grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door shut, pushing them both back out into the hall.His hand encircled her wrist.Ginger’s eyes darted down the hall, feeling like a caged animal who couldn’t cry out without attracting unwanted attention.She yanked her hand back, but he didn’t release it.“Let me go.”
Reluctantly, he let her wrist go.She gave it an exaggerated rub, then turned and stalked down the hall, tears burning her eyes.
Noah caught up with her.“Stop and listen to me.”His voice was low, as discreet as possible, but anxious.“Please.It’s not what you’re thinking.It’s Victoria—”
“I don’t want to hear it.”She didn’t slow.How could I be so foolish?Victoria, of all women!Noah knew the insecurities Victoria roused in her.“You were clearly trying to hide her presence from me.”She reached the lift.
“I wasn’t trying to hide her presence—”
The hell he wasn’t.“Then why did you want to go to the garden?”
Noah held her by the shoulders, facing her toward him.“Because I was trying to let her rest.”
“And your bedroom was a perfect place for that, wasn’t it?”She gave him a cutting look.“Wasn’t it just recently you told me you didn’t want me suturing your shoulder in your room because of how it might look to others if we were seen?I suppose that didn’t matter with her, did it?The risk is only worth it with her?”
An angry scowl flinched across his features.His shoulders lowered with a frustrated breath.“I rescued Victoria last night.The exchange resulted in Lord Helton being taken by her kidnappers.She could probably use a nurse or doctor to tend to her.I don’t know what they did to her, but I didn’t want to ask either.She was terrified of going back to her home and being alone.”
A hundred thoughts assailed her at once.Her lips parted with shock.Lord Helton had been captured?No wonder Osborne had said he was indisposed.Noah had been out doing something incredibly dangerous the previous night, and she hadn’t had a clue.
What if Noah had been killed?How would she have learned of it?
And …Victoria.The cool, emotionally detached woman that she’d practiced being both growing up and in nursing prevailed.“Is she injured?”she managed, crossing her arms.“I am a nurse, after all.You might have thought to tell me from the beginning and let me see to her.”
Noah scanned her face, his dark-blue gaze hesitant.“I’m not sure you’re the right woman for the job.She’s been through an ordeal, Ginger—I don’t want to add to it the sting of any humiliation she might feel around you.Especially given your initial reaction.”
Ginger clenched her jaw, and her anger and hurt came tumbling back to the surface.“You’re a married man now, Noah.You can’t just take women back to your room and expect your wife to be happy about it.”
“I didn’t want to bring her here, but it was the best option, given the circumstances.She needed my help, Ginger.I brought her in discreetly.I’ve already sent for my friend who runs a safe house, to see if he can help her.”
It wasn’t just about Victoria being here.He’d put her in a horrible position with Peter Osborne by coming to her house.And then there was Captain Young.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through the last few days?Not only did I have to tend to Captain Young—who, by the way, remembered your involvement in his attack and spoke to Peter Osborne about it—but Osborne also informed me you were seen going into my home in the middle of the night.”Her breath came in short, frustrated bursts.
Noah’s expression was unreadable, but his shoulders slumped.“What does Osborne know?I’m hoping to go to the CID and tell one of my superiors about everything with Lord Helton as soon as Victoria leaves.”
“I don’t know.I’m not certain what Young told him.”Her irritation grew.He hadn’t even responded about the potential damage he’d done to her reputation.And Osborne’s claims about Noah today bothered her in a way she knew they wouldn’t if she hadn’t found Victoria in his room.
What if she’d allowed her feelings for him to cloud the truth?He’d showed a side of moral greyness the last few days that worried her.She’d married him hastily.Had she made a mistake?Don’t be ridiculous, Ginger.
In a shaky voice, she said, “Tell me about Kut.What you did there.”
He looked at her enigmatically, his face hardening.“Kut?”
