It was then that he remembered his legs. Without the solid support of the door to help him stand, he teetered precariously on limbs that were ill prepared to hold him upright. He began to sway alarmingly.
“Jesus, please don’t let me fall,” he cursed. He tried to stagger forward, but his feet seemed to be completely disjointed from the rest of him and wouldn’t move in time with his body.
He was only vaguely aware of the door opening behind him and initially thought it was Petal returned with his breakfast. Holding an arm out, he focused all of his attention on not falling on his face.
“Help me get back to the bed,” he demanded as he held one arm out.
To his horror, the room began to swirl at the same time that Edwards appeared against his side. In contrast to the delightful feel of Petal pressed against him, the somewhat harder Edwards didn’t seem as appealing. Although he tried to push her away, his strength had diminished to the point that his hands didn’t appear to work properly either. There was no power left in any of him to fight against anything this woman said, or did. Despite this, it was on the tip of his tongue to order her to fetch Petal, but he knew he couldn’t remain upright long enough for her to arrive.
He looked down when he felt the warm press of Edwards’ hand right in the centre of his bared chest and felt his skin crawl. There was something about the warmth of her breath that brushed against his cheek that made his lip curl in disgust. He tried to edge away, but she merely followed him and pressed ever closer against his bared flesh. For the first time in his entire adult life, he felt vulnerable to a woman’s machinations. It was galling. It was horrifying. It made him increasingly determined not to allow the woman an inch while she remained under his roof.
“Oh my, I am sorry I interrupted you,” the dowager gasped theatrically from the doorway.
“Get out!” Aidan yelled, spinning around and lurching forward fast enough to slam the door closed. Unfortunately, that then locked him inside the room with a now smug Edwards, who hurried toward him again with her arms outstretched.
“Get out,” he snarled again, waving a hand toward the door. Unfortunately, the strain of standing for so long became too much for his beleaguered legs which suddenly couldn’t hold him upright.
Edwards pushed against his front, trying to take his weight. He had little choice but to slide an arm around her so he didn’t fall flat on his face.
“Get me back to the bed,” Aidan ordered, ignoring the sweat on his brow.
He focused on the bed but then realised Edwards was pressed suggestively against him again. She was blocking any hope he might have of escaping. Cursing Fate, and the connivance of females, he glared down at her and tried to figure out how she managed to trap him so quickly and so efficiently.
CHAPTER NINE
Petal hurried after Rollo, the tray she carried laden with refreshments in her hands.
“I will get the door for you,” she murmured, edging around him.
The sight that met her eyes inside the room would remain with her for a very long time. She gasped in dismay when she saw Aidan and Edwards wrapped in a loving embrace. Her gaze flew to Rollo, who appeared beside her, and looked a little stunned himself then a little suspicious.
“Tea, sir,” he announced blandly without batting an eye.
Unsure what to do, Petal hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was enter, but she had no choice. She had a tray of tea things in her hands. She could hardly drop it on the floor and run back downstairs. Following Rollo’s lead, Petal plastered a bland expression on her face and didn’t even look up as she deposited the tray on the side table beside the window.
“Petal,” Aidan growled as she passed him. He was horrified at just how his embrace with Edwards must look. “Help me get back to bed.”
Petal couldn’t even look at him. The hurt in her chest had mushroomed to the point that she could barely think or breathe beyond the need to cry. She hated him at that moment and was intensely regretting the affection she stupidly felt for him. The man was clearly nothing but a cad who had a yen for servants.
Well, he can have Edwards and deserves her, she mused snidely, ignoring his plea.
Rollo stepped forward. “I will help you, sir. I am a bit stronger than Petal.”
Aidan pushed Edwards aside roughly and, together with Rollo, shuffled toward the bed. Once there, he slumped wearily down onto the sheets.
“Petal, come over here,” he demanded, determined to explain to her what she had just walked in on.
To his disgust, she had already left.
Out in the hallway, Petal swiped angrily at the errant tear that escaped in spite of her best efforts to keep it at bay. She took a deep breath and battled with the fierce emotions that raged through her; the first of which was anger. It wasn’t directed at him, though. It was at herself for her stupidity. She had actually believed, if only for a little while, that there could be something different between her and the master of the house.
Nobody had forced her to love him. And she did. She knew it.
Foolishly, she had chosen to ignore their differing stations. It had been her choice; her ignorance. So, any hurt she may feel at seeing him with someone who was quite clearly better connected was hers and hers alone.
“Well, it is back to work for you, Petunia Biddeham,” she whispered as she hurried back down the servants’ stairs. “The nurse is welcome to the scoundrel.”
“Are you alright?” Aggy asked when Petal appeared, pale and battling tears, in the scullery moments later.