Free Nobody's Angel by Karen Robards

suspicion. She was reminded once more of an animal at bay.
    "Is there water in that bucket?" The raspy question was addressed to Ben, who blinked.
    "Y-yes, sir."
    "Bring it here, then."
    With a quick glance at Susannah to secure her permission—she nodded almost imperceptibly—Ben carried the bucket to Connelly's bedside.
    "Put it on the floor."
    Ben complied, then stepped back. Connelly shot him a warning glare, then sent Susannah another one. Before she realized quite what he intended to do, he grasped the edge of the mattress with both hands and his upper body jackknifed over the side of the bed. He thrust his whole head into the bucket and stayed submerged for perhaps a minute. When he withdrew his head, tossing it, he again slung water everywhere as his eyes darted to Susannah and then Ben. Having apparently satisfied himself that they intended no threatening moves, he bent and wrung out his dripping locks over the bucket.
    "Would you care for a towel?" Susannah held out one. Her extreme politeness under the circumstances sounded almost ludicrous to her own ears, but the effect she strove for was one of unthreatening calm. Those gray eyes gave her a distrustful look, but he took the towel and rubbed it vigorously over his head and face.
    "Ben, fetch me a dry quilt. And a bowl of broth and a cup of water from the kitchen." Susannah's voice was quiet.
    "Yes'm."
    "And Ben—there's no need to tell my sisters that he has awakened. If they ask, you may tell them that the broth is for yourself."
    "Yes'm."
    Ben hurried to do her bidding. Left alone with the bound man, Susannah was conscious of feeling more than just a little bit nervous. But she camouflaged the sensation, masterfully, she thought, by bending to her medicine case and extracting from it a squat jar, a vial, and a roll of bandages.
    "What's that?" He was regarding her with acute suspicion, even as he dropped the used towel to the floor. She noticed that he was careful not to rest his back against the iron headboard and guessed that it must be painful to the touch.
    "Salve for your back, for one thing."
    "What the hell do you know about my back?"
    Susannah sighed. Dealing with him carefully and kindly was one thing, but allowing him to show her the rough side of his tongue was something else. It was time to establish, very gently, just who was in charge.
    " 'Tis obvious to anyone who has seen your back that you have been severely beaten. The wounds are festering, and you may count yourself fortunate not to have contracted blood poisoning. This salve will take away the infection and the pain and promote healing. If you will lie on your stomach, I will apply it for you. And you will please put a curb on your tongue. We do not swear in this house."
    "Is that so?"
    "Yes, it is. Will you lie down? I do have other things to do this evening besides attending to you."
    He looked from her to the medical necessities in her hand, seemed to weigh the matter, then did as she asked. As he sprawled on his stomach, Susannah noticed that he was careful to keep the now-damp quilt wrapped around his waist. At least he was not the sort who got a thrill out of displaying their private parts to women.
    She rose and moved to the bedside table, where she put down the vial and the bandages. The other jar she opened, scooping out the white paste inside with one hand. Then she set the jar down and, leaning over the bed, proceeded to apply the salve liberally to Connelly's abused back.
    "What the devil is in that stuff? It burns like hellfire!" He went rigid beneath her hands as the medicine started to do its work.
    Susannah slapped an extra measure of salve on one particularly raw spot for good measure.
    "Perhaps it will teach you that I mean what I say: in this house, such language as you just used is forbidden."
    "What are you, some kind of nun?" From the sounds of them, the words were forced through his teeth.
    Susannah was silent for a moment as she screwed the lid back on the jar and