The Spy Who Loved Her: Once Upon an Accident, Book 3 (9 page)

“Yes, but he is a bit past the point of being a boy, is he not?” Anger surged at the complacency in the room. It was as if his mother did not care. What in heaven’s name was going on? She picked up the cloth and dipped it in the warm water.

“It is decidedly odd because I have never known Daniel to be into that part of town.”

“I am sure that he had a reason to be there.” Lady Adelaide sounded even more distant than before.

She wanted to argue with her, but the older woman’s position, and the fact she was a friend of her mother’s kept Anna from doing that. She pressed a cloth gently around the wound to clean it.

“It does not look all that bad. In fact, it isn’t that bad at all. A good stitching is all it needs.”

“I am glad to hear your analysis, young woman, but I am sure that Lady Adelaide would like to hear from a doctor.”

She glanced up at the older gentleman who came into the room. She recognized him immediately. “Dr. Timms. I am sure you are sick of seeing me.”

“Lady Anna?”

“Yes. I was checking on the children tonight. We had another one come down with fever, but he is doing just fine. Nothing too high.”

He smiled as he came toward her. He was her favorite physician to use and although she knew he only did it because of her position, she truthfully didn’t care. He showed a respect for the boys that most doctors did not.

“Ah, well I am here. I will be happy to take over.”

She frowned at him, not wanting to leave Daniel. She glanced back down at him, worried about the pallor of his skin. Anna looked up and opened her mouth but Lady Adelaide stopped her.

“Oh my goodness. Look at your dress.”

Anna looked down and saw the smudges of dirt and blood on her ball gown.

“Oh, I really hate to see that. Your mother will be wondering what happened.” She moved around the bed. “Whatever will you tell her?”

“What do you mean?”

“I would hate for anyone to find out about Daniel. Do you think you could…”

She glanced at the man in question and without hesitation said, “Do not worry, Lady Adelaide. I will tell my mother it is from the orphanage.”

She glanced at Daniel one more time and then allowed his mother to hurry her out of the room.

Two days later, Anna listened to her mother complain about her disappearance—again. Anna barely heard her. Since she had left Daniel’s townhouse, her mind had been on him…and those injuries. She desperately wanted to send a note to him but knew that would raise suspicions. She thought it horribly rude that Lady Adelaide at least did not contact her. What on earth had Daniel been doing down there? And just what was with all the men he was with? They were not his friends. Some of them looked much older and definitely much more experienced than he.
Stabbed
. She still worried that the wound was much worse than she had thought it to be. What if he lost too much blood? Or what if the hit to his head was worse than she had thought?

“Are you listening to me?”

She glanced at her mother sitting across the room from her. “I understand you were upset. Did I not go to another musicale last night? Since it featured the Tate twins, I deserve something for that.”

Her mother offered her a little smile. The Tate twins were notoriously tone deaf. “True. But I want you to understand that your absence was noticed.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “And I am sure they all know I left because of the orphanage.”

“Yes. Just the thing you need to be known for, traipsing around the slums in the middle of the night.”

Anna barely held onto her rapidly fraying temper. Did no one think she had a brain? “I was never in any danger.”

“True, I understand that. But men do not want a woman who thinks nothing of running off to take care of children that are not his.”

Anna raised her chin. “Then I do not want a man like that. Why would I? I do not want to be a kept woman with nothing better to do than raise her children then bother them about marrying.”

Hurt filled her mother’s expression. “I am just trying to help.”

Regret stirred in Anna’s chest. She should have kept her temper under control. She did not want to hurt her mother, because she knew she wanted what she thought best for Anna. But she could not be that girl anymore. She rose and then seated herself next to her mother. She slipped her hands over Victoria’s.

“I know, Mother. I know you mean no harm. But I am not sure I can be what any man wants. What I need is to live with my past and create a future I am happy with.”

Her mother searched Anna’s expression. “Why do you think that cannot include a husband and children?”

“I am not sure a man would want a wife who feels the need to be involved in my work like I am. It may seem silly to you, but I feel as if I am doing something important at the orphanage. I need to be there.”

Her mother studied her and then turned her hands over, taking Anna’s between hers. “I need to see you settled.”

Anna paused, unable to discern her mother’s tone. She had been preoccupied lately. In fact, there were times Lady Victoria had disappeared for hours at a time. But this was different. There was something there she had not heard before, something she could not truly understand. It was as if there was a desperate need beneath those words. What did her mother have to be desperate about?

She opened her mouth, but Starnes interrupted her.

“Lord Bridgerton is here to see you, my lady.”

For a moment, her heart stopped. He was fine. In the next, her whole body heated with the thought of seeing him.

“My lady?”

She shook herself out of her stupor. “I will be done in a moment.”

Everything in her body seemed to shimmer in anticipation. What was she thinking? Was this because she was worried about him?

She checked herself in the mirror. With a deep breath, she straightened and made her way downstairs. All the way she continued to remind herself to stay calm. This was just Daniel coming by to let her know he was all right.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and noticed one of the footmen.

“Lord Bridgerton is in the front parlor, my lady.”

She wanted to run down the length of the hall just to get there faster, to witness with her own eyes that he was okay. But instead, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other slowly. When she reached the doorway, she paused and watched him. His back was to her as he looked out the window. Bright sunlight shimmered around him, highlighting the flecks of gold within his hair.

He was fine.

She must have made some kind of noise because he turned around. The moment his gaze rested upon her, she found herself mesmerized. There was something in the way he looked at her that made every thought in her brain dissolve. It had been this way since that waltz the week before. It made her aware of everything in her body—her heartbeat, the prickles that moved over her skin and the overwhelming need to be touched.

“Lady Anna.”

She shook herself and ordered her feet to move in the room.

