The Raider (Montgomery/Taggert 9)

Jessica saw the pain in his eyes and the hurt she’d caused him. This man’s feelings were as delicate as his body.

“Alex.” She held out her hands to him.

With a look of resignation—and what Jess recognized as forgiveness—he held out his arms to her.

She climbed into his lap as if she were a little girl. Somewhere along the way, Alex had become her friend. He wasn’t her lover, wasn’t actually her husband, but he was her friend. For all his blustering and shouting at her, she’d known he would take care of her. “It was awful, Alex. I was so scared. My hands were shaking so badly I could hardly cut Ethan’s ropes. Have you heard anything? What about Abigail and Mrs. Wentworth? You should have seen Abby dance!”

Alex was holding her as tightly as he could without reinjuring her wound. “Eleanor went to the Wentworth house. The admiral pounded on Mrs. Wentworth’s bedroom door and Eleanor answered.”

“Eleanor?” Jess gasped. “But I didn’t tell her what I was planning to do. I didn’t dare since she’s bossier than you are.”

“She is a woman of intelligence and common sense, which is more than I can say for you.”

“I came home to you, didn’t I? I knew the Raider couldn’t help me, so I came home to you.”

“So I could patch you back together,” Alex said softly.

“Oh, Alex, don’t get your feelings hurt. The Raider wanted me to go with him but I turned him down.”

Alex’s mouth drew into a line. “You turned him down because he doesn’t carry a ready supply of bandages for when you do something as stupidly foolish as tonight. Do you have any idea how the admiral is retaliating?”

“No,” she said hesitantly.

“One of the soldiers was killed, by your Raider I presume, so he’s determined to find the killer. He said the dead man had a bloody knife in his hand. He thinks the blood is from the Raider, while I foolishly assumed it was Ethan’s. To find the killer, he’s marching all the young men of town to city hall and forcing them to undress. He’ll kill any man who has a fresh knife wound.”

“And the women?” Jess asked.

“All the English soldiers swear they can identify the gypsy wom

en.”

Jessica began to stiffen. “Alex, if they find out about Abigail and Mrs. Wentworth…”

“Perhaps you should have thought of that before you foolishly ran off into the woods and nearly got yourself killed. Now, as much as I love holding you, I want you to sleep.”

“Where are you going?”

“To see what I can do to help.”

Jessica got off his lap. “Alex, you should rest. Your health—”

He didn’t allow her to finish as he leaned forward, and nose to nose, spoke to her through teeth clamped shut. “Now you worry about my health? You talk my own father into plotting against me, you put me through hell as I sit here all night waiting for you, and then you come home with an open, bleeding wound and now you tell me someone else might endanger my health? The English army is nothing compared to the misery you cause me, Jessica Taggert.”

“Montgomery,” she said softly. “You married me, remember?”

Alex leaned away from her. “I may have married you, but I didn’t change you. Now, I want you to listen to me. I want you to climb into bed and get some sleep. I’ll tell the household you’re ill and Eleanor is to take care of you.”

“Alex, wait. Won’t the admiral want to speak to me? I know he thinks whoever freed the men was a man, but he might think I was the dancer.”

Alex gave the front of her nightgown a pointed look. “There are some things a woman can’t fake. You’ll not be questioned.” With that, he left the room.

Jess looked down at the front of her gown and realized that, compared to Abigail, she was flat-chested. With a frown, she climbed into Alex’s bed. What did it matter what Alex thought of her physically? He couldn’t do anything anyway.

Chapter Eighteen

JESSIE.”

Jessica refused to listen to the calls around her. She was sure they were her imagination. She was sure because no one in the world seemed to be still speaking to her after the raid two days ago. Alex was so angry he just looked at her from under black brows drawn together in a scowl. Eleanor lectured her without pause and Nathaniel crawled into her lap and begged her not to get killed. Jess didn’t know how Nate knew about her escapade but he did.