Bewitching the Duke
Damn her for being conscientious to the servants. “Why is she needed now?”
“Davie Patterson was climbing a tree and fell out. His mother thinks he broke his shoulder.”
A child was hurt. Colin would have to wake her or face her wrath. But he also knew she would be dreadfully embarrassed if discovered in his room. He had to come up with some excuse so he could wake her without Roberts discovering the truth. “Let me change and I will go out looking for her.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. I would feel much better knowing you were searching for her. I sent Randall out looking but . . .”
Roberts didn’t need to say another word. Everyone knew Randall’s abilities were limited at best. The poor man would more than likely get lost on the estate as darkness fell. “Have a horse saddled for me, Roberts.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Now he just had to explain what happened to Selina without her getting upset. Although he doubted that would be possible. As Roberts walked down the corridor, Colin turned toward his room.
Approaching Selina quietly, he worried about her reaction. Somehow, they would have to find a way for her to escape the house without notice. He sat down next to her and kissed her bare shoulder. A slight moan escaped her lips.
“Selina,” he whispered.
“Hmmm?”
“You need to wake up. Someone needs you.”
She popped up into a sitting position. He barely had time to get out of the way. “What? Who’s sick?”
He quickly explained what happened as she dressed.
“Damn fool,” she muttered as she grabbed her stays. “Can you help me with these?”
“Of course.” It took far longer to loop the stays through the holes than it did to loosen them. “There.”
She grabbed the dress and held it out at arms’ length. “I can’t wear this to attend to a patient.”
“Don’t you have your day dress in the room next door?”
She slid a glance at the connecting door. “Certainly,” she said quickly. “Why don’t you go downstairs and tell Mr. Roberts that you will go look for me outside?”
Why did she suddenly seem in a rush to get rid
of him? “Won’t you need help with your dress?”
“No, it buttons up the front.”
“You will need help getting downstairs without being seen.”
She shook her head. “I can run down the servants’ steps. If anyone sees me, I’ll . . . tell them they must have just missed me after I was visiting Kate’s room.”
“Very well.” He pulled his Hessians on and then walked over to her. He pulled her up against his chest and kissed her firmly. “Don’t get caught,” he said with a laugh and then strolled out the door.
He highly doubted her plan would work but kept his thoughts to himself. Perhaps she would be lucky enough not to be caught by the staff. Then again, he wasn’t sure why it mattered. She had told him that the tenants want her to have a child whether within the bounds of matrimony or not.
The idea of Selina carrying his child stopped him at the top of the stairs. He’d been so carried away by desire, he never thought of the possibility. She could be with child at this very moment.
His child.
He grabbed the rail as emotions flooded him. He’d told himself he would never get another woman with child. The thought of losing another wife and child left him cold. He could not go through that again.
He would not go through that again.
Chapter 17