Free Angel In My Bed by Melody Thomas Page B

have to deal with?” Sir Henry said to David as he eased off the bed. “The girl insists on hovering over me.”
    Victoria followed Sir Henry’s hobble across the room. “I don’t hover.”
    â€œI wish I was still sailing those balmy West Indian waters. At least I never had a case of aches as I do in this chill.” He fumbled through the vials and bottles on the shelf. “Ah, here ’tis,” Sir Henry murmured. “My medicine.”
    â€œWhat is it?” Victoria stepped forward with every intention off sniffing the contents.
    â€œIt’s mine, that’s what it is,” he said, taking a swig. “The finest Irish whiskey ever made. Now off with ye, girl. Gofetch your toddy and change your clothes. Your dress is damp, and I’m to bed. That young man over there has exhausted me.”
    She stood in front of Sir Henry, suddenly wishing David was out of earshot. The past few days had made her emotional, and, as she pressed an affectionate kiss against his whiskers, she wanted to throw her arms around him. “Thank you, Sir Henry.”
    â€œFor what,” he murmured.
    How would she ever explain the truth to him? “For worrying about me.”
    He huffed a great show, but she knew he’d missed her, and in his roundabout way was trying not to show that he’d been worried. “Off with ye, Victoria.” He patted her arm, and she watched him limp back to his bed before she realized David was watching her.
    Feeling exposed, she straightened. “I’ll see you in the morning, Sir Henry.”

Chapter 6
    D avid stood aside, allowing Meg to pass into the corridor first. “Truly, I cannot believe what you did,” she whispered, sweeping past him and affording him a glimpse of her uptilted breasts impressed against the damp fabric of her bodice.
    At once, he became interested in the rest of her attire and stepped back to look just as she swung around to face him, hand outstretched, dragging his gaze to her face.
    â€œMay I see the paper Sir Henry signed and gave to you?”
    He withdrew the folded document from inside his waistcoat pocket. “As you wish.”
    â€œMaybe you should have tried harder to lose at cards, David.”
    â€œMe?” He laughed, astounded by the conclusion she’d drawn. “Sir Henry is a shark.”
    He had not come here today to take an old man’s property from him, and as Victoria read the contract of sale Sir Henryhad signed, David found he easily traded the direction of his thoughts for another. His glance dipped from her full lower lip to the damp blue gown Meg wore, settling on the sensual flair of her hips.
    While in captivity these past days, she had washed in his soap, and he could smell himself all over her. When he again contemplated those violet eyes that could say so much to a man, he found them narrowed on him.
    â€œWhat can I say?” He shrugged off the carnal intrusion with the same lack of self-reproach as he did any other vice someone caught him committing. “You look nice all wet.”
    â€œYou’re a cad, David.” She refolded the document and tossed it at him. “I’ve not only allowed you to steal back into my life, but now I’ve abetted you into taking Sir Henry’s ancestral home. You were only supposed to pay the taxes. Now you own Rose Briar and all three thousand acres that surround it?”
    â€œMeg—”
    â€œHow dare you charm yourself into the bosom of my family.”
    David lowered his voice. “Do you think this is the proper place for this conversation? We’re supposed to like one another.”
    â€œOh dear. Have I been remiss in welcoming you into this family, Cousin David, Baron Donally of Chadwick just back from the jungles of central Africa?” She planted a dutiful kiss on his cheek and whispered against the shell of his ear. “Admittedly I was disappointed to learn that you had not been