“It is good to see that you are all right.”

He grimaced when he moved and instantly, she rushed forward. He put his right arm up to ward her off. “I am fine. I just moved it the wrong way.”

Silence filled the air around them. When he said nothing she finally asked, “Whatever happened to you down there?”

For a moment, Daniel could not get his brain to function. He could truly blame it on the medication he had been on, but he knew it had to do with the woman in front of him. Daniel tried to remember the lie his mother had helped him concoct in the wee hours of the morning. There would be no way hiding his injury from most people. But worse, Anna had seen him injured and there was no way avoiding her.

“Jack is the nephew of Higgens.”

“Did Jack stab you?”

He smiled. “No. He owed some money and I was trying to help him with the money lender.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But you were dressed oddly.”

“Well, I could not go down there in my own clothes.”

“Why ever not? I would think that would help you more.”

Daniel wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. His head was still fuzzy from the laudanum. Dealing with Anna in such a state was not a good idea. Even now, with his body aching and his head throbbing, he could feel arousal snake through his blood. She was wearing a simple white day dress with embroidered cornflowers along the neckline. There was nothing truly seductive about it, but that did not seem to matter. It just made him want to peel it away from her body and see what lay beneath.

“Daniel?”

He shook his head. “What?”

“I said, I thought that being dressed in your own clothes would have gained you more respect.”

The woman was too clever. He was trying to imagine just what she would look like wearing nothing but the sunlight, and she was questioning him as if she were the head of the War Department, Lord Michaels.

“I did not want to draw attention to us.”

She didn’t look like she believed him but thankfully she let it go.

“Are you sure you are all right?” The worry in her voice, along with the concern in her eyes did not comfort him. He did not want to be coddled, to be seen as weak.

He nodded. “Just a little scuffle and Doctor Timms said it was not serious.”

“Jack works for your family?”

“No, he works for…”

It was then that he realized his mistake. Everyone in the ton thought he was having an affair with Lady Joanna, but for some reason he did not want Anna to think that. But it was too late.

“Yes?”

“Ah, he works for Lady Joanna.”

Anna’s face paled, her expression going blank. Something in the area of his heart pricked.

“It is not what you think.”

“I really have no idea what you are talking about.” Ice dripped from her words.

He hated this, hated lying to her, and in this one thing, he would be honest. “Joanna and I are not…”

She had moved away, in body and mind. He walked to her and touched her arm. She shivered and he was not sure if it was the heat or fear.

“Anna?”

She would not look at him and he needed it, needed the connection to her. He touched his forefinger to her chin and moved it up so that she had to look at him. He could not read what she was thinking.

“I promise there is nothing between Lady Joanna and myself. We are friends, nothing more. She is still mourning my uncle’s death. Even if she were not, she does not interest me in the least.”

He held her gaze for a moment and then allowed for her to pull away. She walked to the window he had been standing in front of a moment earlier.

“She seems your type of woman, Daniel.”

“What does that mean?”

She shrugged which angered him. He could not understand himself, but for some reason, he could take anger from her more than complacency.

“Anna.”

She turned to face him and again he could not read her expression. It was something that frustrated him. She had been an open book at one time. But ever since that damned Dewhurst hurt her she had become a mystery. He could never tell what she was thinking.

“What do you mean she is my type?”

“It is not as if I do not hear of your antics around the ton. It was very hard not to hear of it when Sebastian is your best companion. People tend to enjoy throwing your brother’s bad behavior in your face to see how you will react.”

“Back to the type of woman you think I like.”

Her face flushed with color. “Never mind.”

“Anna.”

“Well, all right. You like dark-haired women with lots of…curves.”

He looked at her for a moment. “How do you know that?”

“Oh for goodness sakes, Daniel, everyone knows what paramours you keep, and if I didn’t I am sure it would not be hard to figure it out from what plays you attend.”

He frowned. Was he that transparent?

“It does not matter in the least. It is your private life. All that matters is that you are not seriously hurt.”

He offered her a smile. “Fit as ever.”

She did not return the smile. If anything, her expression grew more pensive. “The bruises you had on your chest did not look like they were new. What on earth are you about?”

Damn, his mother had not told him she had been in the room when they removed his shirt. Of course, his mother was not acting in her right mind since that note had arrived from the Viper. She had insisted that he leave again, and when he refused, she’d stopped talking to him.

“That was from a gentleman’s boxing match.”

She searched his eyes then her shoulders slumped. “If you do not want to tell me, at least do not lie to me.” He opened his mouth and she shook her head. “No, you will only lie again.”

The sadness he heard in her voice bothered him. Just as he had said days earlier, they had been friendly at one time. Her advancement into womanhood had ruined that. Not because it would not be accepted, but because he could not accept it. From the moment she had arrived he could not keep his mind from wandering into an area where it should not go. It was at that moment he realized just how close he was standing to her. Her body heat warmed his skin and he could smell the rose water she dabbed on her flesh. Oh, that was not a good place to go. But his body did not seem to listen to his mind. Everything in him tensed, hardened. He closed his eyes and the one image that came to mind was Anna, beneath him, naked to his touch.

“Daniel? Are you all right?”

Her voice enticed him. She had always been chatty, but she had one of those deep voices that sunk beneath a man’s skin and sent his senses reeling. It was something that he had dreamed of hearing in his bedroom, thick with sleepy passion.

“Daniel!”

The sharpness of her voice had him jolting back into reality.

“Are you sure you are fine?”

He cleared his throat but not the image of her in his bed. His body responded immediately and it took all of his control not to reach for her.

He cleared his throat. “Yes. And I must be going. Mother is not that happy with me at the moment.”

She nodded and he turned to go.

“Daniel, are you sure you are going to be all right?”