Free Jo Goodman by My Steadfast Heart Page A

protest. She allowed herself to be hauled to her feet and laid back on the bed. A pillow was stuffed under her head. She never mistook his attention for kindness. If he seemed to be solicitous now it was because he wanted something in exchange.
    Mercedes closed her eyes as Colin washed her face with a damp cloth. When he tossed it aside, she knew her respite was over.
    "Look at me," he said. His voice brooked no refusal.
    She looked.
    "I'm waiting."
    "I think I should go now," she said feebly.
    He raised one brow. The planes and angles of his face were taut and there was no humor in the edge of the dark smile that touched his mouth. "You're going to have to talk to me first."
    "What do you want to know?"
    "Did you have that dagger with you the first time you came here?" he asked.
    She nodded again.
    "But you didn't use it."
    "See? You don't need me to answer questions. You can work it out all by yourself."
    Colin got up from the bed and went to the dresser. He looked at both daggers, testing hers for its feel in his hand before choosing his own. Mercedes was sitting up by the time he returned to her side.
    "What are you going to do with that?" she asked, eyeing him warily.
    "This." Colin's knife cut through her corset like butter.
    "What are you doing?"
    "Waiting," he said. "For answers. Don't make me wait too long, Miss Leyden. You don't have that many ribbons on your camisole."
    "You can't just—"
    He flicked the tip of the dagger once and severed the uppermost ribbon.
    Mercedes's hands flew up to hold the material together. "Ask me another question," she said.
    "Good," he said approvingly. "You're getting the idea. Now, why didn't you use the knife the first time?"
    "I thought I could talk you out of it." Mercedes wasn't watching Colin's face. Her eyes were centered on the point of his dagger. It appeared to be wavering slightly as he moved it closer. "You know," she said quickly. "Talk you out of killing the earl." The dagger stayed where it was. "It seemed possible at first, then you told me things I hadn't known and it confused me. I didn't know what to think."
    "So you left."
    "That's right."
    "But you came back."
    "I told you why."
    Colin had no difficulty slicing another ribbon. He poked the point of the dagger in between Mercedes's splayed fingers and flicked. No other prompting on his part was necessary.
    Mercedes pressed herself back against the headboard. "I was attacked," she said hurriedly. "On my way home."
    "Get your hands out of the way."
    "No."
    "I'll cut you."
    Afraid he meant it, Mercedes spread her fingers a fraction. The dagger darted in and did its work. She really had to grip the camisole now. The material was loosened by the cuts and Mercedes knew she was in danger of spilling out of it. She tried to draw her knees up but Colin forced her legs down.
    Colin watched fear crystallize in her clear gray eyes. He did nothing to alleviate it. "The truth, Mercedes. There was no attack between here and Weybourne Park."
    Her face paled. "Why won't you believe me?"
    "Why are you so desperate to make me?"
    Her hands were shaking now as was her voice. "Because it's the truth!"
    Colin cut through her camisole.
    Mercedes cried out when the camisole hung in shreds. She tried to hold the thin material together to preserve her modesty. Her mouth was dry, making it impossible to swallow or speak. She simply stared at him.
    "I think you made it all the way back to Weybourne Park," he said. "There was a tear in the skirt of your gown but not anywhere in your cape. That suggests you weren't wearing the cloak. In fact much of the damage to your gown appears to have happened when you were out of the cape."
    "You cut the fastener, remember?" she said. "The first time I came here." Her throat ached. Her voice didn't sound as if it belonged to her. "He had no difficulty getting it off me."
    "I don't think so. You told me you fled and hid. I don't think you would have gone back for your cloak. Your attacker might have been