Kiss From a Rogue

Kiss From a Rogue by Shirley Karr Page B

Book: Kiss From a Rogue by Shirley Karr Read Free Book Online
Authors: Shirley Karr
Tags: Romance
Ads: Link
danger, it is not from me.”
    No one relaxed. At least three of the men rested their hands on a knife handle or butt of a pistol stuck through their belt. Oh, hell. How was he going to get himself out of this one?
    The woman at his side spoke up. “We’ll leave him here, and Mr. Spencer will make certain he doesn’t go anywhere while we’re…busy, and then he can return to his room.” A low murmur went up, and a few more men reached for their knives. She noticed, too. “And tomorrow he’ll be on his way, out of our village, never to return.” She looked up at him. “Isn’t that right, sir?”
    “Perfectly agreeable plan. I have no objection to waiting here. The sofa was quite comfy.” His smile felt a bit forced, but his skull was pounding, and the men still looked ready to use their knives. “Tomorrow I’ll be on my way toward Weymouth.” The floor was threatening to tilt again. Tony kept his hand on the woman’s shoulder.
    Noticing his wobble, she reached out a hand to his waist, probably with the ridiculous notion she could help keep him from sinking to the floor.
    Noise from the doorway made the men turn.
    “I thought you were going to join us for—” The speaker, a lad of about eighteen, cut himself off at the sight of Tony and the woman. He, too, had a pistol thrust through his belt, and a cutlass at his waist. A black scarf almost covered his bright red hair. “What are you doing to Sylvia?”
    Ah, the woman had a name. Strong, yet feminine. Suited her. “I am doing nothing to her. She, however, is keeping me from pitching face-first to the floor.”
    The lad looked ready to continue his interrogation, his brows drawn together, but the two women returned just then, bringing a basket and basin of water to Sylvia.
    “Please sit down, sir.” Sylvia urged Tony back to the sofa.
    He allowed himself to be maneuvered down. Perhaps from this angle he would seem less of a threat to the men. Mrs. Spencer shoved aside a vase on the small table to make room for the supplies.
    Sylvia used both hands on the side of his face to point his chin toward the floor. Her hands were warm, her voice soft and steady. “This will only take a moment.”
    “The lad needs a restorative cup of tea, he does,” the housekeeper announced. She patted him on the knee. “Be right back.”
    The men rearranged themselves again after her departure, their boots just visible in a ring around the sofa as Tony stared at the floor. Better than watchdogs. He closed his eyes to concentrate on Sylvia’s ministrations.
    Her touch was gentle, working a damp cloth through the hair at the back of his head, washing away the blood. He’d noticed the gold band on her third finger. Had he been mistaken about her status as widow, and this lot simply guarding her in her husband’s absence?
    “What is this, straw?”
    Tony looked up, but Sylvia pushed his head down again. She was slowly carding her fingers through his hair. Might have been pleasant, soothing even, under other circumstances.
    “Good heavens, what did you hit him with?”
    He heard the irritation in her voice, and silently seconded it.
    “ ’Twas a pitchfork.”
    “From Spencer’s stables.”
    “He wouldn’t go down, elsewise.”
    Tony raised his head. “I would have responded to a simple request.” Sylvia pushed him down again.
    “Be glad it wasn’t the fork they use for muckin’ out the stalls.” Laughter rang out.
    “Hush, all of you.” Sylvia patted his shoulder. “What’s done is done. Mrs. Spencer, I need to borrow a pair of scissors. There are still buttons on the bandage.”
    Tony tried to look over his shoulder. “You’re not cutting up a shirt on my behalf, are you?”
    Sylvia touched his jaw, pushing him back into position. “What better use for Montgomery’s shirts, hmm?”
    “Who is Montgomery?”
    “My late husband.”
    Mrs. Spencer briefly stepped into his line of sight as she retrieved scissors from a mending basket. Just what he needed,

Similar Books

Collateral Damage

H. Terrell Griffin

Inside Enemy

Alan Judd

The Iron Lance

Stephen R. Lawhead

The Half Brother: A Novel

Lars Saabye Christensen

The Navigators

Dan Alatorre