Jane Bonander by Winter Heart Page B

beginning to think that makes two of us. Dinah moved away, her heart pumping hard as she kept near the door in case she had to make a quick escape. “And, why don’t you want me here?”
    Emily made a petulant moue that became a frown. “Because you’ll hurt me.” She rubbed her wrist with her thumb, as if soothing an old injury.
    “As you hurt me?” The memory of being dragged by her hair around the halls at Trenway made her scalp tingle. It hadn’t taken her long to discover that was why most of the women kept their hair cropped short. Hers was just now beginning to grow out.
    With her fists on her slim hips, Emily took a threatening step toward her. “I dare you to tell Tristan. I dare you. Because it won’t matter if you do. I’ll tell him you hurt me first. It worked with the others.”
    Conniving witch, Dinah thought. Clever, though. “I don’t see why we can’t—”
    “Be careful what you eat,” Emily warned behind a sly smile. “It could be poisoned.”
    Scare tactics. Dinah had seen them work before. In fact, circumstances had forced her to master a few herself. “Why would I—”
    “Emily!”
    They both turned as Tristan strode into the room. Water dripped from his hair and his shirt was plastered to his skin. His expression was a cross between dread and surprise.
    “Tristan!” The woman ran to him and whimpered into his chest.
    Absently stroking his sister’s shoulder, he looked at Dinah, as if waiting for an explanation.
    “We were getting acquainted.” Dinah gave him a small smile, hoping none of her turbulent feelings showed.
    He spoke to his sister, yet his gaze was on Dinah. “I thought we’d decided you would wait until morning to meet the nurse, Emily.”
    “I’m hungry, Tristan.” She drew away and gave her brother a look of pure, innocent adoration.
    Dinah raised her eyebrows. It was no wonder. After their scuffle, Dinah was hungry, too, in spite of Emily’s threats of poison. She touched the biscuit in her pocket, hiding her disappointment when she discovered that during her tussle with Emily it had become a wad of crumbs.
    “I’m sure Mrs. Linberg has prepared something for you.” He touched the delicate line of Emily’s chin. “What have you two been discussing?”
    Emily tossed Dinah a blatant I-dare-you look. Dinah ran her fingers through her short curls, biting back a groan when she skimmed the bruises on her skull. She had no intention of telling him anything, although she had a suspicion that’s just what the woman wanted. Obviously other nurses had been foolish and gabbled about Emily’s private tiffs. It was no wonder they hadn’t lasted. Dinah felt she had a surprising handle on Emily Fletcher already. Of course, she’d always been a foolish optimist.
    “Oh, we were talking about aardvarks and aardwolves, cabbages and kings.” After tossing him an innocent smile, Dinah gave her skirt a tug. She cringed when the seam ripped further.
    Tristan Fletcher raised his satanic brows in question but said nothing. Instead, he led his sister toward the kitchen. “I imagine you’re exhausted, Miss Odell. Get a good night’s rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”
    Having been so soundly dismissed, Dinah made a face at his retreating back. As she took the stairs to her room, she wondered if there was a lock on her door. For a year she and Daisy had to dream up clever ways to keep her virtue intact. Now, her virtue wasn’t the issue. It was her future and her job. Emily Fletcher wanted her gone. Dinah wondered to what lengths the woman would go to get her way.
    Expelling a gruff sigh, Tristan left Emily asleep in her room. As he stepped into the dim hall, he stood and studied Dinah Odell’s door and dove his fingers through his rumpled hair. Emily had pleaded for him to send the new nurse away. As she had before, she created a scenario in which the nurse was the attacker and poor, sweet Emily the victim.
    Although others might have been fooled by such devices,