Dawn Thompson by The Brotherhood Read Free Book Online Page A

lip and mercifully lowered those magnificent eyes.
    “I am a good listener, Miss Applegate.”
    Cora shook her head wildly. “I hardly know you, sir.”
    Something I’d like to remedy,
Joss thought. He gave a crisp bow instead. “As you wish,” he said, “but since I sense something untoward here, I must insist that you not be left alone. You will accept Amy as your abigail while you are my guest. I shall have a cot brought up to your dressing room for her, and she will remain with you until you leave Whitebriar Abbey.”
    Cora gave a reluctant nod.
    “Good! And I must insist that you keep your door locked at night—just as a precaution, until the coachman leaves the Abbey. He claimed that he was concerned for your well-being, and wanted to see forhimself because he was responsible for your safe conduct. Well, like it or not,
I
am responsible for you now, since you are under my roof, and I must do my utmost to see that you come to no further harm. How are the cuts on your feet?”
    “They are not deep, sir. Your housekeeper has tended them.”
    “And you have eaten?”
    She nodded. “Very well.”
    He strode to the bellpull and yanked it. “Good,” he said. “I’ve rung for Grace to carry out my wishes. Did you have baggage on that coach? I saw none.”
    “Two travel bags in the boot.”
    “I shall retrieve them once the storm is over. In the meantime, you may avail yourself of my mother’s things. She and my father are . . . abroad. I’ll have Grace bring a selection.”
    “You needn’t go to all that trouble,” she said. “I shan’t be here long enough to wear them.”
    “I wouldn’t count upon that. North Country storms are hangers on, and often others follow. It may be days—a sennight or longer—before I can dig the coach out of those drifts, and you cannot go about in your night rail, can you?”
    “I . . . expect not,” she said demurely, eyes lowered. How long and dark her lashes were against that creamy expanse of cheek, splotched now with red patches. His fingers itched to touch her.
    “It is settled then.”
    She nodded. It was a reluctant nod, but a nod nonetheless, and at this point, he would take whatever he could get. There was more that needed to be addressed, however.
    “Once your feet are sufficiently mended, I would likeyou to join me downstairs for your meals. No, wait! I have valid reasons. It will give Grace and Amy a breather. This house is short staffed, Miss Applegate. My servants will do all in their power to accommodate you, but carrying food trays up and down stairs three times a day will be difficult. Grace is in her seventies, and she suffers from rheumatism. I would take it as a kindness if you would ease her burden. Breakfast and luncheon are served in the breakfast room. Dinner is served in the dining parlor.” She made no reply, and he went on quickly. “I must insist that you not prowl the house unattended. The Abbey is old, and much of it is in need of repair. I would not want to see you do yourself a mischief.” This, of course, was a half truth. His uneasiness in regard to the coachman and the strangeness that had begun to come over him were at the root of his warning. “There is one more thing,” he said. “When you speak with the coachman, I will be present.”
    She was about to speak, when Grace appeared in the open doorway and made her presence known by clearing her throat.
    “Evidently I did not make myself plain earlier, Grace,” he said, “when I said Miss Applegate was not to be left unattended.”
    “I had ta take the tray down, sir,” the woman defended.
    “Yes, well, see that Jonathan brings a cot up to the dressing room for Amy. She will serve as Miss Applegate’s abigail while she is in residence. And in the future, one of you must be at hand here
at all times.
I do not care if the trays pile up to the ceiling. Is that clear?”
    “Y-yes, sir,” said the housekeeper, her owlish eyes fixed upon his bloodied brow. It looked even