“All right. What happened then?”
“As s-s-soon as I walked out of the house, I n-n-noticed a man I’d never seen before st-standing on the pavement a f-few houses down.”
Nick’s muscles tightened, and even though he already knew the outcome of her trip to the greengrocer it still had him ready to punch the wall. Another man to put on his list of people to pay for Pamela’s injuries.
“It w-was obvious fr-from the time I left the house th-that he was following me. I became very n-nervous.” She stopped and took a deep breath. Nick moved to sit on the edge of the bed and took her hand. “Go on.”
She glanced sideways at him, a flush rising to her face. “I d-d-decided th-then th-th-that I had t-to …”
“What?”
He blew out a deep breath. “Come to your cl-club. I knew if anyone c-could keep me s-safe it was y-you.” Her face turned a bright red at her confession.
His heart soared and despite the sad tale she was telling, and the agony he felt over her injuries, a sense of male satisfaction flowed through him. “I’m glad you knew the right thing to do—at least at that point.”
She glared at him and raised her sweet chin. “At th-that point I decided to go to m-my friend Lottie’s house which was cl-close by and tell her th-that I would be unable to see h-her or Addie for a while. I knew I h-had to leave the b-b-boarding house and possibly even B-bath, or else do s-something so I could n-not be found, and m-my friends would worry when I d-disappeared on them without a w-word.”
She took her last sip of tea and he removed the tray from her lap and brought it across the room to place it on the small desk next to the wardrobe. When he returned to her, he sat on the bed again and took her both of her ice-cold hands. “What happened next?”
“I left Lottie’s house and d-d-decided to look for a hack to t-t-take to your club. But b-before I could reach the rail st-station where I could f-find a hack I was hit by the ca-ca-carriage.”
Nick squeezed her hands so hard he was afraid he was inflicting further damage on her. The thought of what might have happened to her brought a combination of rage and heartbreak. Despite the short time he’d known Pamela his heart told him they were meant to be together.
“Do you remember anything after that?”
“J-just waking up in h-hospital. I tried to tell the n-nurse and d-d-doctor what happened, but I was v-v-very confused and as you know, m-my words d-don’t come out v-v-very clear when I’m anxious.” She grinned. “Like n-now.”
He reached out and tucked her loose curls behind her ear. “And then you sent for me.”
“Yes.” She ducked her head and he grinned.
“I’m glad you did.”
“Me, t-too.”
They smiled at each other just as Dorothy returned to the room to retrieve the trays of food. Right behind her was Mrs. Fletcher, glowering at him sitting on the bed. “Mr. Smith, I assume there are chairs in the room?”
He hopped up like a recalcitrant lad caught with one of his hands up a maid’s skirts. “Yes, ma’am.” He winked at Pamela. “We have more to discuss, but I think for now I need to give you some of the pain medication the doctor left and allow you to get some sleep.”
“Wh-what about L-london?”
“We will discuss that in the morning as well.” He pulled the small jar of laudanum and the spoon he’d stuck in his pocket before he came upstairs. “You won’t want to take this for too long, but it will help you sleep.”
She eyed the bottle “Wh-what is it?”
“Laudanum.” He unscrewed the top of the bottle and poured a little bit into the spoon.
“I agree. I d-don’t want to take it f-for long. I understand y-you can b-b-become too de-dependent on it.”
He held the spoon to her mouth, and she took the medication and swallowed.
“Mr. Smith. I believe it’s time for you to take your leave and allow this young lady to get some rest.” Mrs. Fletcher stood not two feet from him, her arms tucked under her impressive bosom, a look on her face that almost had him laughing. She apparently had no intention of leaving the room until he did.
When he’d told Pamela that Mrs. Fletcher would guard her virtue he hadn’t been joking. The woman was a stalwart of moral behavior.
“Yes, indeed, Mrs. Fletcher.” He leaned over and kissed Pamela on her forehead. “Good night.”
Pamela watched Nick leave the room and had to smile at how he had kowtowed to his housekeeper. When she’d first learned about his background, she had been a bit frightened and decided what he must be like. A man brought up on the streets of London had to be coarse and vulgar. Uncaring and aggressive.