Free The Charmer by C.J. Archer Page A

couldn't tell. He really
hoped it was desire.
    "Mr. Holt," she said,
"thank you for coming to my aid. I appreciate it."
    "You don't need to thank me.
Rescuing damsels in distress is a hobby of mine. It's something I do when I'm
not gardening." He said it to lighten the mood and it almost worked. A
hint of a smile played around her lips. If they'd been alone, he would have
touched her mouth to tease it out again, but both maids were staring at him and
he could hear Hendricks's footsteps returning along the landing.
    "The master's still
asleep," the servant said from the doorway. "He can't have heard
anything."
    Susanna rubbed her temple. "Good.
Now, off to bed everyone. There's no need for us all to be tired
tomorrow."
    "Not yet," Orlando
said. "I have some questions."
    " You have some
questions for the mistress?" Hendricks's jaw went slack with disbelief.
"She has ordered you to leave. I think you should listen to her."
    "It's all right,
Hendricks," Susanna said. "Ask away, Mr. Holt. If you think your
questions will shed some light on this incident, then please go ahead. I would
like to know who would do such a thing."
    Orlando thanked her. "You
said you didn't see the intruder, is that right?"
    "I didn't."
    "Not even a little?"
    "He wore a hood and it was
dark."
    "He? Are you sure it was a
man?"
    The notion that it could have
been a woman seemed to surprise her. "I, well, I don't know." She
shook her head. "It's difficult to gauge size from the bed and he or she
was only half way through the window when I screamed. I wasn't fully asleep so
I heard it open."
    "Did the intruder say
anything?"
    "No."
    "Make any sound at all? Something
that could identify him or her?"
    "Nothing." She folded
her arms over her chest and rubbed her shoulders.
    "I think that's enough
questions for now, Mr. Holt," Bessie said, circling her arm around
Susanna's waist. "Maybe she'll think of something else overnight."
    "Be sure to tell me if you
do."
    "Aye, and then we'll tell Lord
Lynden too."
    "Lynden?"
    "He's the justice of the peace
for the parish," Susanna said. "He needs to know if someone tried to
steal from us."
    What would a fool like Lynden do?
The man didn't look capable of holding a sword properly let alone actually
wielding it to apprehend someone. His lace cuffs would get in the way. Yet
Orlando knew appearances could be deceptive. Hughe was the best swordsman he'd
met, and he wore a ruff and an attitude of apathy to rival Lynden's.
    As the justice of the peace,
Lynden didn't have to exert himself anyway, he could send others to make an
arrest—but first he needed to know who was guilty.
    "I'll sleep with you
tonight, m'lady," Bessie said, pulling back the covers on the far side of
the large bed. "Cook, I'll have a cup of that warm milk too, if you don't
mind."
    "I don't mind, but Hendricks
here'll have to bring it up. Those stairs will be the death of me. Don't know
how you do it, Bessie," Cook muttered as she left.
    Orlando followed Cook and
Hendricks out of the bedchamber. He didn’t look back at Susanna. He didn't want
to see the fear in her eyes again. It unsettled him more than her beauty, and
he had an inexplicable urge to banish it.
    "If it's all right with you,"
he said to the two servants when the door was closed, "I'll sleep here for
the rest of the night."
    "What, in my lady's parlor?"
Cook asked.
    "Yes."
    "On the floor?"
    "It's dry and not crawling
with lice—what more do I need?"
    She huffed. "All right then.
Hendricks, fetch Mr. Holt a mattress and blankets."
    Hendricks did as he was told, but
only after giving Orlando a glare that was as blunt and hard as a hammer blow.
    "It might be a good idea not
to mention this to Lady Lynden," Orlando told them when the manservant
returned. "She may not want me here, so close to her bedchamber."
    "She's not the only
one," Hendricks muttered.
    Later, sitting on the mattress
with his back against the paneled parlor wall, Orlando sipped his warm cup of
milk and tried to push aside his