She shrugged. “I’ll try. But trust me, you don’t want my mother to know we correspond.”
He gave his head a small shake. “I don’t…”
&
nbsp; Minnie wasn’t certain if he was making a statement or asking a question the way his voice rose at the end. “Am I correct in assuming that you are not interested in marriage?”
He swallowed. “You are.”
Regret niggled down her spine. “And in particular, not interested in me. Because I’ve been open about the fact that I need to wed.”
“I’m…not,” he said taking a backwards step down the stairs. He grimaced, his brow furrowing.
“Then why do you sound uncertain?” she asked, crossing her arms about her waist. She wished she hadn’t asked. She was afraid of what his answer might be. After their kiss, or perhaps even before that, she’d stopped thinking of him as the worst sort of man and had begun to consider him rather interesting.
He shook his head. “I’m not. It’s just…” And then he took another step back. This time, however, he slipped and in sickening slow motion, she watched him fall backwards, his head just missing a stone pillar. His shoulder glanced off the structure instead and he fell to the ground, his skull bouncing off the cobblestone. He curled on his side, letting out an agonizing groan.
“Oh dear,” she cried racing down the steps. Minnie dropped to the ground, reaching for his face. “Let me look,” she said her breath ragged. She didn’t see anything but then she slid her fingers into his hair, a lump already forming by the base of his skull.
“I’m all right,” he ground out. “It’s my shoulder more than anything.”
Minnie looked lower to realize that his arm was at an odd angle. “Oh dear,” she whispered more to herself. “Don’t move.”
“I couldn’t if I tried,” he grunted between clenched teeth.
“If they ask, I came out and found you like this,” she said close to his ear. The last thing she needed was for her family to try and force a match. She was not interested in trapping a man in marriage. She was many things, but manipulative wasn’t one of them.
She didn’t wait for his reply as she jumped from the ground and, lifting her skirts, sprinted back up the steps. “Come quickly,” she yelled as she opened the door. “I’ve found the Duke of Darlington injured on our drive.”
Without waiting for a response, she hurried back to his side and plopped on the ground next to him to cradle his head in her lap. Smoothing back his hair, she curled her body around his. “Try not to worry. I’ve got you. I’ll not let anything happen to you, I swear.”
“Somehow,” he groaned. “I believe you.”
She smiled a little at that. “You should, I’m practically holding your life in my hands.”
“There’s the Minnie I know and love.”
“Wait,” she cried, her mouth going dry and her body freezing. “Did you just tell me you love me?”
Tag swore softly under his breath as he turned his head to look up at Minnie. Pain shot down his side. He should lie and tell her that he meant affectionately, not romantically. But he wasn’t certain he was capable of the lie in this moment. “You know what I meant.”
She didn’t answer as people began to flood out the door from the house. In fact, she didn’t meet his gaze at all. He wished Minnie would tell him what she was thinking.
Her mother dashed to the front of the pack. “Your Grace!” she yelled, stopping within a breath of him, her hands crossing over her heart. “Your arm.”
Minnie stared up at her mother, her brows drawing together. “I’m sure he hadn’t noticed until you mentioned it.”
A single bark of laughter erupted from his throat and then he spasmed in pain.
Several gasps erupted around him. “Is he going to be all right, Minnie?” one female voice asked.
“Yes, Ada, but go and tell Mr. Hoffsman to fetch the doctor. Hurry.” Minnie stroked his face as she cradled his head in her lap. If not for the searing pain in his arm and throbbing in his head, he might actually enjoy this. She’d curled around him, her bosom pressing against his ear.
“What should we do?” another female asked.
“He’s friends with Effington, isn’t he?” A gruff male voice grumbled from his right.
“He fell on our property,” someone else answered.